Defending Arnhem © 2006

		Name	Günther Specht			i	i
		Rank	Major	Units	ZG 76, JG 1, JG 11
		Awards	i	i		i	i
				Ehrenpokal*		23 Aug 1943	i
				Deutsches Kreuz in Gold		25 Nov 1942	i
				Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes		8 Apr 1944	i
			i	i		i	i
			* Note: The Ehrenpokal (Silver Honor Goblet) was awarded to Luftwaffe Pilots for distinguished achievements in the air war.
		Victories	34	Combat Missions	?	Pilot status	MIA (01.01.45)
Combat Victories and details during Operation ‘Market Garden'
Victory No	Date	Time	Aircraft Type	Unit	Location of Kill	Comments
32.	26.9.1944	14:04	Typhoon	JG 11	Deventer
33.	26.9.1944	14:04	Typhoon	JG 11	Deventer

Günther Specht started the war flying Bf 110 twin-engined fighters with ZG 76. His first two victories came quick when he shot down two Hampden twin-engine bombers on the 29th September 1939. His third victory came 3 months later when he shot down a RAF Wellington twin-engine bomber over the North Sea. As the RAF bomber went down it returned fire hitting the cockpit of the Bf 110 seriously wounding Specht and causing him to ditch in the sea. Günther Specht lost the sight of his left eye from this combat. However the permanent injury was not going to stop Specht who was back in the cockpit shortly after. On the 23rd May 1940 he engaged and shot down 3 Spitfires over the coast of France. Once again his aircraft was so badly shot up that he was forced to crash land near Calais. As a result, Specht received serious injuries that would keep him from flying for over 2 years.

Hptm. Günther Specht climbing out of his Bf 109G in 1943

At the end of 1942 Günther Specht returned to a combat role with JG 1. He achieved his sole victory of that year, a USAAF B-17, with this unit before taking up the position of Gruppenkommandeur II./JG 11 in May 1943. Despite being blind in one eye, Hauptmann Specht by the end of that year had 24 victories which included 14 four-engine bombers. Specht was awarded the Knight's Cross on the 8th May 1944 for 31 victories and given command of JG 11 the following week. In July 1944 Specht was once again forced to crash land after technical trouble where he received further head injuries. Regardless of this he remained on combat duties.

During Operation ‘Market Garden', Specht's Unit shot down 22 enemy aircraft. Major Specht achieved two of those victories shooting down RAF Typhoons around Deventer (less the 50km from Arnhem) on the 26th September 1944.

Maj. Specht reviewing his victories in 1944. He went on to score 34 confirmed victories during WWII.

On the 1 st January 1945, Specht and JG 11 were involved in Operation ‘Bodenplatte'. The operation was intended to destroy the Allied air force on the ground giving the German Luftwaffe supremacy in the sky once more. Unfortunately the operation was a failure and many German pilots were either killed or listed as missing.

One of these pilots listed as missing was Major Günther Specht, flying Fw 190 A-9 (W.Nr 205 033) “Black 4”, who was most likely a victim of flak over Asch in Belgium. He was posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant and recommended for the Eichenlaub. During his career Günther Specht scored a total of 34 victories which included 15 four-engine bombers.

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