Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe by Jeremy Dixon (Ebook)
Jeremy Dixon
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Introduction

The Luftwaffe was the aerial warfare branch of the Wehrmacht , Germany’s Armed Forces, and officially existed from 1935. Germany had previously been training pilots secretly – in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles – at an air base at Lipetsk in the Soviet Union. From July 1936 until March 1939 Luftwaffe pilots took part in the Spanish Civil War in the Condor Legion, made up of Luftwaffe bomber and fighter aircraft with a ground element. They had been sent there to aid Nationalist forces under Generalissimo Francisco Franco, and this provided the German pilots with a valuable testing ground for new tactics and aircraft.

Germany’s most successful pilots during the Spanish Civil War:

By the summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe had nine fighter wings ready for combat, mostly equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E, and later they would add the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A. When the Second World War began in September 1939 the Luftwaffe was one of the most sophisticated, technologically advanced and battle-experienced air forces in the world.

During the campaign in Poland the Luftwaffe quickly established air superiority, and then complete air supremacy. It flew in support of the German Army operations which ended successfully in just five weeks. During the spring of 1940 the Luftwaffe fighter force flew in support of the Kriegsmarine, the German Navy, and the Army during the campaigns in the West. Its performance was better than Hitler and Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, could have hoped for, by its invaluable support to the army in mopping up pockets of resistance.

On 9 April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and fighter aircraft damaged and destroyed the country’s air force on the ground. Within 24 hours Denmark had capitulated. That same day Germany invaded Norway, and although they had an inferior air force to that of the Luftwaffe they put up considerable resistance. However, within a few days the Luftwaffe had established air superiority and on 10 June Norway surrendered. On 10 May Germany invaded France, Belgium and the Netherlands, the Luftwaffe contributing to the German success, notably during the Battle of France. It destroyed three Allied air forces and helped to defeat France in just over six weeks. The Luftwaffe destroyed 83 of the 179 aircraft in Belgium with the first 24 hours of the invasion. As a result of Germany’s invasion of the Low Countries, the Netherlands surrendered on 14 May, Belgium on 28 May and France on 25 June 1940.

During the summer of 1940 Luftwaffe fighters fought against the RAF in the Battle of Britain. They inflicted severe damage on the British, but did not achieve the air superiority that Hitler had demanded before he would attempt the invasion of England – which was cancelled in December 1940.

The Luftwaffe’s most successful fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain:

From February 1941 the Luftwaffe saw action in North Africa and the Mediterranean in support of the ground operations conducted by Rommel and his Afrika Korps. In the spring of 1941 the Luftwaffe fighter force was in action again helping their Axis partner Italy secure victory in the Balkan campaign against Yugoslavia and Greece and continued to help Italy in the Mediterranean, flying in support of ground troops. By 30 April, only three weeks later, Yugoslavia and Greece had surrendered.

In June 1941 Hitler turned his attention to the Soviet Union and once again the Luftwaffe played a vital role. The German fighter pilots were far more skilled and had superior aircraft compared to the Soviet air force. The Luftwaffe destroyed thousands of Soviet aircraft, but they failed to eliminate the Red Air Force completely. The Soviets seemed to have an endless supply of aircraft – the fight against the Soviet Union consumed vast numbers of aircraft and men, on both sides. The German army’s failure to achieve victory in the Soviet Union before 1941 was not a complete disaster. However, he attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on 7 December 1941 brought the hitherto neutral United States of America into the war on the side of the Allies. The first contingent of US troops arrived in England in January 1942. The Luftwaffe defended German-occupied Europe against the growing offensive power of the RAF and from the summer of 1942, they fought against the steadily building strength of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF).

In 1942 Luftwaffe fighter aircraft took part in the capture of the oil fields in the Caucasus, and in the capture of Sevastopol whilst supporting German ground troops. With the Eastern Front largely quiet in early 1942, the Luftwaffe fighter force was able to concentrates its forces as it had in previous campaigns, and it was also instrumental in the Second Battle of Kharkov, destroying enemy air power. The Battle of Stalingrad began on 23 August and the Luftwaffe fighter arm was operating from airfields inside the Soviet Union. The Luftwaffe as a whole had by October 1942 flown over 20,000 sorties, and they held air superiority but clearly its strength was being eroded. Stalingrad would be the beginning of the end.

This volume of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe: Knight’s Cross Holders details the careers of the pilots from 1939–42, who fought over Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the Balkans, the Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa and the Soviet Union.

The Luftwaffe’s five top aces were:

Of the 387 German day fighter pilots of the Second World War a total of 212 were killed either in action or in accidents.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds: two were killed.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords: ten were killed.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves: thirty-eight were killed.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds. (Author’s collection)

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords. (Author’s collection)

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves. (Author’s collection)

Knight’s Cross. (Author’s collection)

Luftwaffe score system

Western Front

Iron Cross 2nd Class = 1 point

Iron Cross 1st Class = 3 points

Honour Goblet = 10 points

German Cross in Gold = 20 points

Knight’s Cross = 40 points

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves = 80 points

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords = 100–149 points

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds = 150–175 points

Eastern Front

Iron Cross 2nd Class = 2–3 points

Iron Cross 1st Class = 8 points

Honour Goblet = 20 points

German Cross in Gold = 30 points

Knight’s Cross = 45–50 points

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves = 100–120 points

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords = 160–200 points

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds = 250 points

The points system varied throughout the war.

1940

Werner ‘Vati’ MÖLDERS

Oberst

Knight’s Cross: Awarded on 29 May 1940, to become the first fighter pilot to receive the award as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group of the 53rd Fighter Wing for achieving his 20th aerial victory over France. He not only became the first pilot to achieve a total of twenty victories but he became the first Luftwaffe recipient of the Knight’s Cross. The award was personally presented to him by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves: On 21 September 1940, he became the second recipient, as Major and Kommandeur of the 51st Fighter Wing in recognition of his 40th aerial victory, a Spitfire over Dungeness during the Battle of Britain. It was presented to him by Göring who had invited Mölders to his hunting lodge in the Rominter Heide. He returned to duty in late September and continued to add to his victories.

(Author’s collection)

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords: Awarded in recognition of his 72nd aerial victory whilst flying over Dover, Kent on 22 June 1941, becoming the second recipient as Oberstleutnant and still Kommodore of the 51st Fighter Wing. The award was presented to him by Hitler on 3 July 1941, at Führer Headquarters, the Wolfschanze (‘Wolf’s Lair’) at Rastenburg.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds: On 16 July 1941, he became the first recipient of the award whilst still Kommodore of the 51st Fighter Wing. It was awarded in recognition of his 100th aerial victory, which had included 28 victories on the Russian Front. He was presented with the Diamonds by Hitler at Rastenburg on 26 July and was immediately promoted to Oberst.

Werner Mölders was born on 18 March 1913, at Gelsenkirchen in the Ruhr region. He was the son of a teacher, Viktor Mölders and Annemarie, neé Riedel, and he was the third of four children. After his father, a Leutnant in the infantry, was killed in action during the First World War, his mother moved the family into her parents’ house in Brandenburg an der Havel. From 1919 to 1931, Mölders attended, first, the elementary school and then the Saldina Gymnasium. At school, he discovered a love of water sports, especially rowing. In April 1931, he joined the 2nd Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Regiment in Allenstein, East Prussia. In October 1931 he received the rank of Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter and in April 1932 he was promoted to Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier. After completing his basic training in October, he transferred to the Military School in Dresden. It was at this time that he decided he wanted to become a pilot, and so he volunteered for the Luftwaffe. However, he found out that he suffered from acute motion sickness. After being put in a centrifugal test chair, when it stopped, he was sick. The doctors told him that he would never make a pilot. Mölders had other ideas. He was determined and he began to master his motion sickness. In his second test in the centrifugal test chair, he felt ill but didn’t vomit – he passed. On 1 March 1934, he joined the Luftwaffe as a Leutnant and passed his pilot’s exam in June 1935. He was posted to the 1st Group of the 162nd Fighter Wing in July.

On 20 April 1936, Mölders was promoted to Oberleutnant and was appointed the leader of the fighter training squadron of the 2nd Group of the 134th Fighter Wing ‘Horst Wessel’. The Group was commanded by Major Theodor Osterkamp, who became an early mentor of Mölders. On 15 March 1937, Mölders was made Staffelkapitän of the 1st Squadron of the 334th Fighter Wing and served as an instructor in Wiesbaden. On 14 April 1938, he volunteered to join the Condor Legion, the Luftwaffe force in Spain to assist the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron of Fighter Group 88, commanded by Oberleutnant Adolf Galland. The unit, stationed at the Valencia-Ebro front, was equipped with the Heinkel He 51, but later used the Messerschmitt Bf 109 B-2. Mölders showed considerable qualities as a pilot, and he assumed command of the squadron on 24 May 1938, when Galland returned to Germany. He claimed his first aerial victory, shooting down a Polikarpov I-15 near Algar on 15 July 1938. Over the remaining months of the year, Mölders became the leading ace of the Condor Legion, shooting down fifteen aircraft. He returned to Germany on 5 December 1938, with the rank of Hauptmann.

From 6 December 1938 until March 1939, Mölders was a member of the 1st Group of the 133rd Fighter Wing and held staff positions with the Inspector of Fighters at the Reich Air Ministry in Berlin. His task was to devise new fighter pilot tactics, learnt during the war in Spain. Whilst in Spain Mölders, along with other pilots had developed the formation known as the ‘finger-four’. This formation improved the all-round field of vision and combat flexibility of a flight. In the ‘finger-four’, the aircraft assumed positions corresponding to the fingertips of an outstretched hand. The fighters flew in two elements of two aircraft each: two Rotten (four aircraft) made up a Schwarm or Swarm. In March 1939, Mölders was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 1st Squadron of the 133rd Fighter Wing, taking over from Oberleutnant Hubertus von Bonin. In honour of his success during the air war in Spain he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds on 6 June 1939.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Mölders was Staffelkapitän of the 1st Squadron of 53rd Fighter Wing ‘Pik As’, based at Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. He soon became known by those under his command as ‘Vatti’ or ‘Daddy’ Mölders. On 8 September, Mölders suffered an engine failure, and had to make a crash-landing, Upon landing, his aircraft flipped over, injuring his back and as a result of this he was unable to fly for a couple of days. He returned to flying on 19 September. The following day, he shot down his first aircraft of the war, a French Curtiss P-36 over Sierck-les-Bains, and that victory earned him the Iron Cross 2nd Class. On 26 September, Mölders relinquished his command of 1st Squadron to Oberleutnant Hans-Karl Mayer and was ordered to form a new Group. Within two weeks Mölders became the new Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group of the 53rd Fighter Wing and became operational with forty pilots and forty-eight aircraft.

On 22 December, Mölders, whilst leading four Bf 109s, together with Hans von Hahn, engaged three Hawker Hurricanes over the Saar River. They shot down one each, becoming the first German fighter pilots to shoot down a Hawker Hurricane. By the time of the invasion of France and the Low Countries, Mölders had increased his score to nine victories, and on 2 April 1940 he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. His victories included one Bristol Blenheim, two Curtiss P-36 Hawks, two monoplane fighters and four Hawker Hurricanes. On 14 May, he was shot down during an attack with enemy bombers over Sedan but bailed out safely. He claimed his 19th and 20th victories and became the first fighter pilot to be awarded the Knight’s Cross. He was also promoted to the rank of Hauptmann.

On 5 June 1940, Mölders was shot down by the French fighter ace Sous Lieutenant René Pommier Layragues near Compiègne and was taken prisoner. However, the author Kurt Braatz who had analysed available German and French records detailing the events leading to Mölders being shot down revealed that he was not shot down by Pomier Layrargues. Instead, he stated that it was more likely he was shot down by other German fighters in the area by mistake. He was liberated three weeks later after the French surrender. While in French captivity, Mölders asked to shake hands with the pilot who had shot him down but learned that he had been killed in action 30 minutes after their encounter. His initial experience of French captivity was harsh – he had been hit in the face and his Knight’s Cross had been stolen. A French officer, Capitaine Giron, intervened, ensured he was treated fairly and returned the stolen medal. When a French soldier was later sentenced to death by the Germans for beating Mölders, it was reported that Mölders approached Göring and requested clemency, which was granted. Further investigations have since come to light that this story is very likely fictitious.

When Mölders returned to Germany he was promoted to Major and appointed Kommodore of the 51st Fighter Wing. On 28 July 1940, during his first flight with his new unit, he succeeded in downing a Spitfire, but his aircraft was then hit by the enemy and his legs were severely injured when he made an emergency landing. He returned to combat a month later. On 28 August Mölders flew two combat missions and during one of these missions his aide and wingman, Oberleutnant Erich Kircheis, was shot down and taken prisoner. His younger brother, Oberleutnant Victor Mölders, who had been appointed Staffelkapitän of the 2nd Squadron of the 51st Fighter Wing, was also shot down and taken prisoner on 7 October.

Mölders returning from one of his many successful missions. (Author’s collection)

Mölders quickly brought his score up by downing twenty-eight British fighters during the remainder of the Battle of Britain. On 21 September 1940, he became the second recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves after claiming his 40th aerial victory, an RAF Hurricane over Canterbury. On 11 October he claimed his 43rd victory. He shot down three Hurricanes on 12 October to bring his total to fifty-one victories and received a special promotion to Oberstleutnant in recognition of his 50th victory on 25 October 1940. While a severe bout of influenza kept him from flying for a few weeks, his wingman in over sixty aerial combats, Oberleutnant Georg Claus, was killed over the Thames. On 1 December, Mölders claimed his last and 55th victory of 1940, twenty-five of which he claimed in the Battle of France and thirty during the Battle of Britain. He continued flying over the Channel until early May 1941, by which time he had added thirteen British aircraft to his total. On 22 June, the first day of the invasion of Russia, Mölders shot down four Soviet aircraft to record his 69th to 72nd victories, and as a result, was awarded the Swords to his Knight’s Cross. On 30 June, Mölders became the highest-scoring fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare after downing his 82nd victory, a total that was set by the First World War ace, the Red Baron – Manfred von Richthofen. There would be many who would score more than Mölders during the Second World War but he was the first to reach this landmark figure. On 12 July 1941, the 51st Fighter Wing under the leadership of Mölders reported that it had destroyed 500 Soviet aircraft since the invasion of Russia. On the 15th, he surpassed 100 victories and celebrated with a victory roll over the airfield. The next day Mölders was informed he had become the first recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds.

Hitler ordered Mölders not to fly any more combat missions. He surrendered his command of the 51st Fighter Wing to Major Friedrich Beckh and was transferred to the Reich Air Ministry, a temporary position he held until 6 August 1941. On 7 August, he was appointed Inspector of Fighters, a post responsible for deciding ongoing tactical and operational strategies of the Luftwaffe. He returned to Russia in September, where he set up a command post at Chaplinka airfield, from where he flew in his Fieseler Storch on tours of the fighter arm and personally directed German fighter operations. He also flew the occasional mission and even commanded his old fighter wing for several more months. On 9 August, he took Herbert Kaiser on a training mission against a formation of Soviet Il-2 Sturmoviks, Mölders showed Kaiser how to shoot them down. The whole lesson lasted less than 12 minutes, but in that time Kaiser shot down two aircraft to record his 23rd and 24th victories. Mölders shot down one himself but because he was officially banned from operational flying, the aircraft was never officially credited to him. Within the next two months, it is speculated that Mölders shot down approximately thirty more Soviet aircraft, although this has never been confirmed.

Mölders at Führer Headquarters, the Wolfschanze at Rastenburg, on 3 July 1941, with Hitler and Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel shortly after being awarded the Diamonds to his Knight’s Cross. (Author’s collection)

On 22 November 1941, Mölders travelled as a passenger in a Heinkel He 111 from Crimea to Germany to attend the funeral of his superior, Generaloberst Ernst Udet, who had committed suicide. Attempting to land at Breslau during a thunderstorm, the aircraft crashed. Mölders, the pilot Oberleutnant Georg Kolbe and his flight engineer Oberfeldwebel Hobbie were killed. Major Dr Paul Wenzel and radio operator Oberfeldwebel Tenz survived the crash landing. Dr Wenzel sustained a broken leg and Tenz broke an ankle. Mölders’ fatal injuries included a broken back and a crushed ribcage. Accident investigators then and since have speculated whether he would have survived the crash if he had been wearing a seatbelt. Mölders was given a state funeral in Berlin on 28 November 1941. His coffin was laid out in the honour court of the Reich Air Ministry. The guard of honour consisted of Johann Schalk, Günther Lützow, Walter Oesau, Joachim Müncheberg, Wolfgang Falck, Herbert Kaminski, Karl-Gottfried Nordmann and Mölders’ friend Adolf Galland. He was buried next to Ernst Udet and Manfred von Richthofen at the City Crematorium in Berlin. The 8.8cm anti-aircraft guns in Berlin Tiergarten fired a salute and Hermann Göring gave the eulogy.

Werner Mölders’ grave. (Private source)

Mölders was credited with 642 combat missions and 108 victories, although some sources state that he should be credited with another ten (these were scored whilst he was banned from flying by Hitler and couldn’t claim any victories officially). He was also the top scorer of the Condor Legion in Spain with fourteen victories and he is credited with the development of many of the modern fighter tactics still in use today. On 20 December 1941, the 51st Fighter Wing was given the name ‘Mölders’ in his memory. The cemetery where Mölders is buried was located after the war in East Germany and East German officials ordered all graves there to be levelled. However, after German reunification in 1990, Mölders’ grave was rebuilt and rededicated on 11 October 1991.

Wilhelm BALTHASAR

Major

Knight’s Cross: Awarded on 14 June 1940 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 1st Squadron of the 1st Fighter Wing for actions over Poland and France and for claiming his 25th aerial victory.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves: Awarded on 2 July 1941 as Hauptmann and commander of the 2nd Fighter Wing ‘Richthofen’ for achieving his 45th aerial victory whilst flying in combat over England. The award was presented posthumously to his family as Balthasar was killed the day after he won the Oakleaves.

Wilhelm Balthasar was born on 2 February 1914 in Fulda, Hessen and his father, who he never met, was killed on the Western Front in the First World War. At the age of 19 the young Balthasar joined the Reichswehr as an artillery officer and transferred to the newly-formed Luftwaffe in 1935. In November 1936 he volunteered for service in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War where his early flights were mainly reconnaissance missions. On 23 November he took back with him information that enabled German forces to successfully bomb the port of Cartagena. Whilst flying a reconnaissance mission on 20 January 1937 he scored his first aerial victory, when he shot down a Spanish Republican Air Force I-16. On 16 March Balthasar had to make an emergency landing at Almoroz airfield, and as he landed he could see fighters taking off on a mission. He landed his crippled He 70 aircraft and noticed nearby an experimental Heinkel He 112 fighter and claiming to be an experienced fighter pilot received permission to fly the aircraft. He took off and using the Heinkel’s 20mm cannon blew up an ammunition rail-car and destroyed a tank. When he got back to his home airfield he was initially reprimanded by his commanding officer, but when the commander learned of his success, Balthasar was given command of a detachment of biplanes. In September 1937 he joined Fighter Group 88 ( J/88), claiming six more victories. He returned to Germany in March 1938, having flown 465 combat missions and became one of only twenty-eight recipients of the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds.

Hoffmann postcard of Wilhelm Balthasar. (Author’s collection)

In September 1939, at the beginning of the Polish campaign Balthasar was Staffelkapitän of the 1st Squadron of the 1st Fighter Wing and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 20 September. In May 1940 Germany invaded France and the Low Countries and Balthasar soon made his mark, shooting down three Belgian Gladiator fighters and a French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter on 11 May. He claimed five French aircraft on 5 June, and a further four victories the following day and soon afterwards was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. On 14 June 1940, Hauptmann Balthasar was awarded the Knight’s Cross in recognition of his 27th aerial victory and for destroying eleven enemy aircraft on the ground. He was considered the most successful German fighter pilot of the French campaign.

On 1 September 1940, Balthasar was appointed commander of the 3rd Group of the 3rd Fighter Wing. Three days later he was seriously wounded in the leg over Canterbury, England during a dogfight with Spitfire fighters. On 23 September he shot down two Spitfires with only eighty-eight bullets. He claimed a further three victories before having to admit himself to hospital for treatment to his leg. He returned to active service in February 1941, and was appointed Kommodore of the 2nd Fighter Wing, and continued to score victories over France. On 2 July 1941 he became the 17th recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves in recognition of his 40th aerial victory. The following day he was attacked by an RAF fighter over Aire, France, his aircraft went into a steep dive, a wing folded and he crashed south-east of St. Omer and was killed instantly. It seems likely that he was shot down by Squadron Leader Michael Lister-Robinson of 609th Squadron. RAF pilots reported that his wing was seen to come off. Balthasar was posthumously promoted to Major and buried in the First World War Cemetery at Illies, Flanders, next to his father. His former school, the Freiherr-vom-Stein-Schule, a secondary school in Fulda, was named the Wilhelm-Balthasar-Schule in 1942 and carried this name until the end of the Second World War.

Adolf ‘Dolfo’ Josef Ferdinand GALLAND

Generalleutnant

Knight’s Cross: Awarded on 29 July 1940, as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group of the 26th Fighter Wing ‘Schlageter’ in recognition of his 16th victory, a Spitfire over Dover. The award was presented on 1 August by the commander of the 2nd Air Fleet, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves: Galland became the third recipient of the Oakleaves, on 24 September 1940 as Major and Kommodore of the 26th Fighter Wing, awarded after achieving his 40th victory, a Hurricane over Rochester, England. The award was personally presented to him during a special ceremony at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin by Hitler.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords: On 21 June 1941 Oberstleutnant Galland became the first recipient of the Swords in recognition in achieving sixty-nine aerial victories whilst still Kommodore of the 26th Fighter Wing. The award was presented to him at Hitler’s headquarters in Rastenburg on 25 July 1941, together with the third recipient Hauptmann Walter Oesau, and Hauptmann Herbert Ihlefeld who was presented with his Oakleaves.

Adolf Galland. (Deutsches Wehrkundearchiv)

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds: On 28 January 1942, Oberst Galland became the second recipient of the Diamonds whilst still Kommodore of the 26th Fighter Wing, after claiming his 94th aerial victory, a Spitfire shot down over Montreuil, near Paris. The presentation was once again made by Hitler at the Wolfschanze, his headquarters in Rastenburg, East Prussia.

Probably the best-known of Germany’s Second World War fighter aces, Adolf Galland was born on 19 March 1912 at Westerholt (now Herten) Westphalia, Prussia, to a family with French Huguenot ancestry. He was the second of four sons of Adolf Galland senior and his French wife Anna, née Schipper, and had an older brother Fritz and two younger brothers Wilhelm-Ferdinand and Paul, who both became fighter aces and both were killed during the war. Their father gave his boys pet names, Fritz was called ‘Toby’, Adolf was ‘Keffer’, Wilhelm-Ferdinand was ‘Wutz’ and Paul was called ‘Paulinchen’.

Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was denied an air force, but they were allowed gliders and it became the way for fledgeling pilots to begin their flying career. Galland’s interest in flying started in 1927 when a group of aviation enthusiasts brought a glider club to Borkenberge and the young Galland would travel the 19 miles by foot and then later motorcycle to prepare the gliders for flight. The sport was so popular that the Reichswehr established ten schools, at least one in each of the seven military districts of Germany. One of his tutors, Georg Ismer, taught the young Galland various techniques and in 1929 he passed his ‘A Certificate’, one of the three certificates he needed for his professional licence. Once he passed the other two his father purchased a glider for him and he became an outstanding glider pilot and later an instructor. In 1932, he became one of an elite few young men appointed to the German Commercial Air Transport School at Brunswick, one of 100 successful applicants out of 4,000. He was among just eighteen selected for flight training. His first flight was in an Albatros L-101, a monoplane where the pilot and instructor sat in separate open cockpits. His early career started badly. He made a heavy landing and damaged his aircraft and later while leading three aircraft in formation, two of them collided. The young Galland was convinced he was to blame and would be sent home. He wasn’t and eventually became a very good pilot and by December 1932 had logged over 150 hours flying. When Hitler and the Nazis came to power the following year, the future pilots of the Luftwaffe were sent clandestinely to the Soviet Union and Italy.

In May 1933, Galland was ordered to Berlin where he met Hermann Göring, the future Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. In July he travelled to Italy to train with the Royal Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica Italiana) and he soon won their respect, impressing them with his low-level manoeuvres. Galland returned to Germany in September and flew glider aircraft and then heavy transport planes and logged another 50 hours flying time. At the beginning of October, he flew Lufthansa airliners as part of his ongoing training. After his basic training in the Army, the young Galland, now a Fähnrich, was discharged from his barracks in Dresden in October 1934 and in February the following year was officially one of the 900 airmen waiting to be inducted into the Luftwaffe. He was already an accomplished pilot and instructor at the Fighter Pilot School at Munich-Schlessheim, and he deliberately failed tests that selected instructors, so he could escape the school. He was commissioned as a Leutnant in January 1935 and by April he became a fighter pilot with the 1st Squadron of the 2nd Fighter Wing. In October, during training he crashed a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 biplane and was in a coma for three days: other injuries were a damaged eye, fractured skull and broken nose. Although he was declared by doctors unfit to fly, a friend, Major Rheital, kept the doctors’ report a secret which allowed Galland to continue flying. However, he had another setback when he crashed again in training and damaged his eyesight but he passed the medical examination after he memorised the eye chart with the help of some friends.

Galland with Major Ralph Rettberg, holder of the Knight’s Cross, and commander of the 2nd Group of the 26th Destroyer Wing ‘Horst Wessel’. (Author’s collection)

Two years later he volunteered for service with the Condor Legion in Spain, where he was put in command of a squadron, with the rank of Hauptmann. His fighter squadron was equipped with slow Heinkel He 51 biplanes, only really suitable for ground-attack and support roles. With the loyalist forces equipped with vastly superior aircraft, Galland’s squadron avoided air combat as much as they could and confined themselves to the close support of Franco’s ground troops. Galland was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 August 1937 and went on to distinguish himself, especially on the Asturias, Teruel and Erbo fronts, completing 280 combat missions before being relieved by Werner Mölders in mid-1938. Galland first met Mölders in Spain, who would become his great rival and friend. They were billeted together at the Christina Hotel in Seville. Galland’s contributions to ground-support techniques had brought him to the attention of the Luftwaffe High Command, and he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Diamonds on 6 June 1939. When he returned to Germany, much to his disappointment, he was given a desk job at the Air Ministry working out directives for the organization of close-support units and the training of fighter pilots, leaving his old squadron in the capable hands of his friend Mölders.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, Galland was Staffelkapitän of the 4th Squadron of the 2nd Training Wing, which was equipped with the very much out of date Hs 123, a biplane dive-bomber. Galland took part in the invasion of Poland, flying fifteen ground-support missions. The effect was devastating, and Polish airpower was obliterated within a few days with their cavalry, infantry and transport left at the mercy of the Luftwaffe. He was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class on 15 September and promoted to Hauptmann for his efforts, and posted to the 27th Fighter Wing at Krefeld being assigned to the Staff Squadron on 15 February 1940, and taking the role of adjutant. On 12 May, west of Liege, Belgium, he scored his first victory, and a few minutes later he shot down his second and then his third, all three were RAF Hurricanes, and by the end of the French campaign he had accumulated fourteen victories and had been awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on 22 May.

On 6 June 1940, Hauptmann Galland began his historic association with the 26th Fighter Wing ‘Schlageter’. He was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group, which later became an elite unit and was known to the Allies as, ‘The Abbeville Boys’. This famous fighter wing would fight on the Western Front throughout the war. Galland was promoted to Major on 19 July and stayed with the 3rd Group throughout the Battle of Britain. It was during this time that Galland made his famous remark to Göring. The Reichsmarschall was visiting Galland’s headquarters when he asked if he had ever thought about killing enemy pilots after they had escaped from their stricken aircraft and were floating to earth in their parachutes. Galland told Göring that he would consider this to be murder and added, ‘I should do anything in my power to disobey such an order!’ The Reichsmarschall was unimpressed and then asked Galland was there anything he wanted, to which Galland answered, ‘‘I should like an outfit of Spitfires for my group’. Göring stamped off, growling as he went. On 24 July, he led his Group over the north coast of the Thames Estuary, where they engaged Spitfires, and shot one down over Margate, the RAF ace Pilot Officer Johnny Allen of 56 Squadron, who was killed in the crash-landing that followed this combat. On 28 July, he shot down another British ace, Sub-Lieutenant Francis Dawson-Paul, a Royal Navy pilot on loan to the RAF. Dawson-Paul was shot down over the Channel where he was picked up by a German E-Boat, but he died from his wounds. On 29 July 1940, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross after claiming his 16th victory, a Spitfire over Dover.

On 31 August Galland claimed three more victories, his 25th to 27th, two Spitfires and a Hurricane. On 24 September, Galland claimed his 40th victory, another notable RAF pilot, Harold Bird-Wilson of 17 Squadron, who bailed out badly burnt near Chatham, England. On 1 November, Galland was promoted to Oberstleutnant and appointed the Kommodore of the 26th Fighter Wing, and the following day he achieved his 50th aerial victory. His great friend and rival Werner Mölders who had been awarded the Oakleaves two days before Galland had sixty-eight victories. The Mölders-Galland rivalry continued.

On 17 November 1940, whilst escorting Bf 110 fighter-bombers on a raid, Galland’s formation was attacked by RAF Hurricanes. During the ensuing combat Galland shot down a Hurricane, flown by the ace Count Manfred Czerin, who bailed out unhurt. On 18 April 1941, Galland achieved his 59th and 60th aerial victories, both Spitfires. Galland had been wounded twice and had almost landed with his landing gear up at Le Touquet. It was only the ground crew who sent up red flares and waved him off that saved him from a fatal accident. On 21 June 1941, Galland shot down a Spitfire east of Boulogne and then was shot down himself by Polish ace Boleslaw Drobinksi of 303 Squadron of the RAF, and bailed out wounded. Galland had now been ordered by both Hitler and Göring not to fly any more combat missions. He was too valuable to lose and could teach other young pilots how to fight in the air. Typically Galland ignored the orders of the Reichsmarschall and Hitler and continued to fly and add to his tally of victories.

On 17 November 1941, Generaloberst Ernst Udet, the Luftwaffe chief of procurement and supply, committed suicide. Galland was ordered to Berlin to stand in the Honour Guard at Udet’s state funeral, along with five other aces, including Oesau, Falck, Schalck, Müncheberg, and Lützow. Mölders was expected but his flight was delayed. Five days later Galland heard the news that his great friend and rival Werner Mölders had been killed in a plane crash at Breslau, on his way to Berlin from the Crimea. He was flying as a passenger in a Heinkel He 111 bomber. Galland did not have time to get back to his headquarters after Udet’s funeral. His train was stopped in the Lippe district, and he received orders to return immediately to Berlin. Once again he was to stand in the Honour Guard at a funeral – this time for his old friend, who had been just a few months before honoured by becoming the first recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds. Galland had been informed by Göring during the funeral of Mölders that he would succeed him as General of Fighters. He had finally caught up with his rival.

Before settling into his new post, Oberst Galland directed the fighter protection for the ‘Channel Dash’ of the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from Brest. Galland wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. When Hitler asked him to give a frank assessment of the situation regarding the ‘Channel Dash’, Galland told he that it all depended on how much time the British had to mobilize the RAF against the ships. In the end, the operation was a complete success. Galland’s flawless handling of his fighters and their great skill contributed to one of the worst humiliations the British forces were to suffer in the war. The British lost sixty aircraft and the German big ships got back to Germany without a problem and the ‘Channel Dash’ was Galland’s finest hour. On 11 February Gneisenau set off a magnetic mine and which exploded just forward of the rear turret, causing little damage, but later the battleship struck a submerged wreck and tore a hole in the hull. Repair work was completed in late February but she was hit whilst in dry dock by a single bomb which penetrated her armoured deck and exploded. She was later scrapped.

Galland became one of the most controversial figures of his time. He had frequent skirmishes with Göring and his frank talk in front of Hitler when he emphasized the need for more fighters to oppose the increasingly intense Allied bombing raids over Germany, won him little respect. As the war went on, Göring fell out of favour with Hitler, and some of his command decisions, which included shocking mistakes, left Galland appalled. The Reichsmarschall even called the fighter pilots cowards, and during a meeting with Galland and other fighter aces accused them of falsifying their victories during the Battle of Britain to receive decorations. On hearing this, Galland stood up and tore his Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves, Swords and Diamonds from his neck, and slammed it down on the table in front of Göring. It would be months before he would wear the decoration again.

Many of Galland’s colleagues and other young fighter pilots began planning to force Göring’s resignation, by seeking an audience with Hitler. Although Galland took no direct part in such activities, Göring blamed him and sacked him. He prepared a trial in which the Reichsmarschall blamed Galland for the collapse of the fighter arm, and even placed him under house arrest. He was guarded by the Gestapo and Galland thought his only way out would be suicide, and told a female friend of his intentions. She then went straight to the Armaments Minister Albert Speer, who held Galland in high regard, and she told him what Galland was planning to do. Speer went straight to see Hitler. A few days later the head of the Gestapo, SS-Gruppenführer Heinrich Müller, telephoned Galland and asked him not to commit suicide. The Führer had saved him, and he was allowed to return to duty as General of Fighters. He was promoted to Generalmajor in November 1942, and by November 1944 had been promoted to the rank of Generalleutnant.

On 24 February 1945, a new squadron was formed, Jagdverband 44 ( JV44), equipped with the new Me 262 jet fighters. Galland only had sixteen operational aircraft in February and General der Flieger Josef Kammhuber was asked to assist. Galland was told he would be given pilots from KG51 (Kampfgeschwader 51), KG6 and KG27, but they were behind schedule with their training. Galland also suggested that he be given all experienced pilots of Bf 109s or Fw 190s – he believed he could get 150 jets in action against US aircraft. However, the general chaos and impending collapse of the Reich prevented any of these plans becoming a reality. On 26 April, Galland led twelve rocket-equipped Me 262s from München-Reim to intercept a formation of B-26 medium bombers targeting the airfield at Lechfeld. He claimed two of the bombers with cannon fire, not rockets. During the attacks on the bombers, Galland was attacked by a USAAF P-47 Thunderbolt fighter, piloted by James Finnegan (Galland and Finnegan met after the war in San Francisco in 1979), and his aircraft was damaged and Galland was wounded in the right knee. Able to bring his crippled jet fighter back to base and land successfully, he was forced to leap out of the aircraft and take shelter because the airfield was under attack from US fighters. The wound he suffered ended his combat career.

(Author’s collection)

On 1 May 1945, Galland attempted to make contact with US forces to negotiate the surrender of his unit. It was, however, a dangerous time as SS forces roamed the countryside and towns executing anyone who was considering surrender. The Americans requested that Galland fly his unit to a USAAF base but he declined, citing poor weather and technical problems, but in reality he had no intention of handing over his Me 262s to the Americans. He believed at this time that the Western Alliance would soon be at war with the Soviet Union and he wanted to join American forces and to use his unit in the coming confrontation. On 5 May, Galland finally surrendered to US troops at Tegernsee. He was flown to England for interrogation by RAF personnel and returned to Germany on 24 August, where he was imprisoned at Hohenpeissenberg, Bavaria. He returned to England on 7 October 1945 for further interrogation and was eventually released on 28 April 1947.

In 1948 Galland took a position with the Argentine Air Force. There followed many offers to act as a consultant to armament firms who would equip the new West German Luftwaffe. He was married three times, became a successful businessman and wrote his memoirs, The First and the Last. In the 1980s Galland was regularly attending the funerals of friends such-as Bob-Stanford Tuck and Douglas Bader, who died on 5 September 1982, after speaking at a dinner party for Arthur Harris. In June 1983 he attended the funeral of Gerhard Barkhorn and his wife, who had died in a traffic accident. During his final years, he divided his time between his home in Germany and his bungalow in Alicante, Spain. In early February 1996, Galland was taken seriously ill. He had wanted to die at home and so was released from the hospital and returned to his home in Remagen-Oberwinter. With his wife and daughter present, he was given the last rites and died at 01:15 on Tuesday 9 February. He was laid to rest at St. Laurentius Church, Oberwinter on 21 February, and a memorial service was held on 31 March. Galland had achieved a total of 104 aerial victories in 705 missions, all on the Western Front, thirty-one were Hurricanes and fifty were Spitfires as well as seven victories whilst flying the Me 262 jet-fighter. Galland had started the war as a young Leutnant and finished it as a Generalleutnant.

Walter ‘Gulle’ OESAU

Oberst

Knight’s Cross: Awarded on 20 August 1940 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 7th Squadron of the 51st Fighter Wing after achieving his 28th aerial victory.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves: Awarded on 6 February 1941, to become the ninth recipient as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group of the 3rd Fighter Wing in recognition of his 47th aerial victory, an RAF Spitfire. The Oakleaves was presented personally by Hitler at the Wolfschanze, Rastenburg.

Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords: He became the third recipient of the Swords on 16 July 1941 whilst still Hauptmann and a Gruppenkommandeur with the 3rd Fighter Wing after claiming his 85th aerial victory whilst flying in combat over the Soviet Union. He was presented with the Swords by Hitler at his military headquarters in Rastenburg together with Hauptmann Herbert Ihlefeld and Leutnant der Reserve Siegfried Schnell – both collecting their Oakleaves.

Born on 28 June 1913 in Farnewinkel, Heide in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, Walter Oesau was the son of a bank director. He joined the Army in October 1933, serving with the 2nd Artillery Regiment, and transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1934 as a Fahnenjunker or Officer Cadet and underwent flying training at the German Pilot’s School in Hanover. On completion of his training, in 1936, Oesau was assigned to the 1st Group of the 132nd Fighter Wing.

Commissioned as a Leutnant in April 1937 Oesau began his operational career when he volunteered to join the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, being attached to the 3rd Squadron of the 88th Fighter Group from April 1938. His squadron commander during his time in Spain was Oberleutnant Adolf Galland. Whilst there he claimed nine victories, flying 130 combat missions. His first victory was a Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighter, shot down on 15 July 1938, claiming another two days later and three more in July and two in August. His last two victories were claimed on 15 October and 3 November. In April 1939 in recognition of his success he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds.

After the war he returned to Germany and was attached to the Headquarters Flight of the 1st Group of the 2nd Fighter Wing ‘Richthofen’. Oesau was promoted to Oberleutnant on 15 July 1939 and given command of the 2nd Squadron of the 20th Fighter Wing, which had been formed in Döberitz. Prior to the invasion of Poland in September, his unit was transferred to Sprottau anticipating an attack from the Polish Air Force. A week later the Group moved to Brandenburg, and on 21 February 1940 was relocated to Bönninghardt under the control of the 51st Fighter Wing. In May Germany invaded France and the Low Countries and on 13 May, Oesau scored his first victory of the Second World War, when he shot down a French Curtiss P-36 Hawk over Halsteren, the Netherlands, earning him the Iron Cross 2nd Class. He claimed an RAF Hurricane on 23 May, which remains an unconfirmed victory and on 31 May, he claimed two Spitfires shot down north-west of Dunkirk earning him the Iron Cross 1st Class. On 1 June he claimed a Blenheim bomber and on 13 June he claimed a French Amiot 351 twin-engined bomber, the last French aircraft claimed by the 51st Fighter Wing, although this remains unconfirmed.

(Deutsches Wehrkundearchiv)

Now the Luftwaffe concentrated on the Channel convoys as a prelude to the Battle of Britain. The main task for Oesau and the 51st Fighter Wing at this time was to provide fighter escort cover to the bomber units. There was a policy of unrestricted combat air patrol, established by Oberst Theo Osterkamp, Kommodore of the 51st Fighter Wing. His fighters were there to provide loose protection rather than close escort to the bombers, actively seeking out RAF fighters. On 7 July Oesau claimed a Spitfire over Dover, and three days later he claimed two more. On the 19th Oesau claimed a Defiant over Folkestone and a Hurricane over Dover and was promoted to Hauptmann the same day. Six days later he shot down another Spitfire to claim his 20th aerial victory, his 11th of the war. In August he claimed even more victories, on the 5th he shot down a Spitfire and claimed a Hurricane on the 14th. Between 15 and 18 August he claimed four Spitfires and two Hurricanes to achieve his 28th aerial victory for which he was awarded the Knight’s Cross on 20 August 1940.

On 25 August, Oesau replaced Hauptmann Hannes Trautloft as Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group of the 51st Fighter Wing. On 4 September he shot down an RAF Spitfire and two days later he claimed his 30th aerial victory, and by the end of the month his total had risen to forty-two. On 11 November Oesau succeeded Hauptmann Wilhelm Balthasar as Gruppenkommandeur of the 3rd Group of the 3rd Fighter Wing, and had by this time achieved his 47th aerial victory. On 5 February 1941 he claimed his 48th victory, an RAF Hurricane shot down over Desvres, northern France, and the following day he was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves. During the early part of 1941, the 3rd Fighter Wing returned to Germany to replace their Bf 109Es with the new Bf 109F variant, known as ‘Friedrich’. However, Oesau disliked the new type and continued to fly the Bf 109E for some time afterwards. In May he returned to France with his Group and on the 28th claimed an RAF Hurricane over Calais, to record his 50th aerial victory.

On 22 June 1941, Oesau’s 3rd Group took part in Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia. He claimed a MiG-1 fighter and a Tupolev SB-2 twin-engined bomber on the 24th, his first two victories of the campaign. He claimed another four on the 26th and claimed two on 30 June and three on 1 July to record his 62nd aerial victory. The Soviet fighters proved no match for him as he continued to add to his score. On 6 July he claimed three victories, on the 8th he shot down four Tupolev SB-2 aircraft, claimed five on 10 July, another seven on the 12th and two on 15 July. He was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oakleaves and Swords on 16 July, and had claimed a total of eighty-eight victories, of which thirty-eight had been over the Eastern Front. By now Oesau was a Major and on 20 July he succeeded Major Wilhelm Balthasar as Kommodore of the 2nd Fighter Wing ‘Richthofen’, after Balathasar had been killed on 3 July over Calais. During his last few days flying combat over the Eastern Front Oesau claimed another six Soviet aircraft before being wounded in the face and knee.

Major Walter Oesau succeeded Wilhelm Balthasar as Kommodore of the 2nd Fighter Wing on the Western Front in July 1941. (Author’s collection)

At the end of July he took up his new command with the 2nd Fighter Wing on the Western Front, with his headquarters near the Pas-de-Calais. For the next two years he was tasked with defending targets against the RAF. On 10 August he claimed his 95th aerial victory, a Spitfire north-east of Calais. Two days later he shot down five aircraft: four Spitfires and one Hurricane to secure his 100th aerial victory. On 16 August he claimed a Spitfire north-west of Calais and on 21st he claimed two more, and he shot down another on the 31st. He claimed another Spitfire in September and three more in October to bring his score to 108. In February 1942 the 2nd Fighter Wing took part in the air cover of the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, known as the Channel Dash. Two B-17 bombers attacked the German battleships and, in one of the highest-altitude interceptions of the Second World War, the bombers were attacked by a group from the 2nd Fighter Wing which managed to destroy one of them, putting their score past the 800 mark.

Oesau was now grounded as his skill and leadership qualities were regarded as too valuable to risk further in combat. Oesau was not happy and whenever he could fly the occasional sortie he did. On 17 April 1942, he claimed an RAF Lancaster shot down west of Evreux during a raid on targets in Augsburg, it was from No. 44 Squadron and piloted by Warrant Officer George. T. Rhodes. The aircraft was destroyed and there were no survivors. From late 1942 his wing exchanged their Bf 109s for the Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-2 and began to fly against increasingly numerous formations of USAAF B-17s and B-24 bombers. On 20 December Oesau added two B-17s to his score and in February 1943 he was promoted to Oberstleutnant. He added another victory to his score on 4 April when he claimed a B-17 over St. Pierre. In July he was appointed Fighter Leader Brittany, before taking over as Kommodore of the 1st Fighter Wing on 12 November, following the death of Oberstleutnant Hans Philipp in October. His ban on flying had now been lifted and Oesau could once again fly in as many combat missions as he wanted. Whilst flying with the 1st Fighter Wing he had become something of a four-engined bomber specialist, claiming another two B-17s in December. In January 1944 he shot down another two B-17s and by the end of February had claimed another eight victories, six of them being four-engined bombers. On 10 January 1944, in recognition of his great success in shooting down four-engined bombers he was awarded the German Cross in Gold.

Whilst in command of the 1st Fighter Wing he frequently received his share of Göring’s anger over the failure of his fighter wing in beating off the Allied bomber offensive. Göring questioned the commitment of his fighter commanders. Like many who were banned from flying after their successes Oesau ignored the order and still flew missions, as committed as ever. Nevertheless even with Göring’s displeasure Oesau was promoted to Oberst on 1 May 1944. A week later he shot down his last aerial victory of the war, a P-47 Thunderbolt, south-west of Verdun. On 11 May 1,000 US heavy bombers attacked targets in Eastern France and North East Belgium. They were escorted by large numbers of P-38 and P-51 fighters, Oesau at the time was in bed with the flu and when Göring heard this he phoned his staff and told them, ‘I know that kind … He has turned tired and coward …’. When Oesau was told he was so angry that he took off in his Bf 109 from Paderborn despite his high fever. He led three aircraft over the Ardennes and attacked the bombers. During a dogfight his wingman reported damage and was ordered to break off from the attack. Oesau then faced the P-38s and other fighters alone. What exactly followed is unclear; some reports state he was chased by First Lieutenant James L. Doyle, First Lieutenant Wilbur L. Jarvis III and Flight Lieutenant James C. Austin of the 428th Fighter Squadron. Another version is that it was more likely he was chased by a P-51 pilot from the 354th Fighter Group. During the ensuing 20-minute dogfight, Oesau defended himself skilfully, though his aircraft was damaged by gunfire. While attempting an emergency landing his aircraft was hit by another burst of fire and crashed into the ground about six miles south-west of St. Vith. His body was thrown clear of the aircraft some yards away. German records show that his death was caused by an explosive shell in the cockpit and the left-hand side of his body was riddled with bullets. He is buried in Meldorf, a town in western Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. In recognition of his record and service the 1st Fighter Wing received the honorary title of ‘Oesau’ in honour of its fallen commander. Only Werner Mölders had a similar honour when his Fighter Wing JG51 was named ‘Mölders’.

There is very little information available on his personal life. He had a good sense of humour and liked to spend time with his friends. He was a simple man, who did not display any flamboyant personal emblems on his aircraft. Johannes Steinhoff, who went on to become the Chief of Staff of Allied Air Forces in Central Europe, said of Oesau, ‘He was the toughest fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe’. Adolf Galland said, ‘… one of the greatest pilots of the Luftwaffe, he was tough-minded as well as a brilliant fighter.’

Horst ‘Jakob’ TIETZEN

Hauptmann

Knight’s Cross: Awarded posthumously on 20 August 1940 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän of the 5th Squadron of the 51st Fighter Wing ‘Mölders’ for operations over France and England.

Horst Tietzen claimed twenty-four victories during his career as a Luftwaffe fighter pilot, claiming seven victories during the Spanish Civil War and seventeen over the Western Front during the Second World War. He was born on 19 July 1912 in Arnswalde, West Pomeranian, now part of Poland, and joined the Condor Legion as a Leutnant in 1938.

Tietzen claimed his first victory attached to the 3rd Squadron of the 88th Fighter Group in Spain on 19 July 1938. Shortly after he transferred to the 1st Squadron and by December he had claimed a total of seven aerial victories, all Soviet-built Polikarpov I-16 single-engined fighters.