Wilhelm Steinmann

Wilhelm Steinmann (12 January 1912 – 1 August 1966) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II.

World War II
Wilhelm Steinmann joined the Luftwaffe as a bomber pilot and flew a Heinkel He 111 in the 1939-1941 campaigns before transferring to the Jagdwaffe and becoming a fighter pilot.

In October 1942 Steinmann was posted to the Gruppenstab of I./Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) based on the Channel Front. He recorded his first victory on 18 May 1943, an RAF Hawker Typhoon. On 1 June Steinmann shot down a Bf 109 G-6 in error, flown by the Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 27, Hauptmann Erich Hohagen.

Steinmann was exiled to Romania to the staff of Jagdfliegerführer Rumänien as punishment, although soon afterwards was transferred to I./Jagdgeschwader 4 (JG 4), in Romania. On 1 August 1943 he claimed three B-24 bombers of the USAAF 15th Air Force Force raiding Ploesti at low-level.

On 14 September 1943 Steinmann was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 4 serving in Italy then was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 4 on 23 January 1944. He claimed some 15 victories in this theatre, mainly Allied fighters. He briefly left this unit on 14 February 1944 only to return as Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 4 during the Defense of the Reich campaign on 26 August 1944. On 18 December Steinmann claimed an RAF Mosquito bomber for his 29th victory.

In March 1945 Steinmann was transferred to III./Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 2 (EJG 2) and began training to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. He recorded four victories in the jet. The now Major Steinmann was awarded the Knight's Cross on 28 March 1945 after achieving 44 kills and ended the war with JV 44 under the command of General Adolf Galland.

Wilhelm Steinmann was credited with 44 kills in 234 missions, all but four were scored against the Western Allies. Included in his tally were 7 P-47 Thunderbolts and 11 P-51 Mustang fighters, making him one of the highest scoring Luftwaffe pilots against those Allied types.

Awards

 * Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (1 May 1944)
 * Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
 * German Cross in Gold (1 January 1945)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 28 March 1945 as Major of the reserves and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./JG 4