|
Oberst Helmut Lent (13 June 1918 – 7 October 1944) was a German night-fighter ace in World War II. Lent shot down 110 aircraft, 102 of them at night, far more than the minimum of five enemy aircraft required for the title of "ace".〔Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.〕〔For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see ''List of German World War II night fighter aces''〕 Born into a devoutly religious family, he showed an early passion for glider flying; against his father's wishes, he joined the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1936. After completing his training, he was assigned to the 1. Squadron, or ''Staffel'', of ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 76 (ZG 76), a wing flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine heavy fighter. Lent claimed his first aerial victories at the outset of World War II in the invasion of Poland and over the North Sea. During the invasion of Norway he flew ground support missions before he was transferred to the newly established ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 1 (NJG 1), a night-fighter wing.〔Fraschka 1994, pp. 185–189.〕〔Williamson 2006, pp. 31–41.〕〔See Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II for an explanation of the Luftwaffe structure.〕 Lent claimed his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and on 30 August 1941 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes'') for 22 victories. His steady accumulation of aerial victories resulted in regular promotions and awards. On the night of 15 June 1944, ''Major'' Lent was the first night fighter pilot to claim 100 nocturnal aerial victories, a feat which earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten'') on 31 July 1944.〔〔〔Schaulen 2004, p. 78.〕 On 5 October 1944, Lent flew a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen, south of Paderborn. On the landing approach one of the engines cut out and the aircraft collided with power lines. All four members of the crew were mortally injured. Three men died shortly after the crash and Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944.〔〔 ==Childhood, education and early career== Helmut Lent was born on 13 June 1918 in Pyrehne, district of Landsberg an der Warthe, Province of Brandenburg, Germany (now Pyrzany, Lubusz Province, western Poland) and christened Helmut Johannes Siegfried Lent. He was the fifth child of Johannes Lent, a Lutheran minister and Marie Elisabeth, née Braune. Helmut Lent had two older brothers, Werner and Joachim, and two older sisters, Käthe and Ursula.〔Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 2–4.〕 His family was deeply religious; in addition to his father, both of his brothers and both grandfathers were also Lutheran ministers.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. xvi.〕 From Easter 1924 until Easter 1928, Lent attended the local public primary school at Pyrehne. His father and oldest brother Werner then tutored him at home in preparation for the entrance examination at the public secondary school at Landsberg. In February 1933, Helmut joined the ''Jungvolk'', the junior branch of the Hitler Youth. From March 1933, he acted as a youth platoon leader, or ''Jungzugführer'' (1 March 1933 – 1 April 1935) and flag-bearer, or ''Fähnleinführer'' (1 April 1935 – 9 November 1935) until he left the ''Jungvolk'' to prepare for his ''diploma'' examination.〔Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 8–11.〕 Helmut passed his graduation examinations at the age of seventeen on 12 December 1935. On 2 February 1936, he began the eight-week compulsory National Labor Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst) at Mohrin.〔Hinchliffe 2003, pp.5–12.〕 He joined the military service in the ''Luftwaffe'' as a ''Fahnenjunker'' on 1 April 1936, against the wishes of his father.〔Fraschka 1994, p. 186.〕 His military training began on 6 April 1936 at the 2nd Air Warfare School (''Luftkriegsschule 2'') at Gatow, on the south-western outskirts of Berlin. He swore the National Socialist oath of allegiance on 21 April 1936.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 13.〕 Flight training began on Monday, 7 August 1936 at Gatow. His first flight was in a Heinkel He 72 ''Kadet'' D-EYZA single engine biplane. Lent logged his first solo flight on 15 September 1936 in a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 ''Stieglitz''. By this time, Lent had accumulated 63 flights in his logbook.〔Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 17–18.〕 In conjunction with flight training, the students also learned to drive motorcycles and cars and during one of these training exercises, Lent was involved in a road accident, breaking his upper leg badly enough to prevent him from flying for five months.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 21.〕 This did not adversely affect his classroom training and on 1 April 1937, after taking his commission examination, he was promoted to ''Fähnrich''.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 22.〕 On 19 October 1937 Lent completed his flight training and was awarded the A/B License. He earned his wings on 15 November 1937. On 1 February 1938, he was promoted to ''Oberfähnrich'' (first ensign), and on 1 March 1938 to ''Leutnant''. By this time, he had made 434 flights in eight different types of aircraft and had accumulated 112 hours and 48 minutes flying time, mostly in daylight flights, in single engine training aircraft.〔Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 24–25.〕 After leaving Gatow, Helmut Lent was posted to the Heavy Bomber Crew School, or ''Große Kampffliegerschule'' at Tutow, in northeast Germany. He spent three months training as an observer (1 March 1938 – 30 May 1938). Prior to completing this course, Lent was run over by a car, resulting in a broken lower jaw, concussion, and internal bleeding. On 1 July 1938, Lent was posted to the 3rd Group of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 132 "Richthofen" (III./JG 132), flying on 19 July 1938 for the first time after his injuries.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 29.〕 At the beginning of September, Lent's squadron, 7./JG 132, relocated to Großenhain near Dresden, in preparation and support of the annexation of Czechoslovakia. Lent flew a number of operational patrols in this conflict until his ''Staffel'' relocated again to Rangsdorf on 29 September 1938. After the tension over the occupation of the Sudeten territories eased, Lent's unit began a conversion to the Messerschmitt Bf 108 ''Taifun''. On 1 November 1938 III./JG 132 moved to Fürstenwalde, between Berlin and Frankfurt an der Oder, and was renamed II./JG 141, and Lent was posted to the 6th Squadron.〔Hinchliffe 2003, pp. 30–31.〕 II./JG 141 changed its designation to I./''Zerstörergeschwader'' 76 (I./ZG 76) on 1 May 1939 at the same time relocating to an airfield at Olmütz, Czechoslovakia. The group was being re-equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 110, and Lent made his first flight in the Bf 110 on 7 June 1939. Lent was granted his Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (''Erweiterter Luftwaffen-Flugzeugführerschein''), also known as 'C'-Certificate, confirming proficiency on multi-engine aircraft, on 12 May 1939.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 32.〕 While converting to the Bf 110, Lent did not have a regular wireless operator (''Funker'') in the rear gunner's seat, but on 14 August 1939 he was accompanied in M8+AH for the first time by ''Gefreiter'' Walter Kubisch.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 33.〕 During the prelude of World War II on 25 August 1939 I./ZG 76 deployed to an airfield at Ohlau to the southeast of Breslau.〔Hinchliffe 2003, p. 34.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Helmut Lent」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|