Reinhold Knacke (1 January 1919 – 3 February 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 44 aerial victories, plus one unconfirmed claim by day, achieved in approximately 160 combat missions making him one of the more successful night fighter pilots in the Luftwaffe. All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions against Royal Air Force Bomber Command.
Born in Strelitz, Knacke grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and was trained as a pilot. He served with Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing), flying a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter, at the start of World War II. He claimed his first aerial victory during the Battle of France which was not confirmed. In June 1940, the Luftwaffe created its first night fighter wing, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing), and Knacke transferred to this unit. There, he claimed his first nocturnal aerial victory on the night of 9 March 1940. Knacke was appointed squadron leader of 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of NJG 1 in April 1942. On 1 July 1942, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after his 23rd aerial victory. At the end of 1942, Knacke was one of the leading night fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe.
On 2/3 February 1943, he shot down a H2S airborne ground scanning radar-equipped bomber, the first such radar system to be recovered and analyzed by German technicians. Later that night, he was killed in action following combat with another RAF bomber. Posthumously, Knacke was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 5 February 1943.
Early life and career
Knacke was born on 1 January 1919 in Strelitz, now Strelitz-Alt, a borough of Neustrelitz, at the time in the Free State of Mecklenburg-Strelitz of the Weimar Republic. He was the son of an employee of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. Knacke volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 1 November 1937 and was trained as a pilot. On 1 September 1939, he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) and was posted to I. Gruppe (1st Group) of Zerstörergeschwader 1 (ZG 1—1st Destroyer Wing).
World War II
World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 with the German Invasion of Poland. In February 1940, I./ZG 1 was placed under the command of Hauptmann (Captain) Wolfgang Falck. With the start of the Norwegian Campaign in April 1940, I./ZG 1 was moved to Aalborg airfield. There, the airfield came under night attacks by Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command, leading Falck to conduct his first experiments of nocturnal aerial combat. During the Battle of France, Knacke claimed an unconfirmed aerial victory on 10 May 1940 over a Bristol Blenheim bomber in the vicinity of Waalhaven. Flying numerous combat missions during this campaign, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class (), which was presented to him on 15 July 1940 and was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 October 1940.
Night fighter career
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier-General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector, named a Himmelbett (canopy bed), would direct the night fighter into visual range of a bomber. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.
Following the Battle of France, Falck was ordered to establish the first Luftwaffe night fighter wing, Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing). His former unit, I./ZG 1 formed the nucleus of I. Gruppe of NJG 1 which was placed under the command of Oberleutnant Werner Streib. Now flying in the 2. Staffel of NJG 1, sources vary with respect to when Knacke claimed his first nocturnal aerial victory. According to Foreman, Parry and Mathews, he claimed a Vickers Wellington bomber shot down on 9 March 1941. According to Obermaier and Stockert, Knacke was credited with his first aerial victory on the night of 2/3 May 1941. He received the German Cross in Gold () on 14 April 1942, after his 18th claim.