Peter Werfft
Encyclopedia
Dr. Peter Werfft-Wessely (Wien, October 8, 1904 – July 23, 1970), an Austrian chemist, was a Luftwaffe
fighter ace
in World War II
, and a chemical industry entrepreneur after the war. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
; the two air victories which he scored against RAF Hurricane
fighters on 27 September 1940 http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories/doc/victories-germany-ww2-battle.of.britain.pdf probably his first ones.
Werrft served with JG 27 in North Africa during 1941-42, claiming 5 kills over the Desert Air Force
. Werfft was commissioned as a Leutnant (Lieutenant) in late 1942. Service over Greece and the Balkans followed in 1943, and a P-38 and three USAAF heavy bombers were claimed during the year.
Claimed 11 more heavies in 1944, and he was a Hauptmann (Captain) by October 1944. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz
on 28 January 1945.
At the end of World War II he was a Major and gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 27, flying a Me 109 G-6
plane ("Yellow One") with the green fuselage band signifying dedication to Reich strategic airspace defence, and had a total of 26 air kills.
On 3 May 1945 he disbanded his III./JG 27 in the Austrian Alps near Saalbach, together with the acting unit commander Hpt. Emil Clade
, eventually became a U.S. prisoner of war.
products. By 1961 the company had been restructured into a successor company, Werfft-Chemie GmbH. In the years following the founder's death in 1970 Werfft-Chemie continued, initially as a family-run business, but met with increasing economical difficulties. It was taken over by the Austrian Sanochemia Pharmazeutika Group in 1983, and was subsequently converted to a purely veterinary medicine company. The legacy of Werfft-Chemie survives under the name Alvetra u. Werfft AG, a Sanochemia company with subsidiaries in several central and eastern European countries.
but born in Scheibbs
, a town in Lower Austria
. Immediately before that, her former marriage to a prince from the Windisch-Graetz
line of Austrian nobility
, with whom she had two children, had been annulled.
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
fighter ace
Fighter Ace
Fighter Ace was a massively multiplayer online computer game in which one flies World War II fighter and bomber planes in combat against other players and virtual pilots...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and a chemical industry entrepreneur after the war. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
Luftwaffe Ace in World War II
As a Gefreiter flying with I/JG 27 Werfft participated in the Battle of BritainBattle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
; the two air victories which he scored against RAF Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
fighters on 27 September 1940 http://aces.safarikovi.org/victories/doc/victories-germany-ww2-battle.of.britain.pdf probably his first ones.
Werrft served with JG 27 in North Africa during 1941-42, claiming 5 kills over the Desert Air Force
Desert Air Force
The Desert Air Force , also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, AHQ Western Desert, the Western Desert Air Force, Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force , was an Allied tactical air force initially created from No...
. Werfft was commissioned as a Leutnant (Lieutenant) in late 1942. Service over Greece and the Balkans followed in 1943, and a P-38 and three USAAF heavy bombers were claimed during the year.
Claimed 11 more heavies in 1944, and he was a Hauptmann (Captain) by October 1944. He was awarded the Ritterkreuz
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
on 28 January 1945.
At the end of World War II he was a Major and gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 27, flying a Me 109 G-6
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
plane ("Yellow One") with the green fuselage band signifying dedication to Reich strategic airspace defence, and had a total of 26 air kills.
On 3 May 1945 he disbanded his III./JG 27 in the Austrian Alps near Saalbach, together with the acting unit commander Hpt. Emil Clade
Emil Clade
Emil Josef Clade was a Luftwaffe fighter ace in World War II, and figured in German civilian aviation after the war...
, eventually became a U.S. prisoner of war.
Pharmaceutical Entrepreneur
Returning to Austria after his release from captivity, Werfft established InterChemie GmbH, a Vienna-based pharmaceutical and chemical limited liability enterprise, in 1948. Among the first commercial activities of the fledgling trading company in this difficult post-war period was the Austrian sales representation for certain American CyanamidAmerican Cyanamid
American Cyanamid was a large, diversified, American chemical manufacturer, founded by Frank Washburn in 1907. It was the only United States firm manufacturing the polio vaccine of the Sabin type....
products. By 1961 the company had been restructured into a successor company, Werfft-Chemie GmbH. In the years following the founder's death in 1970 Werfft-Chemie continued, initially as a family-run business, but met with increasing economical difficulties. It was taken over by the Austrian Sanochemia Pharmazeutika Group in 1983, and was subsequently converted to a purely veterinary medicine company. The legacy of Werfft-Chemie survives under the name Alvetra u. Werfft AG, a Sanochemia company with subsidiaries in several central and eastern European countries.
Private life
In 1940, Peter Werfft married Helen(a) or Ellen Skinner (1906–1982), daughter of Henry Skinner and wife Mary Obermuller, of British nobilityBritish nobility
-General History of British Nobility:The nobility of the four constituent home nations of the United Kingdom has played a major role in shaping the history of the country, although in the present day even hereditary peers have no special rights, privileges or responsibilities, except for residual...
but born in Scheibbs
Scheibbs
Scheibbs is a town in Austria. It is in the Scheibbs district of Lower Austria.Scheibbs is the birthplace of West Bromwich Albion football player Paul Scharner....
, a town in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
. Immediately before that, her former marriage to a prince from the Windisch-Graetz
Windisch-Graetz
The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windisch-Grätz, was a princely family in the Austrian Empire, serving the Habsburg dynasty.The name derives from the town of Windischgrätz in the Duchy of Styria, which is today Slovenj Gradec in the Carinthia region of Slovenia...
line of Austrian nobility
Austrian nobility
Historically, the Austrian nobility was a privileged social class in Austria. The nobility was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Former noble families and their descendants are still a part of Austrian society today, but they no longer retain any specific...
, with whom she had two children, had been annulled.
Awards
- Ehrenpokal der LuftwaffeEhrenpokal der LuftwaffeThe Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe was a Luftwaffe award established on February 27, 1940 by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Reich Minister of Aviation and Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was officially known as the Ehrenpokal "für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg", or Honor Goblet "For...
(15 July 1944) - German CrossGerman CrossThe German Cross was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 17 November 1941 as an award ranking higher than the Iron Cross First Class but below the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross respectively ranking higher than the War Merit Cross First Class with Swords but below the Knight's Cross of the War Merit...
in Gold (23 July 1944) - Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939) 2nd and 1st class - Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
(28 January 1945)