# Wilhelm Batz
**Wilhelm Batz** (21 May 1916 – 11 September 1988), known as **Willi Batz**, was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace of the Second World War who flew 445 combat missions and was credited with 237 aerial victories, almost all of them on the Eastern Front with [Jagdgeschwader 52](https://www.edgepedia.org/jagdgeschwader-52) (JG 52).[1](https://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/batz.html) He was a late starter in combat: after roughly 5,000 flight hours as an instructor, he scored his first victory in March 1943, yet within two years he had risen to the sixth-highest scoring fighter pilot in history.[2](https://www.cyberaerobreton.fr/pilote/monographie/batz_w.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 21 May 1916, Bamberg; 11 September 1988, Mauschendorf/Ebern, Unterfranken[3](https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Wilhelm_Batz) |
| Victories | 237 credited in 445 combat missions; 234 on the Eastern Front, including at least 46 Il-2 Sturmoviks[1](https://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/batz.html) |
| First victory | 11 March 1943, an Il-2 Sturmovik over the Strait of Kerch[4](https://luftwaffeinprofile.se/Bf%20109%20G-6%20Batz.html) |
| Best day | 15 victories on 31 May 1944 in seven missions (claims 141–155), including six Il-2 with rear gunners[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) |
| Highest commands | Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 52 (from 9 May 1943), Kommandeur of III./JG 52 (from 19 April 1944), Kommandeur of II./JG 52 (from 1 February 1945)[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) |
| Awards | Ehrenpokal (14 Nov 1943); German Cross in Gold (28 Jan 1944); Knight's Cross (26 Mar 1944); Oak Leaves (20 Jul 1944); Swords (21 Apr 1945)[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) |
## Early career and the long road to the front
Batz joined the newly founded [Luftwaffe](https://www.edgepedia.org/luftwaffe) on 1 November 1935.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) After pilot training he became a flight instructor, although he wanted to be a fighter pilot; he was promoted to Leutnant on 1 November 1940.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) His repeated requests for transfer to a combat unit were rejected, and only after about 5,000 flight hours as an instructor did he move, on 1 November 1942, from the flight school at Kaufbeuren to the fighter school at Bad Aibling, and on 20 December 1942 to Ergänzungsgruppe Ost.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/)
He reached the Eastern Front on 1 February 1943 as adjutant of II./JG 52, at the age of 27.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) His start was slow: by August 1943 he had only eight victories, and after his transfer request to the ground-attack arm was turned down he served for a time as adjutant to Johannes Steinhoff.[6](https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm) His first victory came on 11 March 1943, an Il-2 Sturmovik shot down during a mission over the Strait of Kerch.[4](https://luftwaffeinprofile.se/Bf%20109%20G-6%20Batz.html)
## Combat career with JG 52
**Steady accumulation, 1943.** With only seven victories to his name, Batz became Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 52 on 9 May 1943.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) He reached his 50th victory on 16 November 1943 and his 75th by the end of the year; he was nominated for the Knight's Cross but received it only after his 101st victory.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) In November 1943 he was awarded the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (Honor Goblet), and on 28 January 1944 he received the German Cross in Gold.[6](https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm) • [5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/)
**Group command and the peak year, 1944.** When Batz took over III./JG 52 as Kommandeur on 19 April 1944, he had 125 victories.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) On 31 May 1944 he claimed 15 aircraft in seven missions, one of the most spectacular single-day series of the war, including six Il-2s with rear gunners.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) In June 1944, over Romania, he shot down two American P-51 fighters and one B-24.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) He reached 200 victories by 17 August 1944 and ended the year at 224.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) His 149 victories in a single year were exceeded only by Walter Nowotny (193), [Erich Hartmann](https://www.edgepedia.org/erich-hartmann) (158 and 177 in successive years), Hermann Graf (160), and Günther Rall (151).[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/)
**Final year, 1945.** From 1 February 1945 Batz commanded II./JG 52 in Hungary, was promoted to Major in April 1945, and flew his last missions in the southern sector of the Eastern Front from Austria.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) At war's end he flew his Gruppe out of Hungary back to Germany, so that its members escaped Soviet captivity.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/)
## Victory record and its assessment
The commonly cited total is 237 victories in 445 combat missions, of which 234 were on the Eastern Front, including at least 46 Il-2 Sturmoviks; the remaining three were Western Front claims, including one four-engine bomber against the [United States Army Air Forces](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-states-army-air-forces) over the Ploiești oil fields.[1](https://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/batz.html) The victory-claim database compiled from Luftwaffe records lists individual claims such as a B-24 over Romania in June 1944 and an Il-2 on 5 April 1945, his last recorded victory.[7](https://www.aircrewremembered.com/LuftwaffeVictoriesByNameDatabase/?q=batz)
Later archival research has qualified the total. Verification of Luftwaffe claims against Soviet loss records has become an active field: a 2022 Helion study compared the claims of the top eight JG 52 aces over Hungary in 1944–45 against records of every Soviet aircraft lost over Hungary, using the principle that a genuine shoot-down must correspond to a loss on the opposing side.[8](https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/verified-victories-top-jg-52-aces-over-hungary-1944-45-3.php)
## Awards
Batz received the [Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross](https://www.edgepedia.org/knights-cross-of-the-iron-cross) on 26 March 1944 as an Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 5./JG 52, the Oak Leaves on 20 July 1944 (the 526th award) as a Hauptmann commanding III./JG 52, and the Swords on 21 April 1945 (the 145th award) as a Major.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/) The JG 52 veterans' association notes that the Swords award could not be documented in the Bundesarchiv; confirmation rests on the General der Jagdflieger's office, Batz and his comrades, and the documentation assembled by Ernst Obermeier.[5](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/)
## Post-war service
After a posting to the Fliegerschule Landsberg in 1957/58, he commanded the Flying Group of Lufttransportgeschwader 63.[6](https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm)
## References
1. [Wilhelm "Willi" Batz, Luftwaffe Resource Center, Warbirds Resource Group](https://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/LRG/batz.html)
2. [Wilhelm Batz, monographie, Cyber Aéro Breton](https://www.cyberaerobreton.fr/pilote/monographie/batz_w.pdf)
3. [Wilhelm Batz, Military Wiki](https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Wilhelm_Batz)
4. [Wilhelm "Willi" Batz, Luftwaffe in Profile](https://luftwaffeinprofile.se/Bf%20109%20G-6%20Batz.html)
5. [Wilhelm Batz, Traditionsgemeinschaft Jagdgeschwader 52](https://www.jg52.net/ritterkreuztraeger/wilhelm-batz/)
6. [Batz, Wilhelm, Lexikon der Wehrmacht](https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BatzW-R.htm)
7. [Luftwaffe Victories By Pilot Name Database, Aircrew Remembered](https://www.aircrewremembered.com/LuftwaffeVictoriesByNameDatabase/?q=batz)
8. [Verified Victories: Top JG 52 Aces over Hungary 1944–45, Helion & Company](https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/verified-victories-top-jg-52-aces-over-hungary-1944-45-3.php)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Aviation › Military aviation › Air operations and military aviation history › Air warfare by conflict › WWII air war — Eastern Front*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
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