Wolf-Udo Ettel

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Wolf-Udo Ettel (26 February 1921 – 17 July 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and a top air ace of World War II. He is credited with about 124 aerial victories in over 250 missions and was killed in action near Lentini, Sicily, at age 22. He is buried at the Motta Sant'Anastasia war cemetery.

Early life
Ettel was born in Hamburg. His father worked for the Junkers aircraft company, so the family lived in Teheran and Colombia for periods. After his parents’ divorce, Ettel returned to Germany in 1934 and attended the Napola (Nationalpolitische Erziehungsanstalt) elite boarding schools, which trained young people for leadership in Nazi Germany.

Military career
Ettel volunteered for the Luftwaffe on 15 November 1939. After pilot training and fighter pilot schooling in Paris and Denmark, he joined 4./JG 3 “Udet” in II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3, based in Sicily during the Siege of Malta. He claimed his first victories in June 1942 and continued to shoot down enemy aircraft on the Eastern Front after his unit was moved there in the summer of 1942.

He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class and 1st Class in mid-1942 and later the German Cross in Gold in December 1942. Ettel reached 100 aerial victories on 28 April 1943 and was promoted to Oberleutnant, becoming the squadron leader of 8./JG 27 in III. Gruppe. The unit later moved from Greece to Italy.

In July 1943, Ettel’s group fought over Sicily. He claimed several aerial victories, including Spitfires and B-24 bombers. On 17 July 1943, Ettel was shot down by anti-aircraft fire near Lentini and killed when his plane crashed northeast of Lago di Lentini.

Awards and burial
Ettel was posthumously awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He is buried in an unmarked grave at the German military cemetery in Motta Sant'Anastasia.

What is known about his victories
Sources vary slightly on the exact number of his victories, but Ettel is generally listed with around 120–124 confirmed aerial victories across both the Eastern and Western Fronts. His claims include Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, Spitfires, and B-24 bombers. Victory claims were logged on a grid map used by the Luftwaffe.