Eagles of the Third Reich: Men of the Luftwaffe in WWII (Stackpole Military History Series) (63 page)

Holle, Col. Gen. Alexander
. Enlisted as a private, November, 1915. Served with 13th Infantry Regiment during World War I and with 16th Infantry Regiment between the wars. Admitted to General Staff, 1931. Transferred to Luftwaffe, 1934. Commander, 1st Wing, 3rd Dive-Bomber Group, 1938–40. Named chief of staff, IV Air Corps, January 1940. Rose rapidly thereafter. Served as commander, 26th Bomber Group, chief of staff, Air Command North (East), chief of the Luftwaffe Staff in Greece, commander, X Air Corps, and commander, Luftwaffe Command West (formerly 3d Air Fleet) (1944). Holle was commander, IV Air Corps, in Denmark from December, 1944, to the end of the war. Junck, Maj. Gen. Werner. Commander, 3d Fighter Division, on western front (1940-43). Played prominent role as a fighter commander during the Battle of Britain. Later commanded the II Fighter Corps (1944).

Meindl, Gen. Eugen
. A prominent member of the Luftwaffe’s parachute corps, Meindl commanded the 112th Mountain Artillery Regiment (1938–40) and distinguished himself at Narvik. Later he commanded the ad hoc Division Meindl on the northern sector of the Russian front (1941–42). Meindl was commander of the 1st Luftwaffe Field Division in early 1942 and directed the XIII Air Corps (1942–43) and was in charge of assembling new Luftwaffe field divisions, which consisted of utilizing air force personnel as infantrymen—with disastrous results. In late 1943 he was named commander of the II Parachute Corps and distinguished himself in the Battle of St. Lo in Normandy (June–July, 1944). He was severely wounded at Falaise in August, but later returned to command of the II Parachute and led it until the end of the war.

Meister, Gen. Rudolf
. A World War I aerial observer, Meister served in a Freikorps flying detachment in 1919 and joined the Reichswehr. He underwent military aviation training in Russia, 1928–30, and joined the Luftwaffe General Staff in the mid-1930s. Meister was chief of staff of I Air Corps (1939–40), chief of staff, VIII Air Corps (October 1940 to March 1942), chief of Operations Branch at OKL (June to September, 1943) and commander, IV Air Corps (from June to October, 1944). Later that month he was named commander, Luftwaffe Forces in Denmark. He served as chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Office from December 1944 until the end of the war.

Nowotny, Maj. Walter
. Commander of the first jet wing to operate against the Allies, Nowotny had shot down 255 aircraft on the eastern front. He was opposed to the early commitment of the Me-262 pilots on the western front because he felt his pilots were inadequately trained, but his advice was ignored by the Luftwaffe High Command. On November 8, 1944, he scored his 258th kill, but was himself shot down and killed by American fighters as he attempted to return to base. He was a holder of the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds.

Peltz, Maj. Gen. Dietrich
. Born in 1914, Peltz joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and was commander of a dive-bomber squadron in 1939. He transferred to the heavy bombers in 1940 and was a wing commander by 1941. He directed a dive-bombing school at Foggia, Italy, in 1941, and commanded I Group, 60th Bomber Wing, in the Mediterranean in 1942, operating against Allied convoys bound for North Africa. Peltz was appointed inspector for bomber aircraft in December 1942, and was placed in charge of bomber attacks against England in March 1943. He assumed command of IX Air Corps on the western front in September 1943, despite his relatively junior rank. Peltz directed II Fighter Corps in support of Hitler’s Ardennes Offensive in late 1944/early 1945 and was then returned to the command of IX Air Corps, with the mission of converting long-range bomber units into fighter units. He apparently fell into Russian hands at the end of the war and disappeared.

Pflugbeil, Col. Gen. Kurt
. A World War I flier and Freikorps veteran, he underwent bomber training in Russia in 1928, was attached to the Italian air force, and was transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935. He commanded an air corps in 1939 and directed an air administrative command in France and Belgium (1940). Pflugbeil commanded the IV Air Corps (August, 1940–September, 1943), primarily on the Russian front. Later he commanded the 1st Air Fleet (later Luftwaffe Command Courland) in northern Russia (1943–45). Pflugbeil was offered the post of chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, but categorically refused to accept it. He died in May 1955, in a Soviet prison.

Pickert, Lt. Gen. Wolfgang
. Served on the eastern and western fronts in World War I. Joined the flak artillery arm of the Luftwaffe in 1935 and became inspector of flak forces, Reich Air Ministry, 1937. He was commander of the Rhine-Ruhr Air Defense District (1939–April, 1940) and chief of staff, I Flak Corps, in France. Until May 1942, he was chief of staff, Air Fleet Reich. Pickert led the 9th Flak Division in Russia (May 1942–1944) and was commander of III Flak Corps on the western front (1944–45). He was named commander of flak forces, OKL, in March 1945, and surrendered in Italy in April, 1945.

Plocher, Lt. Gen. Hermann
. Commissioned 1922. Pilot training, 1925. Joined Luftwaffe as captain, 1935. He served in Spain (1936–38), was chief of staff of the Condor Legion (1937–38), and later chief of staff of the V Air Corps in France and Russia (1940–42). Plocher was chief of staff of Luftwaffe Command East and 6th Air Fleet (Greim) in Russia (1942–43) and commanded the 19th Luftwaffe Field Division (1943), the 4th Air Division (1943), and the 6th Parachute Division on the western front (1944–45). He also served as chief of staff of the 3d Air Fleet (Sperrle) from October 1943 to July 1944. He wrote three excellent monographs on the air war in Russia for the United States Air Force Historical Branch in the 1960s.

Pohl, Gen. Ritter Maximilian von
. Served as German air attaché to Rome and chief liaison officer to the Italian air force, 1941–42. Pohl was promoted to general of flyers on February 1, 1942. He succeeded Baron von Richthofen as commanding general, Luftwaffe Command South, in November 1944, and directed Luftwaffe units in Italy until the end of the war.

Rohden, Maj. Gen. Hans-Detlef Herhudt von
. Served in World War I, then joined the General Staff. Transferred to Luftwaffe in 1935. In 1939 he commanded a bomber group in Schwerin and was chief of staff of the IX Air Corps in the West (1940). He was chief of staff of 4th Air Fleet on the Russian front (1941–42) but was relieved of his post by Milch. Later he became chief of staff of the 1st Air Fleet on the northern sector of the eastern front and an instructor at the Luftwaffe War Academy. He served as chief of the 8th (Military Science) Branch of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe in 1944 and 1945. After the war, Rohden was known for his historical writings on the history of air power. He died in 1952.

Rudel, Col. Hans-Ulrich
. An incredibly brave man and skillful pilot, Rudel was the leading Stuka pilot of World War II. In four years’ service on the Russian front, he destroyed more than 700 Soviet tanks and armored vehicles—enough to equip an entire armored corps. He continued operating against the Russians, even after one of his legs was shot off. Both Hitler and Goering ordered him to stop flying, but he ignored them. Faced with the choice of court-martialing Rudel or letting him get away with direct disobedience of a Fuehrer order, Hitler let Rudel have his way, and he continued to fly until the end of the war. He surrendered to the Allies after Hitler’s suicide and later migrated to Argentina. Rudel was promoted to colonel on January 1, 1945, and was commander of the 2nd Ground Attack Wing. He was the only holder of the Golden Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds, a medal created just for him. He was only twenty-nine years old in 1945.

Ruedel, Col. Gen. Otto Guenther
. Inspector of antiaircraft artillery for the Luftwaffe in 1936, Ruedel became the first general of flak artillery in 1939. He was chief of air defense for the Luftwaffe (1937–43) and was promoted to colonel general in 1943. He was chief of the Luftwehr (air arm) of the Reich Aviation Ministry in 1945.

Schlemm, General of Flyers Alfred
. A noted Luftwaffe ground commander, Schlemm commanded the H Luftwaffe Field Corps on the Russian front (1942) and the I Parachute Corps in Italy (1944). He played a major role in containing the Anzio bridgehead south of Rome in early 1944.

Seidel, Gen. Hans-Georg von
. A General Staff officer in World War I, Seidel left the army in 1920 as a captain of cavalry. He joined the Luftwaffe as a major in 1934, was promoted to major general the day the war started, and was promoted to lieutenant general in July, 1940. He became quartermaster of the Luftwaffe by June, 1941, and was primarily responsible for equipping the Luftwaffe for the winter war of 1941–42. Due to his foresight, and that of Milch, air force personnel were prepared for the Russian winter and did not suffer to the degree that the soldiers did. He was promoted to general of flyers on December 1, 1942, and apparently commanded X Air Corps in 1944 and 1945.

Waber, Gen. Bernard
. Fought in World War I as a member of the Austrian army. Integrated into the Luftwaffe, 1938, after Austria was absorbed by the Third Reich. Waber commanded Air Administrative Area VIII in Poland (1939–41) and Air Administrative Command Kiev in Russia (1941–43). He was promoted to general of flyers in March 1942. In 1944, as Luftwaffe commander of the Northern Balkans, he was court-martialed for black market activities and for personally engaging in large-scale looting. He was executed by a firing squad on February 6, 1945. His death caused great indignation within the Luftwaffe, primarily because Hermann Goering confirmed the sentence. Goering, of course, was the greatest looter of the Second World War, and the execution of Waber was considered an act of rank hypocrisy.

Weise, Col. Gen. Hubert
. A distinguished flak artillery officer, General Weise led the I Flak Corps in France in 1940 with considerable skill. For his services he was promoted to colonel general on July 19, 1940. Later, as “Luftwaffe Commander Center,” he was in charge of all defense units in the Reich from 1942 to late 1943. At the end of the war, Weise was chief of the Flak Technical Branch of the Air Ministry. He had previously served as the commander of Luftgau III in 1938.

Wimmer, Gen. Wilhelm
. This technologically competent General Staff officer was chief of the Technical Department of the Luftwaffe until June, 1936, and significantly contributed to the early technological superiority of the German Air Force. Unfortunately Hermann Goering could not stand him and replaced him with Ernst Udet—a move which may well have cost Germany the war. Wimmer briefly commanded Air Group I (later 1st Air Fleet) prior to the invasion of Poland, but most of his wartime service was as commander of Air Administrative Area Belgium and Northern France (September 1940 to 1944)—a relatively insignificant assignment. He was unemployed after his territory was overrun by the Allies.

APPENDIX 6

The Principal German Aircraft, 1935–45

Arado Ar-65
. A single-seat fighter and a biplane. First warplane of the Luftwaffe. First flew, 1931. Entered the service in 1933, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The first fighter units of the Luftwaffe were equipped with this aircraft. Used as an advanced trainer until 1940.

Arado Ar-66
. Primary trainer. Entered the service, 1933, also in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Hundreds produced. Later used to equip night harassment groups (NSGr) on the eastern front (1944–45).

Arado Ar-196
. Two-seat naval reconnaissance aircraft. This seaplane was equipped with two 20mm cannon and three machine guns. Outclassed by Allied fighters. Operated primarily in the Bay of Biscay (off the western coast of France), the Mediterranean islands, and the Black Sea. 435 produced.

Arado Ar-234 “Blitz.”
Single-seat bomber. The first jet bomber. First flight, June 15, 1943. First operational delivery to the Luftwaffe: September, 1944. 214 produced. Problem with aircraft: lack of fuel in the fifth year of the war. Ar-234s destroyed the bridge at Remagen in March, 1945.

Buecker Bu-133 “Jungmeister.”
The “Young Man” was an aerobatic aircraft developed in 1935 and delivered to the Luftwaffe in 1936. The Luftwaffe purchased several hundred as aerobatic trainers but did not use them in combat.

Buecker Bu-181 “Bestmann.”
Single-engine trainer; also used as a utility aircraft, transport, and glider tug. About six thousand built in World War II.

DFS-230
. An assault glider, originally ordered by Ernst Udet from Deutsches Forschungsinstitut fuer Segelflugzeug as a military transport glider. About one thousand were delivered to the Luftwaffe, almost all before 1941. The DFS-230 was used in the May 10, 1940, assault against Eben Emael, a critical fortress in Belgium, with complete success. It was later used in the assault on Crete, where the gliderborne troops suffered heavy casualties, but again was successful. DFS-230s were also used in Otto Skorzeny’s successful effort to rescue Mussolini from a mountaintop hotel in 1943. The employment of the DFS-230 became less and less frequent as the Luftwaffe lost command of the air after 1940.