Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld
Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was a Luftwaffe night fighter flying ace of royal descent during World War II. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld was credited with 51 aerial victories, all of them claimed in nocturnal combat missions.
Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weißenfeld
Schloss Alt-Wartenburg
Nightly briefing at the group headquarter
German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn - Egmont Prinz zur Lippe Weissenfeld
Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1) was a German Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 1 was formed on 22 June 1940 and comprised four Gruppen (groups). NJG 1 was created as an air defence unit for the Defence of the Reich campaign; an aerial war waged by the Luftwaffe against the bombing of the German Reich by RAF Bomber Command and the United States Air Force. In 1941 airborne radar was introduced with radar operators, and standardised in 1942 and 1943. Consequently, a large number of German night fighter aces existed within NJG 1.
Bf 110 G night fighter with radar. The BF 110 was the mainstay of NJG 1
Do 217 J night fighter. A handful saw service with NJG 1
He 219 night fighter. Werner Baake flew these successfully exclusively in I./NJG 1
Members of the Royal Australian Air Force pose with Schnaufer's Bf 110 G-4 (G9+BA, Stab/NJG 1) at Schleswig, Germany, shortly after the end of the war (19 June 1945)