Reinhold Knacke


Reinhold Knacke was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 44 aerial victories, plus one further unconfirmed claim by day, achieved in approximately 160 combat missions making him one of the more successful night fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe. All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions against the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command.
Born in Strelitz, Knacke grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the military service of Luftwaffe in 1937 and was trained as a pilot. He served with Zerstörergeschwader 1, flying a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, at the start of World War II. He claimed his first aerial victory during the Battle of France which was not confirmed. In June 1940, the Luftwaffe created its first night fighter wing, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, and Knacke transferred to this unit. There, he claimed his first nocturnal aerial victory on the night of 9 March 1940. Knacke was appointed squadron leader of 1. Staffel of NJG 1 in April 1942. On 1 July 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after his 23rd aerial victory. At the end of 1942, Knacke was one of the leading night fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe.
On 2/3 February 1943, he shot down a H2S airborne ground scanning radar system equipped bomber, the first such radar system to be recovered and analyzed by German technicians. Later that night, he was killed in action following combat with another RAF bomber. Posthumously, Knacke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 5 February 1943.

Early life and career

Knacke was born on 1 January 1919 in Strelitz, present-day Strelitz-Alt, a borough of Neustrelitz, at the time in the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz of the Weimar Republic. He was the son of an employee of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Knacke volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 1 November 1937 and was trained as a pilot. On 1 September 1939, he was promoted to Leutnant and was posted to I. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 1.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In February 1940, I./ZG 1 was placed under the command of Hauptmann Wolfgang Falck. With the start of the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940, I./ZG 1 was moved to Aalborg airfield. There, the airfield came under night attacks by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command, leading Falck to conduct his first experiments of nocturnal aerial combat. During the Battle of France, Knacke claimed an unconfirmed aerial victory on 10 May 1940 over a Bristol Blenheim bomber in the vicinity of Waalhaven. Flying numerous combat missions during this campaign, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class, which was presented to him on 15 July 1940 and was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 October 1940.

Night fighter career

Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.
Following the Battle of France, Falck was tasked with the creation of the Luftwaffe's first night fighter wing, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1. His former unit, I./ZG 1 formed the nucleus of I. Gruppe of NJG 1 which was placed under the command of Oberleutnant Werner Streib. Now flying in the 2. Staffel of NJG 1, sources vary with respect to when Knacke claimed his first nocturnal aerial victory. According to Foreman, Parry and Matthews, he claimed a Vickers Wellington bomber shot down on 9 March 1941. According to Obermaier and Stockert, Knacke was credited with his first aerial victory on the night of 2/3 May 1941. He received the German Cross in Gold on 14 April 1942, after his 18th claim.

Squadron leader and death

Knacke was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel of NJG 1 on 1 April 1942. On 25/26 June 1942, RAF Bomber Command launched the third thousand-bomber raid and bombed Bremen. That night, Knacke, assisted by his radio operator Unteroffizier Günther Heu, claimed three aerial victories. On the night of 25/26 July 1942, Knacke shot down the Bristol Blenheim bomber R3837 from No. 114 Squadron on its intruder bombing mission to Venlo airfield. Three nights later, Knacke became the first German night fighter pilot to claim a de Havilland Mosquito destroyed. The aircraft, Mosquito DD677 from No. 23 Squadron, was shot down near Haps.
On 16/17 September 1942, 369 British bombers attack Germany, losing 39 of their number, a very high 10.6 percent loss rate. Knacke, shot down five bombers during that night, which would make him an "ace-in-a-day". At the end of 1942, Knacke was one of the leading night fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe, which at the time included Lent, Ludwig Becker, Werner Streib and Paul Gildner. He was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 January 1943.
On the night of 2/3 February 1943, Knacke shot down a Short Stirling bomber on its mission to bomb Cologne. The Stirling I R9264 MG-L from No. 7 Squadron was a Pathfinder aircraft equipped with the then new H2S airborne ground scanning radar system. The radar was recovered by German forces and sent to Berlin where it was examined by Telefunken. Knacke then attacked a Halifax bomber near Achterveld which he shot down but his aircraft was also hit by the bomber's air gunner. His radio operator, Unteroffizier Kurt Bundrock, managed to bail out from the burning aircraft. Knacke was found dead next to his crashed Bf 110 F-4 "G9+DK" east of Achterveld. Knacke was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 5 February 1943. He was the 190th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Originally buried near Deelen airfield, he was reinterred at the German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn at Venray.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Foreman, Parry and Matthews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 45 nocturnal victory claims. Matthews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Knacke with 43 nocturnal aerial victories claims, plus one further unconfirmed claim as a destroyer pilot during daytime operations.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 6255". The Luftwaffe grid map covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.

Awards