Ludwig Becker (pilot)

Ludwig Becker (22 August 1911 – 26 February 1943) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Becker claimed 46 aerial victories.

Career
Ludwig Becker was born on 22 August 1911 in Dortmund-Aplerbeck in the Province of Westphalia, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia. Joining the Luftwaffe volunteers in 1934, by 1939 he was a test pilot and a Leutnant in the Luftwaffe reserve. Serving with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing), he crashed a Messerschmitt Bf 110 near Winterswijk on 30 August 1940. His first victory was a Vickers Wellington on the night of 16/17 October 1940. Becker was flying a Dornier Do 17Z-10 equipped with a gun-camera. The victory recorded the demise of the No. 311 Squadron RAF aircraft piloted by Pilot Officer Bohumil Landa and three of his Czech crew. It was also the first radar-controlled "Dunkle Nachtjagd" (DuNaJa—dark night fighting, without search lights) victory of the war. He was later equipped with the Dornier Do 215B night fighter equipped with Lichtenstein radar. He achieved six victories between March and September 1941 in this machine. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in July 1942, he then served as a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) in 12./NJG 1. By the end of the year, Becker had some 40 victories to his credit.

Becker and his Radar Operator Oberfeldwebel Josef Straub (who had taken part in 40 victories) were posted missing in action on 26 February 1943 in a Bf 110G-4 while on a daylight mission intercepting a Boeing B-17 formation over the North Sea, and crashing north of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands.

All his 46 victories were at night.

Awards

 * Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (2 March 1942)
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (3 July 1940)
 * 1st Class (23 December 1940)
 * German Cross in Gold on 24 April 1942 as Oberleutnant in the 6./NJG 2
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 1 July 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 12./NJG 1
 * 198th Oak Leaves on 26 February 1943 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 12./NJG 1
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtsbericht on 21 January 1942, 26 March 1942, 7 June 1942 and on 26 June 1942