Eastern Front Lemke was posted to a front-line unit in 1941, almost two years after the start of World War II. His unit was 8.
Staffel (squadron) of
Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). In preparation for
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, JG 3 under the command of
Major (major)
Günther Lützow was relocated east. Lemke claimed two Soviet
Tupolev SB-2 bombers shot down on 26 June 1941—his first aerial victories. He was awarded the
Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 4 July 1941 and Iron Cross 1st Class () on 20 July. On 11 July, his
wingman and
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader),
Oberleutnant Winfried Schmidt was severely wounded in combat near
Fastiv. Schmidt was hit in the lung by the defensive fire of a
Tupolev SB tail gunner. By talking to Schmidt over the radio, Lemke managed to guide him back to the airfield at
Polonne. The next day, Schmidt was replaced by
Oberleutnant Franz Beyer as commander of 8.
Staffel. By 26 August 1941, Lemke had accumulated 15 aerial victories. On this day, flying
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (
Werknummner 8245—factory number), he was hit and wounded in the
abdomen during combat with Soviet bombers but managed to make an emergency landing. On 3 November 1941, while convalescing, he was awarded the
Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (). He returned to active service on 17 February 1942 and was posted to 8.
Staffel of JG 3 "Udet". On 31 March 1942, Lemke claimed his 20th aerial victory. He claimed three
Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters shot down in combat with 6 UAG (6th Soviet strike aviation group—
Udarnaya Aviatsionnaya Gruppa) on 4 April. He was credited with his 30th victory on 24 June 1942, and aerial victories 39 to 42 on 29 July. Subsequently, he was nominated for the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () by his 8.
Staffel. He was given command as
Staffelkapitän of 9.
Staffel in November 1942. He replaced
Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Langer who was one of the temporary leaders of the
Staffel after its former commander
Oberleutnant Viktor Bauer had been wounded on 10 August. Lemke claimed his 57th victory on 7 September 1942, his 58th one day later, and his 59th victory on 11 September. The next day, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. On 27 December, he involuntarily
rammed a LaGG-3 in combat. By 31 December 1942 his score had increased to 90 victories. As well as his aerial victories, he was credited with the destruction of aircraft on the ground, as well as three tanks, three fuel trucks, eleven other trucks, three
Katyusha rocket launchers, one anti-tank gun, and two mortars. On 16 March 1943, he claimed his 100th aerial victory, a
Lavochkin La-5 fighter. Lemke was the 35th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. Following these events, Lemke was sent on home-leave, returning to his unit on 11 May which was then based at
Kramatorsk before relocating to an airfield named "" (owl) at
Chasiv Yar, located approximately southeast of Kramatorsk, on 19 May. He was promoted to
Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 April 1943 and to
Hauptmann (captain) on 1 June. He was credited with his last victory on the
Eastern Front on 28 July 1943, taking his total to 125.
Western Front and death On 2 August 1943, JG 3 "Udet" began transferring to
Western Front and flew in
Defense of the Reich. The
Gruppe arrived at
Münster-Handorf Airfield the following day where they were placed under its new commander
Hauptmann Walther Dahl. On 7 August, the unit for the first time practiced the
Y-Control for fighters, a system used to control groups of fighters intercepting
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) bomber formations. Lemke claimed two USAAF
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters shot down on 17 August during the
Schweinfurt–Regensburg mission, his first on the Western Front. By 14 October 1943, he was credited with one victory and two
Herausschüsse (separation shots)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from his
combat box, which was counted as an aerial victory—over
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. On that day, he claimed his 129th and 130th victory, one of which was a
Herausschuss, over B-17s on their
second Raid on Schweinfurt. In mid-November 1943, Lemke was appointed
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the II.
Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 3 "Udet". He succeeded
Major Kurt Brändle, who had been
killed in action on 3 November. Lemke surrendered command of 9.
Staffel to
Leutnant Ekkehard Tichy and took command of the
Gruppe a few days later at the
Schiphol airfield, near
Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 25 November, the 338th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. On 30 November 1943 at 11:25, he achieved his 131st and final aerial victory over a P-47. Lemke was killed in action in his Bf 109 G-6 (
Werknummner 410558) on 4 December 1943 near
Dodewaard, northwest
Nijmegen. His mission was to lead an attack of 55 aircraft on a fighter intercept mission against USAAF fighters escorting
Eighth Air Force bombers. He was shot down by P-47 Thunderbolts of the
352nd Fighter Group. His victors may have been
Major John C. Meyer or
Lieutenant Virgil Kersh Meroney. Lemke was buried at the German war cemetery
Ysselsteyn in the Netherlands (Block CW—Row 1—Grave 24). ==Summary of career==