Helmut Bennemann (16 March 1915 – 17 November 2007) was an Oberstleutnant of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe in World War II. Bennemann claimed 93 aerial victories in over 400 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front. His commands included Geschwaderkommodore of the JG 53 fighter wing.

Career

Bennemann was born on 16 March 1915 in Wanne-Eickel in the Ruhrgebiet of Province of Westphalia within the German Empire. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as an aerial reconnaissance pilot. When Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 starting World War II, Bennemann flew reconnaissance missions. In June 1940, Bennemann was posted to I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) where he served as an adjutant. At the time, I. Gruppe was based at Zerbst and subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and tasked with protecting Dessau and the Leuna works from aerial attacks. On 18 July, I. Gruppe was ordered to Neuruppin, augmenting the aerial defenses of Berlin during the session of the Reichstag following the Battle of France. The Gruppe then relocated to Bayreuth-Bindlach Airfield where it was tasked with protecting the Bayreuth Festival before returning to Zerbst on 24 July. Five days later, I. Gruppe moved to Bönninghardt located west of Wesel.

Battle of Britain

In preparation for Operation Sea Lion, the planned invasion of the United Kingdom, and the Battle of Britain, I. Gruppe was ordered to Coquelles located approximately 3 km southwest of Calais. Here Bennemann claimed his first aerial victory on 26 August, when he shot down a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire fighter near Dover on a mission escorting bombers to RAF Lympne. On 31 August, Bennemann claimed his second aerial victory, a Hawker Hurricane fighter shot down near London on a mission escorting Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters from Erprobungsgruppe 210 (ErpGr. 210—210th Testing Group) attacking RAF Kenley. The following day, I. Gruppe escorted Heinkel He 111 bombers attacking the Port of Tilbury on the River Thames. On this mission, Bennemann claimed a Spitfire shot down near Sittingbourne. On 2 September, I. Gruppe again escorted Bf 110 heavy fighters from ErpGr. 210, this time attacking RAF Eastchurch. That day, Bennemann claimed a Spitfire fighter shot down near Canterbury. Five days later, the Luftwaffe targeted the Beckton Gas Works in London. Escorting He 111 bombers to the target area, Bennemann claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down. On 15 September, Bennemann claimed three Hurricane fighters shot down over the Thames Estuary, recording aerial victories six to eight. That day, I. Gruppe had escorted Junkers Ju 88 bombers to London. On 24 September, I. Gruppe flew a combat air patrol over the English Channel, claiming seven aerial victories, two of which by Bennemann against two Spitfire fighters off of Dover. Bennemann was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 5 October 1940. The Gruppe was withdrawn from the English Channel on 31 October and relocated to Krefeld Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment. With eleven aerial victories to his credit, at the time Bennemann was the second most successful fighter pilot of the Gruppe. On 27 December, the Gruppe moved to Katwijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. In early 1941, the Gruppe received new orders and began preparations for relocation to Sicily which were later revoked. Consequently, the entire I. Gruppe remained at Katwijk aan Zee where it was tasked with patrolling the Dutch coast area and German Bight, the three Staffeln were then deployed at various airfields on the Dutch, German and Danish North Sea coast. On 27 April, Bennemann was appointed Staffelkapitän (Squadron Leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 52. He replaced Oberleutnant Helmut Kühle who was transferred.

War against the Soviet Union

On 22 June, German forces had launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. On 21 September 1941, I. Gruppe of JG 52 was ordered to relocate to the Eastern Front. With stopovers at Dortmund, Magdeburg, and Warsaw, the Gruppe arrived in Orsha on 29 September. In support for Operation Typhoon, also known as the Battle of Moscow, the Gruppe moved to an airfield named Ponyatovka, located approximately 30 km southwest of Roslavl, on 2 October. The following day, Bennemann claimed his first aerial victory on the Eastern Front when he shot down a Polikarpov I-16 fighter. On 14 June 1942, Bennemann was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of JG 52. He succeeded Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Leesmann who was transferred. A Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber shot down by Bennemann on 23 August was I. Gruppe's 600 aerial victory to date. His 62nd aerial victory claimed over a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter on 2 November was the 800th aerial victory of I. Gruppe. By the End of 1942, Bennemann had claimed 72 aerial victories, making him the leading active fighter pilot of I. Gruppe at the time. On 10 May 1943, Benemann was severely wounded by the explosion of an incendiary bomb at Charkow-Woitschenko Airfield. During his convalescence, he was replaced by Hauptmann Johannes Wiese and Hauptmann Gerhard Barkhorn as commander of I. Gruppe. Command of the Gruppe officially passed to Wiese on 5 October.

Wing commander

Bennemann was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) on 9 November 1943. He took over command from Oberst Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn who had been transferred on 4 October. Intermittently, the Geschwader had been led by both Major Friedrich-Karl Müller and Major Kurt Ubben. On 25 April 1944, he shot down a USAAF B-24 over Bologna to claim his 90th victory. However, his Bf 109G-6 (Werknummer 163 314—factory number) "Black < 3" was hit by defensive fire and Bennemann was again wounded, baling out successfully. In June 1944, Bennemann led the Geschwaderstab of JG 53 on a short return to the Eastern Front, to direct the supply missions for the city of Vilna. The unit departed the Soviet Union for Wunstorf near Hannover in Germany on 22 July. From August 1944, Bennemann led JG 53 on Reichsverteidigung missions, initially from bases in France, then from bases in Germany. He claimed his last three victories in October 1944 to bring his final score to 93. Among his 93 victories are at least 10 Il-2 Sturmoviks claimed over the Eastern Front. In early 1945, Bennemann joined other high-ranking pilots in the "Fighter Pilots' Revolt incident" which escalated in a meeting with Hermann Göring on 22 January 1945. This was an attempt to reinstate Adolf Galland who had been dismissed for outspokenness regarding the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe high command), and had been replaced by Gordon Gollob as General der Jagdflieger. The meeting was held at the Haus der Flieger in Berlin and was attended by a number of high-ranking fighter pilot leaders which included Bennemann, Lützow, Hermann Graf, Gerhard Michalski, Hannes Trautloft, Kurt Bühligen, Erich Leie and Herbert Ihlefeld, and their antagonist Göring supported by his staff Bernd von Brauchitsch and Karl Koller. The fighter pilots, with Lützow taking the lead as spokesman, criticized Göring and made him personally responsible for the decisions taken which contributed to the lost air war over Europe.

Later life

Following World War II, Bennemann attended university attaining a Doctor of Medical Dentistry, abbreviated as Dr. med. dent. (Doctor medicinae dentariae). He then worked as a dentist in his own practice. Bennemann died on 17 November 2007 at the age of 92 in Bad Sassendorf.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Bennemann was credited with 93 aerial victories. Obermaier also list Bennemann with 93 aerial victories claimed in over 400 combat missions. This figure includes 77 claims on the Eastern Front and 16 over the Western Allies, including one four-engine bomber. Spick lists him with 92 aerial victories with 70 on the Eastern Front and 22 on the Western Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 89 aerial victory claims, plus four further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes 76 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 14 on the Western Front, including one four-engined bomber. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 6083". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 x in size.

Awards

Citations