Engfer was born on 27 April 1915 in Neuhof, present-day Będlino, in the Province of Pomerania within the German Empire.

[1] On 4 June 1941, Engfer was injured during a takeoff accident in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8247—factory number) at the airfield in Norrent-Fontes.

Gruppe supported Army Group South in its strategic goal towards the heavily populated and agricultural heartland of Ukraine, taking Kiev before continuing eastward over the steppes of southern USSR to the Volga with the aim of controlling the oil-rich Caucasus.

Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment.

The first elements of the Gruppe arrived by train in Mannheim on 8 December, the transfer was completed a week later.

[6] The Gruppe received a full complement of 41 Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft and on 6 January 1942 was ordered to relocated to Sicily.