Hauptmann
Ludwig “Luk” Meister was born on 14 December 1919
at Rohrmühle near Erbendorf in Bavaria. He joined the Luftwaffe in October
1939 and learnt to fly at 4./Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 51 at Weimar/Nowra
before transferring to the A/B Schule at Dresden/Klotzsche in November.
Further training at Flugzeugführerschule C9 at Altenburg followed from
30 June 1940. On 21 February 1941, he arrived at Blindflugschule 1 at Brandis
and, finally, Zerstörerschule at Neubiberg where he received his operational
training on the Bf 110 twin-engined fighter. In mid-June 1941, Meister
was posted to NJG 1 and was assigned to the Ergänzungsgruppe to gain an
appreciation of Nachtjagd tactics. In September 1941, he was transferred
to II./NJG 1 operating from Stade near Hamburg. On the night of 30 November
- 1 December, Meister claimed his first victories shooting down three RAF
bombers attacking Hamburg. However, only two victories are confirmed. In
February 1942, II./NJG 1 relocated to St Trond in Belgium. Here, between
11 and 13 February, Meister participated in Operation Donnerkeil: the aerial
protection of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the battlecruiser
Prinz Eugen on their dash through the English Channel to Norway. In May
1942, Meister was transferred to III./NJG 4 based at Mainz/Finthen. He
was assigned to 8./NJG 4. On the night of 28-29 August 1942, Meister claimed
three victories: a RAF Wellington twin-engined bomber over Eich; a RAF
Stirling four-engined bomber over Airlenbach; another Wellington bomber
over Simmern. Leutnant Meister transferred to I./NJG 4 based at Laon/Athies
in France in October 1942 to take up the post of Adjutant to Hauptman Wilhelm
Herget (71 victories, EL), the newly appointed Gruppenkommandeur. By the
end of 1942, Meister’s score stood at eight. In early 1943, I./NJG 4 was
based at Florennes in Belgium. He claimed his 10th victory, a RAF Halifax
four-engined bomber over the Ardennes, on 17 April 1943. In July 1943,
Oberleutnant Meister was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1./NJG 4. On 3 November
1943, he shot down his 20th victim, a Halifax bomber near Cologne. By the
end of 1943 he was been credited with 21 victories. He was promoted Hauptmann
on 1 January 1944. On 2 January 1944, Meister shot down four RAF Lancaster
four-engined bombers. Meister claimed his only day victory on 7 January
1944 when he shot down an American B-17 four-engined
bomber. On 24 March 1944, Meister was returning to his base in Belgium
in his Bf 110 G-4 (W.Nr. 720 078) “3C+TJ” after landing at Hildesheim the
night before. Near Namur he was intercepted by an American P-47
fighter and his aircraft was badly damaged in the attack. He managed
to crash-land the aircraft near Naninne. He was hospitalised as a result
of the injuries received and did not return to his unit until August 1944.
He was awarded the Ritterkreuz for 37 victories on 9 June. On 6 December
1944, Meister was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./NJG 4. He claimed
his 39th and last victory of the war on the night of 7-8 March 1945.
Ludwig Meister is credited with 39 victories. 38
of his victories were scored at night.
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30.11.1941
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Whitley | II./NJG 1 | Near Hamburg | |
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30.11.1941
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Halifax | II./NJG 1 | Near Hamburg | |
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30.11.1941
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E/a | II./NJG 1 | not confirmed | |
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28./29.8.1942
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Wellington | III./NJG 4 | Eich | |
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28./29.8.1942
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Stirling | III./NJG 4 | Airlenbach | |
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28./29.8.1942
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Wellington | III./NJG 4 | Simmern | |
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25.10.1942
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Wellington | I./NJG 4 | Jenlain | Wellington of 75 Sqn RAF |
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22.11.1942
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Lancaster | I./NJG 4 | Turinnes-la-Grosse | Lancaster of 57 Sqn RAF |
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3./4.12.1942
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Halifax | I./NJG 4 | Couvron-et-Aumencourt | |
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21.12.1942
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Stirling | I./NJG 4 | English Channel | |
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9.3.1943
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Halifax | I./NJG 4 | Near Le Cateau | Possibly Halifax (W7851) “TL-Y” of 35 Sqn RAF |
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17.4.1943
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Halifax | I./NJG 4 | St Hubert-Nassogne | Possibly Halifax of 408 Sqn RAF |
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30.5.1943
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Stirling | I./NJG 4 | Proville | Stirling (EF349) “WP-Y” of 90 Sqn RAF |
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26.6.1943
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Stirling | I./NJG 4 | 45km Arnhem | Stirling of 214 Sqn RAF |
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4.7.1943
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Halifax | I./NJG 4 | Near Rance | Halifax (JD262) “MH-E” of 51 Sqn, RAF flown by Sgt J Garnham |
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14.7.1943
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Halifax | I./NJG 4 | Wattignies-la-Victoire | Possibly Halifax of 102 Sqn RAF |
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28.8.1943
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Near Hohenberg | |
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28.8.1943
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Near Nürnberg | |
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4.10.1943
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Übereisenbach | |
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4.10.1943
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Near Trier | |
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4.10.1943
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Near Cologne | |
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3.11.1943
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Near Cologne | |
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23.11.1943
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Grebs | |
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2.1.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Estinnes-au-Val | Lancaster of 156 Sqn RAF |
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2.1.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | English Channel | |
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2.1.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Croix | Lancaster of 405 Sqn RAF |
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2.1.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | English Channel | |
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7.1.1944
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B-17 | 1./NJG 4 | English Channel | |
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20.1.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | SW Liebenwalde | |
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20.1.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Schönmark | |
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20.2.1944
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Near Celle | |
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20.2.1944
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Halifax | 1./NJG 4 | Near Celle | |
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21.2.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Plittersdorf | |
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24.2.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Béthancourt | Lancaster of 44 Sqn RAF |
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24.2.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | S Menil-Annelles | Lancaster of 66 Sqn RAF |
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24.2.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | SSW Vouziers | Lancaster of 12 Sqn RAF |
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16.3.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Bonneuil-les-Eaux | Lancaster of 100 Sq RAF |
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16.3.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | S Besme | Lancaster of 630 Sqn RAF |
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23.3.1944
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Lancaster | 1./NJG 4 | Near St Omer | Lancaster of 514 Sqn RAF |
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7.3.1945
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Lancaster | Stab III./NJG 4 | Near Kassel |
Victories : 39
Awards : Knight`s Cross
Units : NJG 1, NJG 4
