Horst Ademeit

Horst Ademeit (8 February 1912 – 7 August 1944) was a German 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. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.

Early life
Ademeit, the son of a Regierungsbaurat (government building officer), was born on 8 February 1912 in Breslau in the Kingdom of Prussia of the German Empire, present-day Wrocław in western Poland. He studied at the Königsberg Albertina University, a member of the Corps Masovia Königsberg. He then studied chemistry at the Technical University of Berlin and the Technical University of Braunschweig graduating as Diplom Ingenieur. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe on 1 August 1936.

On 9 December 1938, Ademeit was made an officer cadet of the reserves and received flight training.

World War II
In the spring of 1940, Unteroffizier Ademeit was transferred to 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) and participated in the Battle of Britain. He claimed his first victory on 18 September 1940. Shortly afterwards he was shot down over the Channel. He bailed out and was rescued by the Seenotdienst unharmed.

In June 1941, after the attack on the Soviet Union, he accompanied I./JG 54 to the Eastern Front. In quick succession he achieved aerial victories, promotions and awards. On 7 March 1943, Ademeit was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 6. Staffel of JG 54, replacing Oberleutnant Hans Beißwenger who was killed in action the day before.

In October 1943, Ademeit was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 61st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.

Group commander
On 4 February 1944, Ademeit succeeded Hauptmann Walter Nowotny as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander of I. Gruppe of JG 54. On 14 February, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield named Wesenberg near Rakvere, located approximately 60 km north of Lake Peipus and 105 km west of Narva. Here the Gruppe was subordinated to the 3. Flieger-Division (3rd Air Division) and fought in the Battle of Narva.

On 7 August 1944, Ademeit, flying a Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 (Werksnummer 5960 — factory number) pursued a Russian Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft eastwards over Russian lines near Dünaburg, however he failed to return from this mission and is considered missing in action since. Ademeit had led a flight of four Fw 190s to the combat area near Kreutzburg, present-day Jēkabpils, on the right bank of the Daugava, where they intecepted a flight of ten Il-2s and Yakovlev Yak-9 fighters at 15:17. His wingman, Gefreiter Biebrichter, later reported that Ademeit was last seen in pursuit of an Il-2 into a thick cloud of smoke. He was succeeded by Hauptmann Franz Eisenach as commander of I. Gruppe.

Berlin radio announced his loss on 29 September 1944.

Horst Ademeit was credited with 166 victories in over 600 missions over the Eastern Front. He was posthumously promoted to Major.

Aerial victory claims
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Ademeit was credited with 166 aerial victories. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 160 aerial victory claims, all of which confirmed and claimed on the Eastern Front. The authors Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock list six further victories, aerial victories numbered 99–104, which were not documented by Mathews and Foreman, in the timeframe 18 September to 3 October 1943.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 2525". 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 sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 x in size.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (7 September 1940)
 * 1st Class (5 September 1941)
 * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for fighter pilots in Gold and Penant
 * Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 8 December 1941 as Leutnant and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 25 February 1942 as Leutnant in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 54
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 16 April 1943 as Leutnant (war officer) and pilot in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54
 * 414th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Hauptmann (war officer) and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 54