Maximowitz
Tech Sergeant
Ok Wayne, (and anybody else who might be interested) here's what I have on the enigmatic Oblt. Wilhelm Beier:
Oblt. Wilhelm Beier.
3./NJG2, 7./NJG2, 9./NJG2, 8./NJG2, 10./NJG1, 3./NJG1.
38 Claims. Survived the war.
Born November 11th 1913 at Homberg in Niederrheim. At the age of twenty-seven he made his first claim for an aircraft destroyed, when on December 18th 1940, he reported the destruction of a Hurricane near Lowestoft at 06:30 hours. In the following six months he made five more claims and on July 6th 1941, he claimed four bombers destroyed. These were a Wellington, a Blenheim and two Whitleys, all of which were said to have fallen into the North Sea. On August 8th 1941, he claimed to have destroyed three more bombers: a Blenheim, a Halifax and a Wellington.
Unlike his fellow pilots, Beier seemed not to venture over the British coast, preferring to stay over the North Sea. Nevertheless, he had some close calls. On one occasion, the right main-wheel tyre of his Ju88 burst when he was taking off and caused the undercarriage to collapse. The aircraft slid to a halt in front of the control tower at Gilze-Rijen and all three crew were able to escape unhurt.
Beier's reputation as a night fighter pilot was rapidly established and with a total of fourteen claims, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz on October 11th 1941.
Source: "Intruders Over Britain" by Simon W Parry.
However, a far more critical Dr Theo Boiten writes in his book "The Nachtjagd War Diaries Volume I" :
Lt. Wilhelm Beier of 10./NJG1, flying Ju88 C-6 R4+DX from Leeuwarden claimed four bombers destroyed over the North Sea to the West of The Hague on the night of 15-16th October 1942, which lifted his personal tally to 36 kills. It must be noted that Beier's claims for this night are subject to controversy. Althought the first three Abschusse are mentioned in the Wochenlagebericht der Wermachtbefehlshaber in den Niederland (Weekly Situation Review of the German Armed Forces Commander in The Netherlands), these have not been identified in post war research, as they do not coincide with British losses. Beier only added two more Abschusse to his impressive tally of victory claims before he was transferred to a training unit during the second half of 1943. Regretably, it must be concluded that the majority of Wilhelm Beier's 38 night time victory claims in WWII remain unidentified; only some ten of his claims can be matched against RAF losses, and even of those ten, only a small handful with certainty. The author has no explanation why the powers that be credited Beier with such a row of victories and decorated him with the Ritterkreuz whereas meticulous post war research has clearly proved that the majority of his claims simply cannot have taken place. It may be that Beier, a 27 year old aircraft engineer (and, later on in the war "Mosquito Killer" Kurt Welter) have been used as national propaganda figures with their highly inflated claim tallies.
So all in all Wayne, a very interesting subject for your model! I hope that helps.
Oblt. Wilhelm Beier.
3./NJG2, 7./NJG2, 9./NJG2, 8./NJG2, 10./NJG1, 3./NJG1.
38 Claims. Survived the war.
Born November 11th 1913 at Homberg in Niederrheim. At the age of twenty-seven he made his first claim for an aircraft destroyed, when on December 18th 1940, he reported the destruction of a Hurricane near Lowestoft at 06:30 hours. In the following six months he made five more claims and on July 6th 1941, he claimed four bombers destroyed. These were a Wellington, a Blenheim and two Whitleys, all of which were said to have fallen into the North Sea. On August 8th 1941, he claimed to have destroyed three more bombers: a Blenheim, a Halifax and a Wellington.
Unlike his fellow pilots, Beier seemed not to venture over the British coast, preferring to stay over the North Sea. Nevertheless, he had some close calls. On one occasion, the right main-wheel tyre of his Ju88 burst when he was taking off and caused the undercarriage to collapse. The aircraft slid to a halt in front of the control tower at Gilze-Rijen and all three crew were able to escape unhurt.
Beier's reputation as a night fighter pilot was rapidly established and with a total of fourteen claims, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz on October 11th 1941.
Source: "Intruders Over Britain" by Simon W Parry.
However, a far more critical Dr Theo Boiten writes in his book "The Nachtjagd War Diaries Volume I" :
Lt. Wilhelm Beier of 10./NJG1, flying Ju88 C-6 R4+DX from Leeuwarden claimed four bombers destroyed over the North Sea to the West of The Hague on the night of 15-16th October 1942, which lifted his personal tally to 36 kills. It must be noted that Beier's claims for this night are subject to controversy. Althought the first three Abschusse are mentioned in the Wochenlagebericht der Wermachtbefehlshaber in den Niederland (Weekly Situation Review of the German Armed Forces Commander in The Netherlands), these have not been identified in post war research, as they do not coincide with British losses. Beier only added two more Abschusse to his impressive tally of victory claims before he was transferred to a training unit during the second half of 1943. Regretably, it must be concluded that the majority of Wilhelm Beier's 38 night time victory claims in WWII remain unidentified; only some ten of his claims can be matched against RAF losses, and even of those ten, only a small handful with certainty. The author has no explanation why the powers that be credited Beier with such a row of victories and decorated him with the Ritterkreuz whereas meticulous post war research has clearly proved that the majority of his claims simply cannot have taken place. It may be that Beier, a 27 year old aircraft engineer (and, later on in the war "Mosquito Killer" Kurt Welter) have been used as national propaganda figures with their highly inflated claim tallies.
So all in all Wayne, a very interesting subject for your model! I hope that helps.
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