Helmut Neumann

Helmut Neumann
Born	(1921-11-21)21 November 1921 Frankfurt am Main, Weimar Republic
Died	21 April 1992(1992-04-21) (aged 70) Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Luftwaffe
Service years	1939–1945
Rank	Leutnant (second lieutenant)
Unit	JG 5
Commands	14./JG 5
Conflicts	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Helmut Neumann (21 November 1921 – 21 April 1992) was a Luftwaffe (German air force) fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 62 aerial victories achieved in 162 combat missions, becoming an "ace-in-a-day" on two separate occasions. All but two of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Neumann was born on 21 November 1921 in Frankfurt am Main, at the time in the Province of Hesse-Nassau within the Weimar Republic.^[1] Following completion of flight,^{[Note 1]} Neumann completed his fighter pilot training with the Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe West, a supplementary training unit for fighter pilots, based in Cazaux, France. He was then posted to 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 5 (JG 5—5th Fighter Wing) on 11 August 1942 based in Kirkenes.^[3] At the time, 7. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Hans-Curt Graf von Sponeck, son of Hans Graf von Sponeck, and subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 5 headed by Hauptmann Günther Scholz.^[4] Two days later, he crash landed his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7 (Werknummer 6033—factory number) at Kirkenes, nearly destroying the aircraft.^[5]

On 4 April 1943 at 13:10, 7. and 9. Staffel were scrambled to intercept an inbound Soviet formation of Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, escorted by Bell P-39 Airacobra and Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters. In this encounter, Neumann claimed one of the P-39 fighters shot down which was not confirmed.^[6] During this aerial engagement, his Bf 109 F-4 (Werknummer 8562) suffered engine failure, resulting in a forced landing at Petsamo.^[7] On 26 September, Neumann was wounded in combat when his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 15791) was hit by anti-aircraft artillery during a search and rescue mission southeast of the Liza Bight. Nevertheless, he managed to fly back to Petsamo.^[8] Searching for Leutnant Friedrich Schumann, who remained missing in action, shrapnel from the anti-aircraft artillery shell had hit him in the throat. Heavily bleeding, he had to be pulled out if his aircraft. Nearly dying from the loss of blood, his speech remained impaired for the rest of his life and Neumann was hospitalized for six months.^[9]

On 4 September 1944, Finland implemented a ceasefire followed by the Soviet Union a day later, effectively ending the Continuation War. Consequently, IV. Gruppe of JG 5 was ordered to move to northern Norway. That day, 14. Staffel relocated to Trondheim-Værnes Airfield and placed under the command of Neumann, replacing Oberleutnant Horst Keim.^[10] On 26 September, Neumann claimed his 50th aerial victory when he shot down a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter.^[11]

On 13 January 1945, Neumann flew his last combat mission with JG 5. He was then transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 2 for conversion training to the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. With this unit, he flew the Me 262 for the first time at Lechfeld Airfield on 28 January. Command of his former 14. Staffel of JG 5 was transferred to Leutnant Hans Richter.^[12] Neumann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 12 March 1945 for 62 aerial victories claimed.^[13]

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Neumann was credited with 62 aerial victories.^[14] Spick also lists him with 62 aerial victories claimed in 162 combat missions.^[15] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 62 aerial victories, claimed in 162 combat missions. All but two of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front.^[16]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 37 Ost RC-3". 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 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[17]

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[43]
• German Cross in Gold on 1 January 1945 as Leutnant in the 14./Jagdgeschwader 5^[44]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 12 March 1945 as Leutnant and Staffelführer of the 14./Jagdgeschwader 5^[45][46]