Helmut Lent: The Lent Papers

by Peter Hinchliffe

The life of this outstanding Luftwaffe personality and leading exponent of night fighter tactics, who was killed when his plane crashed in October 1944. Helmut Lent was one of the outstanding personalities of the Luftwaffe during the Second Wrold War and, until his death in a flying accident in October 1944, the leading exponent of the night fighter tactics. Lent was the son of a pastor in the Evangelical church, and his two brothers were also clerics. He was deeply religious man and believed that he enjoyed Christ's protection in his combats with enemy aircraft. Lent entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 as an officer cadet and trainee pilot. His first operational unit was a heavy-fighter Gruppe equipped with the Bf 110 Zerstorer (Destroyer), and it was with this aircraft that he shot down his first victim. He had further victories over the German Bight and during the Norwegian campaign. Fate intervened, however, before Lent saw further daytime action as his Staffel was transferred to the newly-formed Nachjagd, the night-fighter force set up to combat the growing number of RAF bombers paying nightly visits to Germany. At first Lent did not feel at home in the Nachjagd, and after a short period without having achieved success against the British night bombers he applied to be allowed too return to daylight operations, but was persuaded by his Commanding Officer, Major Wolfgang Falck, now looked upon as the 'Father of the Nachjagd', to defer his application for a short time. This 'breathtaking space' had its effect and on May 12th, 1941, Lent shot down his first two RAF bombers. Other successes followed rapidly so that Lent came to identify completely with this new form of air defence, becoming iths leading exponent and tactician. By January 1943 his score of victories by night had increased to 50, and by June 1944 to 100. Not only an outstanding night-fighter pilot but also an inspirational leader of men and example to his subordinates, Lent achieved high rank and was the recipient of many decorations. At the time of his death he was Kommodoore of NJG 3, held the rank of Oberstlutnant and wore the Brillanten (Diamonds) to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the first of only two night fighters ever to be awarded that high honour. At about mid-day on October 5th, 1944, Lent was flying a Ju 88 to Paderborn in order to visit his friend and comrade Hans-Joachim Jabs, Kommodore of he crashed while attemptimg to land on one engine. All four men on board were critically injured, and all subsquently died of their injuries. Lent was the last to perish, dying in hospital two days after the accident. On several occasions during his life Lent found himself in conflict with the Gestapo because of his family's religious beliefs.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2005

About the author

Peter Hinchliffe, OBE, flew as a navigator with RAF Bomber Command from 1944 to 1945. His interest in the German night-fighter force stems from November 1944, when he was shot down by a night fighter over Belgium during an operational sortie.

After a period as a schoolteacher postwar, Hinchliffe rejoined the RAF as a fighter controller, retiring from the RAF in 1966 and joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where his knowledge of German took him frequently to Germany.

Reviews

[Martin Koenigsberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helmut Lent was a German Luftwaffe Night fighter Wing commander and pilot in WWII, who died in a flying accident in late 1944. He shot down a lot of Allied aircraft (110), mostly at night. In this amply illustrated tome, Peter Hinchliffe has written a pretty total hagiography. The author seems to set great store by the Christian values spoken of by the Ace. Those for whom religion is no factor will find the constant reference to it really overwhelming, and at the same time of no relevance at all. Whilst the flier did use his "Nazi Good Name" to protect his pastor brother, there is little other evidence that this ruthless aircraft hunter was a "great man'. The author comes undone when, shortly before his death, Lent assails his Squadron commanders with an officious, martinet style letter/tirade, wondering where a hero went wrong. Perhaps in this case it was because the book's subject was just an ordinary officer. If you can get past the hero-worship, you have an interesting history of WWII Luftwaffe Night Fighter development and a look at the Night Air War over Germany. Military enthusiasts will love the plethora of pictures and other artifacts pictured, and Gamers/Modellers who focus on this stuff will find tonnes of ideas for Scenarios/Dioramas.

[Joe Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helmut Lent was the second-highest scoring Nachtjager (night-fighter) pilot in the Luftwaffe, ascending night after night to battle the RAF bomber stream wreaking havoc on Germany's cities.

But the battle in the skies was not the only hopeless struggle in which he was engaged. An evangelical Lutheran of the "confessing church", Lent found his government at odds with his faith. The duties of an interceptor pilot attempting to protect civilians remained clear, but the rift between faith and the Reich continues to grow - and was illustrated starkly at his state funeral, conducted (against his wishes) by Nazi protocol.

Much here to think about beyond the aerial warfare narrative itself (at which Hinchcliffe, as always, excels.)

Remarkably well illustrated and research, though unavoidably with less firsthand material than some of Hinchcliffe's other books, since Lent and his crew were killed and few eyewitnesses remained to be interviewed. Still an invaluable addition to Nachtjager literature.

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

As he did with Heinz Schnaufer, Peter Hinchliffe has once again written a very good biography of one of Germany's top night-fighting aces of World War II. This time he focuses on Helmut Lent, the second-highest scoring ace of the German Nachtjagd who probably would have been number one if he hadn't died in a flying accident.

Using personal recollections from family and comrades, as well as Lent's own combat journal, Hinchliffe has pieced together Lent's entire combat career from his early days flying Messerschmitt Bf 110s with ZG 76 over Poland and Norway to his final days flying Ju 88s as commander of NJG 3. Virtually all of his victories are recounted, many times with extra information on the plane(s) he shot down. The book is also loaded with pictures of Lent, his aircraft, comrades, and various personal moments.

The book could have used a bit better proofreading as there some typos here and there, but overall a very good book on one of Germany's truly outstanding aces.