Joachim Helbig

Who was Joachim Helbig?

Oberst Joachim Helbig was an officer and pilot in the German Luftwaffe bomber arm during World War II. He was credited with the destruction of 182,000 gross register tons of Allied shipping accomplished in 480 missions during World War II.

Joachim Helbig was born in 1915 and joined the Luftwaffe in 1936. At the outbreak of World War II he served as an observer in Lehrgeschwader 1 and participated in the invasion of Poland. He saw further action in the Norwegian Campaign and the Battles of the Netherlands, Belgium and France. For his contribution and military success in these campaigns Helbig received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 November 1940. He was then transferred to the Mediterranean theater of operations where he operated against Malta, the British Mediterranean Fleet and in support of the Deutsches Afrikakorps. Helbig became the 20th recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 28 September 1942 for the support of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel's 1942 summer offensive and the sinking of 182,000 GRT of enemy shipping.