World War II Josef Zwernemann (26 March 1916 – 8 April 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II and a fighter ace credited with 126 enemy aircraft shot down in over 600 combat missions.

Born in Kirchworbis, Zwernemann volunteered for military service in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany in 1935 and transferred to the Luftwaffe a year later.

In July 1941, he fought in the Battle of Crete and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Staffel (1st squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) which was based in Germany and fighting in Defense of the Reich.

Zwernemann claimed nine more victories before he was killed in action in combat with a North American P-51 Mustangs on 8 April 1944.

Zwernemann joined the military service of the Kriegsmarine on 1 October 1935 with the 2nd department of the standing ship division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund.

[2] World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

On 6 April, the Gruppe was moved to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield where it was placed under the control of the Stab (headquarter unit) of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53–53rd Fighter Wing).

Gruppe supported the German attack of Army Group A in northern France, Luxembourg and the area of the Ardennes in southern Belgium.

[6] In preparation for the Battle of Britain, the Gruppe began moving to the English Channel on 20 July, arriving at an airfield near Coquelles located southwest of Calais two days later.

The action on 24 July also resulted in the loss of Gruppenkommandeur Houwald who was temporarily succeeded by Hauptmann Wilhelm Ensslen.

Gruppe was already withdrawn from the English Channel and moved to an airfield at Zerbst for a period of replenishment.

Gruppe was sent to Greece where it was subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and fought in the Battle of Crete.

On 21 June, the Gruppe was ordered to Mizil in preparation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

Its primary objective was to provide fighter protection for the oil fields and refineries at Ploiești.

Four days later, Zwernemann claimed his second aerial victory when he shot down a Soviet Ilyushin DB-3 bomber near Constanța.

[15] Following two aerial victories claimed over DB-3 bombers on 8 July northeast of Mamaia,[16] he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1.

[22] The authors Bergström, Dikov, Antipov, and Sundin indicate that Zwernemann achieved his 100th aerial victory on 31 October.

[30] There, he initially served as acting Staffelführer (squadron leader), representing Hauptmann (Captain) Siegfried Simsch, before officially being appointed Staffelkapitän of 1.

That day, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) targeted Braunschweig with 169 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers from the 3rd Bombardment Division.

The primary objective were the Luther-Werke, a mechanical engineering company, and the repair facilities at Waggum.

[35] On 8 April 1944, the Eighth Air Force again targeted Braunschweig as well as various Luftwaffe airfields in northwestern Germany and the Netherlands.

[37] This figure includes a B-24 bomber and a P-51 fighter claimed shot down by Zwernemann taking his total to 126 aerial victories.

[38] Following this encounter, the USAAF reported the loss of 36 four-engine bombers and 25 escort fighters and claimed at least 158 Luftwaffe aircraft shot down plus further 55 destroyed on the ground.

[37] Among those pilots killed in action was Zwernemann who was shot down in his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-7/R6 (Werknummer 431164—factory number) near Gardelegen, Altmark.