Wolfgang Thimmig

German military officer (1912–1976)

Wolfgang Thimmig
Chief of Air Staff, Nigerian Air Force
In office
24 November 1965 – 19 January 1966
Preceded byGerhard Kahtz
Succeeded byGeorge T Kurubo
Personal details
Born(1912-10-04)4 October 1912
Dresden, Germany
Died6 November 1976(1976-11-06) (aged 64)
Stockholm, Sweden
ProfessionOfficer
NicknameAmeise
Military service
Allegiance Nazi Germany
 West Germany
 Nigeria
Branch/serviceBalkenkreuz (Iron Cross) Luftwaffe
Bundeswehrkreuz (Iron Cross) German Air Force
Years of service1934–1945, 1956–1976
RankOberstleutnant (Luftwaffe)
Oberst (Bundeswehr)
UnitLG 1 ZG 76 NJG 1 NJG 2

NJG 4

NJG 101
Commands2./NJG 1, III./NJG 1, III./NJG 101, NJG 4, NJG 2
Battles/warsWorld War II

Wolfgang Thimmig (4 October 1912 – 6 November 1976)[1] was a German Luftwaffe night fighter during World War II. By the end of the war he had achieved 24 aerial victories, reached the rank of Oberstleutnant, and was Geschwaderkommodore for NJG 2, having previously been the Kommodore for NJG 4.[citation needed]

In 1956, Thimmig joined the newly formed Bundesluftwaffe and was the Military Attache of the Federal Republic of Germany in Sweden between 1959 and 1963. In addition to that, he was the Nigerian Air Force's Chief of the Air Staff from 1965 to 1966.[2] He was the second Commander of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), and given the task of continuing the creation of an air force for Nigeria under a 1963 agreement between Nigeria and Germany. Thimmig and the German Air Force Assistance Group (GAFAG) withdrew from Nigeria in January 1966, when their mission of creating the air force was completed.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 23 nocturnal victory claims.[3] Matthews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Thimmig with 23 claims, all of which claimed in Defense of the Reich.[4]

Chronicle of aerial victories

  This and the ? (question mark) indicates discrepancies between Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.

Claim Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No.
– 2. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –[4]
1 18 June 1941 02:41 Whitley[5] 2 km (1.2 mi) north of Best, 10 km (6.2 mi) north-northeast of Eindhoven
2 11 July 1941 02:40 Wellington Arendonk[6]
3 16 July 1941?[Note 1] 02:31 Wellington south-southeast of Hamont-Achel[6]
4 18 July 1941 02:41 Whitley[8]
5 17 August 1941 01:41 Hampden Winterswijk?[9][Note 2]
6 17 August 1941 02:30 Whitley 20 km (12 mi) west of Venlo[9]
7 31 August 194 23:39 Hampden 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Mönchengladbach[10]
8 31 May 1942 02:06 Halifax 3 km (1.9 mi) northwest of Maarheeze railway station[11]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –[7]
9 27 August 1942 23:25 Wellington Epe railway station[12]
10 27 August 1942 23:54 Halifax 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Haaksbergen[12]
11 3 February 1943 20:10 Stirling east of Hengelo[13]
12 1 May 1943 02:43 Halifax east of Stadtlohn[14]
13 1 May 1943 03:20 Lancaster 12 km (7.5 mi) southeast of Zwolle[14]
14 5 May 1943 00:34 Halifax south of Gronau[15]
15 5 May 1943 00:50 Halifax northwest of Schüttorf[15]
16 24 May 1943 01:08 Wellington 9 km (5.6 mi) southwest of Enschede[16]
17 24 May 1943 01:25 Wellington 5 km (3.1 mi) east of Haaksbergen[16]
18 24 May 1943 01:34 Halifax 12 km (7.5 mi) west of Almelo[16]
– Stab III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 –[7]
19 21 April 1944 23:05 Lancaster 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Kirchheim[17]
– Stab of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 –[7]
20 21 April 1944 00:38 four-engined bomber 25 km (16 mi) south of Paris[18]
21 8 July 1944 02:47 B-26 northwest of Amiens[19]
22 8 July 1944 02:55 B-26 Senarpont[19]
23 8 July 1944 02:59 B-26 Baie de la Seine[19]

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims on 26 July 1941.[7]
  2. ^ According to Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims at Waterwijk.[7]

References

Citations

  1. ^ "THIMMIG, Wolfgang". TracesOfWar.com. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ^ "History of The Nigerian Air Force: Former Chiefs of Air Staffs". The Nigerian Air Force. Nigerian Air Force. Archived from the original on 1 March 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  3. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, pp. 22–200.
  4. ^ a b Mathews & Foreman 2015, pp. 1318–1319.
  5. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 22.
  6. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 25.
  7. ^ a b c d e Mathews & Foreman 2015, p. 1319.
  8. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 26.
  9. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 29.
  10. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 30.
  11. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 42.
  12. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 56.
  13. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 66.
  14. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 77.
  15. ^ a b Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 78.
  16. ^ a b c Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 81.
  17. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 118.
  18. ^ Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 167.
  19. ^ a b c Foreman, Mathews & Parry 2004, p. 200.
  20. ^ Patzwall 2008, p. 204.
  21. ^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 474.

Bibliography

  • Foreman, John; Mathews, Johannes; Parry, Simon (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-0-9538061-4-0.
  • Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN 978-1-906592-21-9.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.
Military offices
Preceded by
Major Rudolf Stoltenhoff
 Commander of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4
20 October 1943 – 14 November 1944 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commander of Nachtjagdgeschwader 2
8 February 1945 – 5 May 1945 		Succeeded by
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