Wilhelm Johnen

Wilhelm Johnen (9 October 1921 – 7 February 2002) was a German night fighter ace in the Luftwaffe during World War II.

Born in 1921 Johnen joined the Luftwaffe in 1939. In 1941 Johnen joined the German night fighter force (''Nachtjagd'') and participated in the Defence of the Reich campaign. He achieved his first success on 26 March 1942. Johnen became a night fighter ace on 25 June 1943 after achieving his fifth victory. In March 1944 he was appointed as ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) at the rank of ''Oberleutnant'' with his victory total at 18.

In April 1944 Johnen was briefly interned in Switzerland when he force-landed in the country. It caused an international incident but he was repatriated with his crew some days later. Wilhelm Johnen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 October 1944 for the destruction of 33 Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers. He ended the war with 34 aerial victories, all of these claims were made at night.

After the war Johnen studied engineering and began a construction business. He died in 2002. Provided by Wikipedia