Richard Leppla (9 June 1914 – 4 August 1988) was a German fighter ace in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. Leppla claimed 68 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Career
Leppla was born on 9 June 1914 in Matzenbach, joining the army as a cadet in 1934, he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935 and was an Oberleutnant with 3 Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st fighter wing) when the war started.
On 15 March 1940, Leppla was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 51, replacing Hauptmann Erich Gerlitz who was transferred. He claimed his first aerial victory on 10 May, a Dutch Fokker D.XXI. By July he had claimed five victories, and during the Battle of Britain.
On 10 November 1940, Leppla was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 51. He succeeded Hauptmann Walter Oesau who was transferred. In consequence, command of 3. Staffel was past on to Oberleutnant Heinrich Krafft.
On 26 May 1941, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from the English Channel and relocated to Düsseldorf Airfield for a brief period of rest and replenishment. On 15 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Halászi, at the time in the General Government.
Operation Barbarossa
On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 51 was subordinated to II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), which as part of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2). JG 51 area of operation during Operation Barbarossa was over the right flank of Army Group Center in the combat area of the 2nd Panzer Group as well as the 4th Army. That day, III. Gruppe intercepted a large formation of Soviet bombers, claiming 19 aerial victories and further destroying 23 aircraft on the ground, including three aerial victories by Leppla.
On 12 July, he was credited with claiming JG 51s 1,200 aerial victory. On 27 July 1941, Leppla was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 27 aerial victories claimed. He received this distinction the same day and fellow JG 51 pilot Oberleutnant Hans Kolbow was awarded a posthumous Knight's Cross.
His 40th victim fell 10 October 1941 and his 50th came on 9 February 1942. On 4 January 1942, Leppla was wounded in a takeoff accident at Yukhnov when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8185—factory number) collided with a Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft. On 2 August, Leppla was wounded in aerial combat resulting in a forced landing of his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8144) in a location 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) west of Teschertolino. His injuries were so severe that he was temporarily replaced by Oberleutnant Herbert Wehnelt before Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Schnell officially took command of the Gruppe on 24 September.
After a period of hospitalization in December 1942 Leppla was assigned to command Jagdfliegerschule 5 (later renamed JG 105), a position he held until August 1943.
In April 1945 Leppla was then appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 6. When the war ended, Leppla was interned by Soviet forces, remaining in captivity until 1950.
He then served in the West German Air Force, reaching the rank of Oberst before retiring from active service in 1972.
Leppla flew over 500 combat missions and claimed 68 victories (13 on the western front and the 55 on the Russian front).
Later life
Following World War II, Leppla reentered military service in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe. He retired in September 1972 holding the rank of Oberst (colonel) and died on 4 August 1988 at the age of 74 in Matzenbach, West Germany.
Summary of career
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Leppla was credited with 68 aerial victories. Spik also lists him with 68 aerial victories claimed in over 500 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 59 aerial victory claims, plus five further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes seven aerial victories on the Western Front and 52 on the Eastern Front.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 47581". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km2). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.
Awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
- German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Hauptmann in the III./Jagdgeschwader 51
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 July 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 51
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