Siegfried Engfer

Siegfried Engfer (27 April 1915 – missing April 1946) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. He was credited with 58 victories, in over 348 missions.

Siegfried Engfer
Born	27 April 1915 Neuhof, Pomerania, Imperial Germany
Died	April 1946 (age 30–31) (disappeared) Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Branch	Army (1935–37) Luftwaffe (1937–45)
Years of service	1935–45
Rank	Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)
Unit	JG 3
Battles / wars	World War II Eastern Front
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Engfer was born on 27 April 1915 in Neuhof, present-day Będlino, in the Province of Pomerania within the German Empire.^[1] On 4 June 1941, Engfer was injured during a takeoff accident in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8247—factory number) at the airfield in Norrent-Fontes.^[2]

Eastern Front

The Wehrmacht launched Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June 1941. III. Gruppe supported Army Group South in its strategic goal towards the heavily populated and agricultural heartland of Ukraine, taking Kiev before continuing eastward over the steppes of southern USSR to the Volga with the aim of controlling the oil-rich Caucasus.^[3]

Both Engfer and Feldwebel Heinz Kemethmüller from 8. Staffel of JG 3 claimed their 50th aerial victories on 18 September 1942.^[4] Consequently both pilots were awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 2 October 1942.^[5] On 6 November, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment. The first elements of the Gruppe arrived by train in Mannheim on 8 December, the transfer was completed a week later. There, the personnel was sent on home leave. Following the death of Generaloberst Ernst Udet, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring ordered JG 3 to be given the honorary name "Udet" on 1 December.^[6] The Gruppe received a full complement of 41 Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft and on 6 January 1942 was ordered to relocated to Sicily. On 13 January, 7. Staffel and elements of 8. and 9. Staffel boarded a train to Bari in southern Italy while the rest of III. Gruppe headed for Sciacca, Sicily. The relocation progressed until 26 January when new orders were received, ordering the Gruppe to return to Germany.^[7] At Jesau near Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad in Russia, III. Gruppe began preparations for redeployment to the Eastern Front.^[8] On 28 May 1943, Engfer was posted to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost (Supplementary Fighter Group, East), a specialized training unit for new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front, as an instructor. Shortly after, he fell seriously ill and was infected with Tuberculosis.^[9]

Engfer went missing on a train journey from Vienna to Munich in April 1946.^[10] Alternatively, according to Mathews and Foreman, he may have been killed in a car accident.^[11]

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Engfer was credited with 58 aerial victories.^[12] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 58 aerial victory claims, all of which confirmed and claimed on the Eastern Front.^[13]

Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ! (exclamation mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Mathews and Foreman and by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock.   This and the # (hash mark) indicates those aerial victories listed in the 1996 book by Prien and Stemmer.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim!	Claim#	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim!	Claim#	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 –[11] Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
1	1	6 July 1941	19:40	V-11 (Il-2)[14][15]
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[11] Eastern Front – 10 February 1942 – 14 April 1942
2	2	12 March 1942	17:50	R-5[16][17]
– 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" –[13] Eastern Front – 19 May 1942 – March 1943
3	3	20 May 1942	04:50	Il-2[18]	west of Wesseloje[19]	33		7 September 1942	16:55	La-5	1 km (0.62 mi) southwest of Vladimirovka[20]
	4	27 May 1942	16:02	unknown[21]		34		7 September 1942	16:57	Il-2	1 km (0.62 mi) west of Orchisodschi[20]
4	5	29 May 1942	18:41	R-10 (Seversky)[22][21]		35	30	8 September 1942	06:33	La-5?[Note 1]	Kotluban railway station[20]
5		30 June 1942	10:06	MiG-1	southeast of Kshen[24]		31	8 September 1942	10:20	unknown[25]
6	6	10 July 1942	04:05	MiG-1[26]	Voronezh[27]		32	8 September 1942	10:30	unknown[25]
7	7	16 July 1942	13:10	R-5[26][27]		36		8 September 1942	16:48	P-40	2 km (1.2 mi) northeast of Kotluban train station[20]
8	8	17 July 1942	05:50	MiG-1[26][28]			33	8 September 1942	16:55	unknown[25]
9	9	22 July 1942	14:58	Il-2[26][28]			34	9 September 1942	16:45	unknown[25]
10	10	24 July 1942	08:50	Il-2[26][28]		37	35	9 September 1942	16:56	Il-2?[Note 1]	15 km (9.3 mi) north-northeast of Stalingrad[29]
11	11	26 July 1942	12:27	Il-2[30]	Kalach[31]	38		9 September 1942	16:58	Il-2	20 km (12 mi) northeast of Stalingrad[29]
12	12	26 July 1942	12:34	Il-2[30]	Kalach[31]		36	10 September 1942	06:18	unknown[32]
13	13	26 July 1942	18:13	MiG-1[30]	Kalach[31]		37	10 September 1942	06:21	unknown[32]
14	14	28 July 1942	09:55	Il-2[30]	northwest of Kalach[31]	39		10 September 1942	11:18	MiG-1	Stalingrad[29]
15		9 August 1942	06:01	Su-2 (Seversky)	southeast of Kalach[33]	40	38	10 September 1942	17:10	MiG-1?[Note 1]	15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Stalingrad[29]
16		9 August 1942	06:03	LaGG-3	northwest of Stalingrad[33]	41	39	11 September 1942	05:55	Pe-2?[Note 1]	10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Katschalino[29]
17		9 August 1942	18:05	LaGG-3	southeast of Kalach[33]	42		11 September 1942	13:56	Il-2	western edge of Stalingrad[29]
18		11 August 1942	17:05	LaGG-3	southwest of Stalingrad[33]	43		12 September 1942	09:22	Il-2	20 km (12 mi) north of Stalingrad[29]
19		17 August 1942	09:35	LaGG-3	north of Pasow[33]		40	12 September 1942	14:10	unknown[32]
20		18 August 1942	17:20	LaGG-3	east of Akatow[33]	44		12 September 1942	15:56	Il-2	east of Stalingrad[29]
21		19 August 1942	11:35	LaGG-3?[Note 2]	south of Prudkij[33]	45		13 September 1942	13:11	Il-2	Olchowatka train station[29]
22		19 August 1942	11:44	LaGG-3?[Note 2]	north of Kaschinka[33]	46	41	13 September 1942	16:07	Il-2?[Note 1]	10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Stalingrad[29]
	15	19 August 1942	17:55	unknown[34]		47	42	13 September 1942	16:14	Il-2?[Note 1]	Stalingrad[29]
	16	19 August 1942	17:56	unknown[34]			43	14 September 1942	16:25	unknown[32]
23	17	21 August 1942	05:48	Pe-2?[Note 1]	northeast of Ssoldatskaja[35]	48		14 September 1942	16:27	Il-2	2 km (1.2 mi) southeast of Stalingrad[29]
24		23 August 1942	12:55	I-180 (Yak-7)	Akhtuba[35]		44	14 September 1942	16:28	unknown[32]
25	18	24 August 1942	11:55	LaGG-3?[Note 1]	Stalingrad[35]	49		14 September 1942	16:29	Il-2	central Stalingrad[29]
	19	24 August 1942	11:56	unknown[34]			45	15 September 1942	07:10	unknown[32]
	20	27 August 1942	05:25	unknown[34]			46	16 September 1942	08:10	Il-2[32]
26		27 August 1942	07:40	LaGG-3	northwest of Leninsk[35]		47	16 September 1942	08:11	Il-2[32]
27		28 August 1942	11:00	LaGG-3	north-northwest of Stalingrad[36]		48	16 September 1942	16:20	Il-2[32]
	21	29 August 1942	06:05	unknown[25]		50		15 September 1942	16:12?[Note 3]	Il-2	3 km (1.9 mi) west of Stalingrad[29]
28		31 August 1942	08:58	Yak-1	Finzuta[36]	51	49	18 September 1942	05:45	Il-2[32]	5 km (3.1 mi) northeast of Opotschka[38]
29		31 August 1942	09:05	Yak-1	southeast of Sarepta[36]		50	18 September 1942	05:55	Il-2[32]
	22	31 August 1942	10:45	unknown[25]			51	18 September 1942	06:03	Il-2[32]
	23	2 September 1942	06:38	unknown[25]		52		18 September 1942	17:00	Il-2	western edge of Stalingrad[38]
30		2 September 1942	09:45	Pe-2	3 km (1.9 mi) north of Karpatsch[36]		52	18 September 1942	05:55	MiG-1[39]
	24	2 September 1942	17:10	unknown[25]			53	20 September 1942	09:15	unknown[39]
31		3 September 1942	05:25	Il-2	east of Stalingrad[20]		54	23 September 1942	10:40	unknown[39]
	25	3 September 1942	05:26	unknown[25]		53		24 September 1942	12:49	Il-2	5 km (3.1 mi) north of Chalshuta[38]
	26	5 September 1942	06:07	unknown[25]			55	27 September 1942	16:05	unknown[39]
32	27	6 September 1942	17:03	LaGG-3?[Note 1]	30 km (19 mi) north-northwest of Stalingrad[20]		56	12 February 1943	—	unknown[40]
	28	7 September 1942	16:41	unknown[25]			57	28 February 1943	11:30	unknown[40]
	29	7 September 1942	16:42	unknown[25]			58	2 March 1943	10:37	unknown[40]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[9]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 21 September 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot^[41]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 2 October 1942 as Feldwebel and pilot in the III./Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet"^[10][42]

See also

• List of people who disappeared

Notes

1. According to the 1996 book by Prien and Stemmer claimed as an unknown aircraft type.^[23]
2. According to Mathews and Foreman claimed as a Lavochkin La-5.^[11]
3. According to Mathews and Foreman claimed at 16:13.^[37]