Major Wilhelm Lessmann Stab JG 52

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Hello,

I just studied the career of this German ace and found that in the JFV 6 book by Prien and co, four claims are listed between 5 October and 30 November 1941, being shown as the kills 2 to 5 for the pilot and 7 to 10 for the unit (Stab JG 52).

Then in JFV 9/I, the next kill by this pilot is the 11th of Stab JG 52 (so coherent), but shown as his 12th personnal.

AFAIK he didn't score between the two dates, so I guess that sometiems between the release of these two books, more has been learned.

Anothe hypothesis will be that Lessmann was supposed to have score 24 victories by the time of his death on 2 June 1942, and "reverse counting" was used to number his 13 victories (all known) between 2 March 1942 and his death.

So I guess his four victories between 5 October and 30 November 1941 shoudl also be renumbered 8 to 11.

As for his former victories, one is known for sure on 20 September 1939. I found also that he possibly claimed another on 8 September 1939 (a Potez) and may have scored more with a ZG unit, but may also be confused with another Luftwaffe officer called Karl-Heinz Lessman.

Any comment of a member of Prien's team (to explain the numbering of 1942 kills) or of the EOE team (to give more data about Lessmann in 1939-1940) will be appreciated ?

Thanks in advance

Laurent