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Kurt Welter (25 February 1916 – 7 March 1949) was a German ''Luftwaffe'' fighter ace and the most successful ''Jet Expert'' of World War II.〔For a list of Luftwaffe jet aces see ''List of German World War II jet aces''〕 A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.〔Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.〕 He claimed a total of 63 aerial victories—that is, 63 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—achieved in 93 combat missions. He recorded 56 victories at night, including 33 Mosquitos,〔For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see ''List of German World War II night fighter aces''〕 and scored more aerial victories from a jet fighter aircraft than anyone else in World War II and possibly in aviation history.〔Samuel 2004, p. 46.〕〔See also: Nikolay Sutyagin, believed to be the top jet ace in "jet-against-jet" aerial combat, and Giora Epstein of Israel as the top ace in supersonic-capability jet fighters〕 However this score is a matter of controversy; research of Royal Air Force losses suggests Welter may have overclaimed. Welter was born in Cologne-Lindenthal (''Köln-Lindenthal'') on 25 February 1916. He joined the military service of the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1934 and was trained as a pilot. He showed a strong natural ability as a pilot and was subsequently selected for flight instructor training and served many years as a flight instructor. In 1943 Welter transferred to an operational night fighter unit flying contemporary piston engine fighter aircraft. On 18 October 1944, after 40 combat missions, Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes''). In early 1945, Welter transferred to an experimental jet night fighter unit flying the Messerschmitt Me 262. On 11 March 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (''Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub'') for 48 aerial victories. Welter survived the war and was killed in an accident at a railroad crossing on 7 March 1949.〔Smith & Creek 2000, p. 453.〕 ==Biography== Welter was born on 25 February 1916 in Cologne-Lindenthal. Following scholloing and completing a merchant apprenticeship, he joined the Luftwaffe on 1 October 1934 and was trained as a pilot.〔Stockert 2008, p. 133.〕 Because of his skill as a pilot he was trained as a flight instructor. During World War II, Welter was promoted to ''Feldwebel'' on 1 August 1940 and transferred to flight training school ''Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 63'' and later on to the flight instructor school at Quedlinburg. Here Welter served as a flight instructor until 10 August 1943 when he was transferred to ''Blindflugschule 10'' (school for instrument flight training) in Altenburg with the rank of ''Oberfeldwebel'' as a night fighter instructor.〔Obermaier 1989, p. 73.〕 On 2 September 1943, Welter was transferred to 5. ''Staffel''/Jagdgeschwader 301 (JG 301), a night fighter squadron that experimented with the use of largely radar-less single-seat Fw 190A-5 and Fw 190A-6 fighter aircraft by night, often equipped with the FuG 350 ''Naxos'' device, used in the form of German night-fighter operations without AI radar — due to ''Düppel'' interference from RAF Bomber Command aircraft — dubbed ''Wilde Sau'' (wild boar). On his first ''Wilde Sau'' intercept mission against Allied bombers on the night of 22 September 1943, Welter shot down two Allied four-engine bombers. He shot down a further two on his third mission on the night of 3 October 1943. By the beginning of April, he had accumulated 17 victories in only 15 missions. Subsequently on 10 May 1944 Welter was awarded the German Cross in Gold. ''Leutnant'' Welter was transferred to 5. ''Staffel''/Jagdgeschwader 300 (JG 300) on 7 July 1944.〔 In July, Welter claimed two United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) B-17 four-engined bombers and three P-51 fighters shot down by day. From 25 July 1944, Welter served with 1. ''Staffel''/Nachtjagdgruppe 10 (NJGr 10) performing further ''Wilde Sau'' missions. He claimed four Royal Air Force (RAF) Lancaster four-engine bombers shot down on the night of 29 August 1944 to record his 24th through 27th victories.〔 Welter transferred to 10./JG 300 on 4 September 1944. 10. ''Staffel''/JG 300 was established to counter intrusions by RAF Mosquito twin-engined bombers, flying specially optimized for speed Bf 109G-6/AS fighters. In September, Welter claimed seven Mosquitos downed, including one by ramming. It is thought that during his service with 1./NJG 10 and 10./JG 300, Welter recorded 12 victories in only 18 missions.〔Morgan & Weal 1998, p. 63.〕 On the night of 19 September 1944, according to Hinchliffe, Welter may have shot down Wing Commander Guy Gibson who was leading a 300-bomber attack on Mönchengladbach and Rheydt. Gibson's Mosquito crashed near Steenbergen in the Netherlands. Welter was the only German pilot to have claimed a Mosquito.〔Hinchliffe 1998, p. 294.〕〔Foreman, Matthews & Parry 2004, p. 217.〕 The claim is unlikely. Welter submitted his victory claim north of Wittenberg in eastern Germany, some hundreds of miles away from the place Gibson's Mosquito was found.〔 Recent research suggests that his victim was Mosquito VI "PZ177" of No. 23 Squadron RAF which was shot down by Welter at west of Bad Münder, Holzminden. The crew, F/O. K. Eastwood and Navigator F/L. G.G. Rogers were both killed. Welter was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 October 1944 for 33 victories in just 40 missions.〔 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「Kurt Welter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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