Ekkehard (Ebbehard?) Hefter was born on 10 September 1910 in Köln.

In early 1931, he received training at DVS Zweigstelle Braunschweig.

In 1932, he was a trainee at Jagdflieger-Lehrgang Lipetsk, Soviet Union.

In the summer (?) of 1934, he was with Fliegergruppe Döberitz (later I./JG 132).

Oberleutnants Hefter took part in the Spanish Civil War as a member of the Legion Condor.

On 26 September 1936, the German pilots accounted for the destruction of three enemy aircraft - a Vickers Vildebeest for Leutnant Wolf-Heinrich von Houwald and a Breguet XIX each for Oberleutnants Hefter and Alfons Klein.

The German contingent suffered its first loss in Spain on 28 September, when the wing of Oberleutnant Hefter’s He 51 struck the tower of the town hall in Vitoria shortly after he had taken off for a mission. Apparently, his aircraft developed engine trouble and he was unable to make it back to the field, although one source states that, in fact, Hefter had been demonstrating his skills at low-level flying, which he had been taught at the Jagdfliegerschule in Schleissheim, for the benefit of the locals. Whatever the case, his Heinkel crashed into the plaza at Vitoria and burst into flames.

At the time of his death, Hefter was credited with 1 biplane victory.

Claims:

Kill no.	Date	Time	Number	Type	Result	Plane type	Serial no.	Locality	Unit
	1936
1	26/09/36		1	Breuget XIX	Destroyed	Heinkel He 51B-1		Spain	J/88

Biplane victories: 1 destroyed.
TOTAL: 1 destroyed.

Sources:
Aces of the Legion Condor – Robert Forsyth, 2011 Osprey Publishing, Oxford, ISBN 978-1-84908-347-8
Aces of the Luftwaffe
Aircrew Remembered
Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries – Henry L. deZeng IV and Douglas G. Stankey
The Legion Condor - Karl Ries and Hans Ring, 1992 Schiffer Publishing, ISBN 0-88740-339-5
Additional information kindly provided by Alfredo Logoluso.