Wilhelm Dipberger

Wilhelm Dipberger
File:Wilhelm Dipberger.jpg
Born	30 May 1918 Ziegelhausen, district of Heidelberg
Died	Heidelberg
Allegiance	Nazi Germany (to 1945) West Germany
Service/branch	Kriegsmarine Luftwaffe
Years of service	1936 – 1945, 1956
Rank	Oberfeldwebel
Unit	LG 1, KG 6
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Wilhelm "Willi" Dipberger (30 May 1918 – 10 September 2005) was a German Luftwaffe observer and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Dipberger was a member of the Hermann Hogeback bomber crew. Hogeback's crew earned the distinction of being the only crew to have all members awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross by the end of the war, and Dipberger was the last of his crew (aside from Hogeback himself) to be awarded after Oberfeldwebel Günter Glasner on 31 December 1943 and similarly ranked Willy Lehnert on 5 April 1944.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (4 May 1940)
  • 1st Class (29 September 1940)
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber Airmen
  • in Silver (17 May 1941)
  • in Gold with Pennant 300 (26 February 1943)
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (20 July 1942)
• Crimea Shield
• Cuff title "Afrika" (26 May 1943)
• German Cross in Gold on 17 November 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the III./Kampfgeschwader 6
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 January 1945 as Fahnenjunker-Oberfeldwebel and observer in the Stab/Kampfgeschwader 6

References

Bibliography

• Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9.