Lent

Oberstleutnant

NJG 2

Air Victories

110 Kills

Oberstleutnant Helmut Lent

On 18 December 1939, the German naval radar station on Heligoland and the Luftwaffe Freya installation on the island of Wangerooge detected a large formation of hostile aircraft approaching at a range of 113 kilometres. Lt Hermann Diehi, in charge of the Freya, immediately advised the Luftwaffe fighter Gruppen co-ordination centre, but at this stage of the war communications were poor, and Diehi was always being
questioned as to whether or not his 'new-fangled' gadgets had picked up a genuine sighting or just a formation of seagulls. Consequently there was a 20-minute delay before Bf 110s and Bf 109s from Jever and Wangerooge were scrambled.
Among the crews of the Bf 110s of 1/ZG 76 was Ltn Helmut Lent, who on the opening day of the Polish campaign had destroyed several bombers on the ground and on the second day a PZL 1 lc in the air. He now sat patiently in the cockpit of his Bf 110 with his radio operator, Unteroffizier Kubisch, and armourer Oberfeldwebel Mahle, struggling to complete the
loading of a drum of 20 mm ammunition. The armourer had just secured the clips and was sliding off the wing when the order to take off came. Lent gunned the Bf 110 into action, but even as he took to the air the RAF Wellingtons that Diehi had reported could be seen as they headed for Wilhelmshaven; the warning gained by the radar had already been forfeited.
As it turned out, it was not of great importance since the British
bombers were no match for the Bf 109s and 110s. Lent saw the main point of the fighters' attack taking place north of Wangerooge, but as he turned to join the melee he spotted a pair of Wellingtons creeping off to the west. Lent knew that the bombers were equipped with a rear turret armed with four Browning rifle calibre machine-guns, and he also knew that the cross-fire from two bombers could be dangerous. So, taking his time, he moved his aircraft into a spot above and to the beam of the bombers which could not be reached by their gunners. Choosing his moment, he dived on to the Wellingtons and was surprised when after just a short burst from his guns, the rear aircraft burst into flames; the pilot managed to gain some sort of control and crash-landed on the island of Borkum. Meanwhile, Lent set off after the other aircraft and caught up with it as it wave-hopped in a frantic bid to reach safety. Once again, a burst from the Bf 110 was enough to set the Wellington's fuel tanks (which were not self-sealing) on fire, and the aircraft plunged into the sea, breaking up as it hit the water. Overjoyed at his success, Lent headed home, but on the way encountered another damaged Wellington and administered the coup de grace.

This costly lesson for the RAF taught it that daylight bombing was not possible even with the theoretical protection of combined fire-power, and the seeds were laid for the future night offensive. In Germany it strengthened Goering's view that bombers would not fly over the Reich, and among the fighter pilots there was a firmly held belief that the war would not last long. However, Ernst Udet had pre-warned Goering that he should have a night fighter force just in case, and on his insistence a handful of Arado 68s and Bf 109s had been co-operating with searchlight units in a token gesture. The action on 18 December involved several day fighter pilots including Johannes Steinhof, Werner Streib, Victor Moelders (brother of Werner) and Lent, who were all to become night fighter aces, despite their reluctance in 1940-41 to join the embryo night fighter force.
Lent achieved ace status during the Norwegian campaign when he shot down the Norwegian air force Gladiator of Sgt Per Schye. Soon after this, he and Kubisch had a narrow escape when they tore the undercarriage off their Bf 110 as they landed at Oslo-Fornebu whilst it was still being stoutly defended by Norwegian ground forces. Lent was greatly disappointed when he was posted to command the 6th Staffel of 11/NJG 1, and initially could not come to terms with the different technique of night fighting, wherein patience and the ability to stalk the foe until in a position of advantage were greatly different to the cut-and-thrust of the dogfight.
Eventually, after two dozen sorties without success, he sought an interview with Major Falck, the Kommodore of NJG 1, and requested a return to day fighters, his reason being that he could not see at night! Falck rejected the request and in so doing sealed the fate of 102 bomber crews.
lent strived for success and finally, on the night of 11-12 May 1941, on his 35th sortie, he finally brought down two Wellingtons.Success now followed success, and by the end of the year 18 more bombers, including his first two four-engined types, both Stirlings, had become his victims. Throughout 1942, now proudly wearing a Ritterkreuz to which the Oak Leaves were added in June, he roamed the night skies steadily adding to his total; a Halifax on 18 January 1943 brought him the honour of being the first night fighter pilot to score 50 victories. His next aim was to be the first to the magic century, and by July 1943 he had scored 65 among which was his first Mosquito. The following month he added the Swords to his decorations, and was promoted to the command of NJG 3.
His century was reached on the night of 15-16 June 1944 when three Lancasters were brought down, and by the end of July he became the first night fighter ace to reach 100 night victories. This brought the award of the Diamonds, making him the first night fighter pilot to be so recognized.
Oberstleutnant Lent has been credited with the invention of the infamous vertically firing cannons (Schriige Musik) that were fitted to many German night fighters and created havoc among British bombers, but this weapon was the work of Paul Mahle, an armourer who, in 1939, had been unceremoniously dumped off the wing of Lent's Bf 110 as he hurried to take off in pursuit of the Wellingtons, so there is a tenuous connection between the two men! On 5 October 1944, Lent was landing his Bf 110 at paderborn when an engine cut out and, in trying to regain height on only one, he hit a power cable. The ace with 110 kills to his name survived the crash, which killed his crew, but two days later he succumbed to his injuries. Thus died a reluctant night fighter pilot who ended up with the second highest score in that arena.