(1918-06-13)13 June 1918 Pyrehne, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died
7 October 1944(1944-10-07) (aged 26) Paderborn, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany
Buried
Military cemetery at Stade
Allegiance
Nazi Germany
Service/branch
Luftwaffe
Years of service
1936–1944
Rank
Oberst (posthumous)
Unit
ZG 76, NJG 1, NJG 2, NJG 3
Commands held
IV./NJG 1, II./NJG 2, NJG 3
Battles/wars
See battles
World War II
Invasion of Poland
Battle of the Heligoland Bight (1939)
Battle of Denmark
Norwegian Campaign
Defence of the Reich (DOW)
Awards
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
Helmut Lent (13 June 1918 – 7 October 1944) was a German night-fighter ace in World War II. Lent shot down 110 aircraft, 102 of them at night.[1][Note 1] Born into a devoutly religious family, he showed an early passion for glider flying; against his father's wishes, he joined the Luftwaffe in 1936. After completing his training, he was assigned to the 1. Squadron, or Staffel, of Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76), a wing flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engine heavy fighter. Lent claimed his first aerial victories at the outset of World War II in the invasion of Poland and over the North Sea. During the invasion of Norway he flew ground support missions before he was transferred to the newly established Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1), a night-fighter wing.[2][3][Note 2]
Lent claimed his first nocturnal victory on 12 May 1941 and on 30 August 1941 was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 22 victories. His steady accumulation of aerial victories resulted in regular promotions and awards. On the night of 15 June 1944, Major Lent was the first night fighter pilot to claim 100 nocturnal aerial victories, a feat which earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds on 31 July 1944.[2][3]
On 5 October 1944, Lent flew a Junkers Ju 88 on a routine transit flight from Stade to Nordborchen, 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Paderborn. On the landing approach one of the engines cut out and the aircraft collided with power lines. All four members of the crew were fatally wounded. Three men died shortly after the crash and Lent succumbed to his injuries two days later on 7 October 1944.[2][3]
^Spick 1996, pp. 3–4.
^ abcFraschka 1994, pp. 185–189.
^ abcWilliamson 2006, pp. 31–41.
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HelmutLent (13 June 1918 – 7 October 1944) was a German night-fighter ace in World War II. Lent shot down 110 aircraft, 102 of them at night. Born into...
Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. Hinchliffe, Peter (2003). "The Lent Papers" HelmutLent. Bristol, UK: Cerberus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84145-105-3. Rall...
completed before V-E Day. Many Luftwaffe night fighter aces, such as HelmutLent (110 victories) and Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein (87 victories)...
Fighter Wing) as acting Gruppenkommandeur until he was replaced by Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert, substituting for Major Jürgen Harder who had been transferred....
scored his first kills over Poland, as did future night fighter ace HelmutLent. Gordon Gollob, future General der Jagdflieger. Falck's unit, I./ZG 76...
Kurt Ubben † Germany Luftwaffe 111 Killed in action on 27 April 1944. HelmutLent † Germany Luftwaffe 110 Night fighter ace Killed in flying accident...
Hauptmann Werner Schröer were also awarded the Oak Leaves, and Major HelmutLent received the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. Ehrler claimed...
this position until 1 August 1943 when he transferred command to Major HelmutLent. Schalk was then given the position of Jagdfliegerführer 2 (Chief of...
speech at the military funeral of Night fighter ace Lieutenant Colonel HelmutLent, winner of the Oak Leaves with Swords and Diamonds to the Knight's Cross...
Gladiator was shot down during the air battle by the future experte HelmutLent, while two were strafed and destroyed while refuelling and rearming at...
raise his recorded victories to 51–56, putting him level with the late Helmut Wick, who had been shot down and killed on 28 November. On 5 December, Galland...
By this time a number of fighter pilots from NJG 1 had joined NJG 2. HelmutLent (49 at the end of 1942) and Ludwig Becker (44), the former the second...
Helmut Lipfert (6 August 1916 – 10 August 1990) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Lipfert...
construction) Wilhelm and his wife Therese. Barkhorn had two brothers, Helmut and Dieter, and a sister Meta. The four children were all members of the...
the fighter pilot school at Stolp-Reitz. At Stolp-Reitz, he befriended Helmut Bennemann, also from Wanne-Eickel, and Heinrich Füllgrabe. On 25 April 1940...
2005) 1918 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (d. 1996) 1918 – HelmutLent, German soldier and pilot (d. 1944) 1918 – Percy Rodriguez, Canadian-American...
south-east of Witnica and 22 km (14 mi) south-west of Gorzów Wielkopolski. HelmutLent (1918–1944), German fighter ace "Central Statistical Office (GUS) - TERYT...
and made one final garbled transmission containing the word "burning". Helmut Lennartz recalled: "I remember Nowotny's crash very well. Feldwebel Gossler...
Eckardt was posted to 6. Staffel of NJG 1 commanded by Oberleutnant HelmutLent. Conversion training took place at Ingolstadt in south-western Germany...
Global Information
Nazi Germany
Luftwaffe