Luftwaffe Crews and Rows of Fw 200 Bombers

German Focke-Wulf FW 200 bombers and their Luftwaffe crews on airfield in the Western Europe. Translation of official German caption on photo reverse: "Large mission of an Atlantic bomber squadron. Share Request: BMW Aircraft Motor Works, Inc., Sec. VF 407. In the West, October 1941".

Source :
https://www.ww2online.org/image/german-bombers-and-their-luftwaffe-crews-airfield-october-1941

Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot in Avignon

Photograph, portrait. Uniformed Luftwaffe fighter pilot. Translated German caption on photo reverse: "Junior fighter pilots learn gunnery. (See leader)/ These young fighter pilots are between school and front. They get the 'finishing touches' in a training group, with multiple air and gunnery exercises under the guidance of experienced fighter pilots. Soon, the beginners will be able to record their first success, when they fly together with the 'old hands' against the enemy. Avignon, 4/10/43." Avignon, France. 4 October 1943.

Source :
https://www.ww2online.org/search-page?f%5B0%5D=field_tgm%3AMilitary%20air%20pilots--German--France

Luftwaffe Ace Hans Galubinski

Feldwebel Hans Galubinski of 7.Staffel / III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) was credited with eight aircraft destroyed (and a ninth unconfirmed) between 12 May and 6 June 1940, although he was himself shot down on the latter date by Adj Jean Crocq of GC II/1. Assigned to 7./JG 53, Galubinski and his Staffel had taken on 12 MB.152s near Soissons. Three Bloch fighters were destroyed, although Galubinski was in turn shot down after claiming two of his French opponents. The ace was fired on by furious civilians as he descended beneath his parachute, being seriously wounded by shotgun pellets prior to his capture! Galubinski would received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 2 July 1942.

Source :
"Jagdgeschwader 53 'Pik'As' Bf 109 Aces of 1940" by Chris Goss & Chris Davey
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/23112/Galubinski-Hans.htm

Pilots of I./JG 26 with Their New Leather Outfit

 

A picture which showing the heavy losses of fighter units in the "Reichverteidigung" (Defence of the Reich). Taken early October 1944, it shows pilots of I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26) with their new leather outfits in front of the Kommandantur of Krefeld airfield. Of these twelve men only four would survive the war, the other eight would be killed in the eight months until the end of the war. In the first row from left to right: Feldwebel Freiberger (1. Staffel, wounded as Oberfeldwebel on 10 December 1944 in combat with P-47 near Holzhausen / Neuß, died of his wounds on 2 April 1945); Unteroffizier Emil Brühan (1. Staffel, wounded on 25 February 1945 during a belly landing 2 km north-east Ladbergen because of engine failure; died of his wounds on 2 March 1945); Unteroffizier Heinrich Herbster (3. Staffel, wounded on 31 March 1945 by Flak near Lüdinghausen, bailed out and survived); Oberfähnrich Wolfgang Franz (3. Staffel, killed on 26 March 1945 in combat with Tempest near Lengerich); Unteroffizier Wilhelm Düsing (2. Staffel, wounded on 19 March 1945 in combat with P-5I near Osthevern, bailed out and survived), Unteroffizier Hermann Bischoff (without leatherjacket: 2. Staffel, missing in action on 23 December 1944 after combat with Marauder and P-47 south-west of Bonn); and Gefreiter Edwin Zuhaiko (3. Staffel, missing in action on 23 December 1944 after combai with Marauder and P-47 south-west of Bonn). Back row from left to right: Unknown (with pipe), Leutnant Hans-Hermann Krieger (1. Staffel, survived), Unteroffizier Ludwig Sattler (1. Staffel, missing in action on 26 December 1944 with 4./IG 26 after combat with P-51 in area Liege-Aachen), Oberfähnrich Heinrich Vandeweerd (3. Staffel, wearing Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse, killed in action on 25 February 1945 near Sendenhorst in an accident); and Unteroffizier Heinz Meiss (killed in action on 13 March 1945 as member of 7./JG 26 in combat with Spitfire near Unna.

Source :
"Luftwaffe im Focus" Edition No.1 - 2002

Luftwaffe Figures in Full Body

 

FLTR: Night fighter ace Helmut Lent and Zerstörer ace Egon Albrecht



Berlin-Gatow, 21 April 1936 - The dedication of pilot flags ceremony during 'Tag der Luftwaffe' (Day of the Air Force), on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of the death of Manfred von Richthofen, the famous German flying ace in World War I. From left to right: General der Flieger Leonhard Kaupisch (Befehlshaber vom Luftkreiskommando II in Berlin), General der Flieger Erhard Milch (Generalinspekteur der Luftwaffe), and unknown. The picture was taken by Georg Pahl.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FELDBLUSE


Oberst Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 - 22 November 1941)

 

Oberleutnant Georg Sattler (14 April 1917 - 30 August 1944)

 

General der Flieger Otto Hoffmann von Waldau (7 Juli 1898 - 17 Mei 1943)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MANTEL

 

General der Flakartillerie Dr.phil. Eugen Weissmann (19 November 1892 - 26 November 1951)

 

Source :
Bundesarchiv photo collection
Jim Haley photo collection
ECPAD Archives (LFT3 F3109 L27)
https://imagesdefense.gouv.fr/fr/catalogsearch/result/?q=erwin+rommel&avec_visuel=1
http://ritterkreuztraeger.blogspot.com/2021/10/bio-of-hauptmann-egon-albrecht-1918-1944.html

Luftwaffe Ace Kurt Sauer and His Aircraft

 

 

Unteroffizier Kurt Sauer of 9.Staffel / III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) is sat on the wing leading edge of a Bf 109E from his Staffel that has just been adorned with the ‘Pik-As’ badge. Sauer shot down three aircraft in 1940, and his tally stood at nine by the time he was made a PoW on 16 July 1941. The ‘Pik-As’ emblem was applied to all of JG 53’s aircraft following its adoption by the unit’s new Kommodore, Generalmajor Hans Klein (himself a 22-victory Word War 1 ace), upon him taking over from Oberstleutnant Werner Junck in late October 1939.

Source :
"Jagdgeschwader 53 'Pik'As' Bf 109 Aces of 1940" by Chris Goss & Chris Davey

Studio Portrait of Luftwaffe Feldwebel

Studio portrait of  a Luftwaffe Feldwebel with the name Heinrich, taken in 1940. He sported the  Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen and DRL Sportabzeichen medals in his uniform, along with medal bar Dienstauszeichnung der Luftwaffe and Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange Prager Burg.

Source :
https://germanmilitaryrelics.com/index.php/papers-books-photos/german-air-force-photo-ww2-portrait-luftwaffe-pilot-2-wk.html

German Actor and a Luftwaffe Pilot Hannes Stelzer

This is a movie picture of the Austrian actor Hannes Stelzer (1910-1944). He played a highly decorated war pilot hero in the 1941 movie 'Stukas'. By 1943 the meanwhile jobless Hannes is forced to enlist in the German Army. He becomes a fighter pilot at the Luftwaffe, and between film roles he took on combat missions in World War II! On 27 December 1944, Stelzer died in a plane crash over the village of Zemné, Slovakia (not in Hungary as is often stated) in a snowstorm, according to a Wehrmacht report. He was 34 years old. His wife actress Maria Bard - who was married twice before - committed suicide earlier earlier at Berlin on April 1944.

Source :
http://www.germanfilms.net/hannes-stelzer/

Unteroffizier Gerhard Proske from Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54)

This picture show one of the pilots who flew in the shadows of the aces. He is Unteroffizier Gerhard Proske of 1.Staffel / Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) near the tail of his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-2 “Weiße 7”, Werknummer 10411. Note Gruppe and Geschwader emblem under the cockpit. Picture taken on 1 October 1942 on Krasnowardeisk airfield. Until this day Unteroffizier Proske, who had joined I.Gruppe/JG 54 during spring of 1941, accumulated 20 claims. Some of them while flying as Katschmarek (wingman) of Gruppenkommandeur Hauptmann Erich von Selle (2 July 1941 – 14 December 1941) and Hauptmann Franz Eckerle (14 December 1941 – 14 February 1942. KIA). Gerhard Proske was awarded the Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse and Frontflugspange in Bronze. Also note the fur lined trousers. On 30 January 1944 Feldwebel Gerhard Proske (take-off 08:30 hours with Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-6 “Gelbe 1”, Werknummer 550899) was shot down by Russian fighters together with newcomer Obergefreiter Helmut Wilhelm (Fw 190 A-5 “Gelbe 2”, Werknummer 304719) during a familiarisation flight over the front area of Vitebsk-Boburisk. He was taken prisoner and return to Germany after the war. He accumulated a total 29 victory claims.

Source :
Luftwaffe im Focus - Edition No.1 2002

The Greatest Fighter Ace in the World

    During the Second World War, one German Luftwaffe pilot compiled a combat record so remarkable that he earned the distinction of becoming the most successful fighter pilot in the history of humanity. Erich Hartmann, called the Blond Knight of the German Luftwaffe, achieved the staggering total of 352 confirmed kills. Hartmann’s incredible combat record earned him the coveted diamonds to his Knight’s Cross from Hitler personally. He was never shot down or forced to land due to enemy fire.

Source :
http://5sswiking.tumblr.com/post/149147882742/5sswiking-during-the-second-world-war-one

German Pilot Rides into Captivity in US Jeep

 A German Pilot rides into captivity after his plane, from which he was strafing American positions near Weisweiler, was brought down by anti-aircraft fire out of a formation of 25 Luftwaffe aircraft during Operation Queen. The operation was aimed against the Rur river, as a staging point for a subsequent thrust over the river to the Rhine into Germany. It was conducted by the 1st and 9th U.S. Armies and was a German defensive victory. Weisweiler, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. 9 December 1944.

Source :
http://bag-of-dirt.tumblr.com/post/142814969600/a-german-pilot-rides-into-captivity-after-his

Luftwaffe Student Pilots with their Aircraft

Two Luftwaffe student pilots photographed before going into air. Left, a Focke-Wulf Fw 44 Stieglitz at FFS (Flugzeugführerschule) Fürth in 1938 with a prewar D-code and a red and white diamond emblem aft of the engine. Right, Gefreiter Teddy Hauk in a Bücker Bü 131 at Canitz, 1943.

Student Pilots of Luftwaffe in Training

Luftwaffe Student pilots with parachutes already strapped into place over their flying overalls wait for their next training flight at FFS (Flugzeugführerschule) Fürth, 1937/38. In the background is the C-variant of the Heinkel He 72 Kadett which was powered by a 135hp Argus As 10 inline piston engine.

Officers of JG 1 at Leck Airfield

Pilots of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1). In front of a partially painted Heinkel He 162 are, from left to right: Major Werner Zober (Gruppenkommandeur I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 1), Oberst Herbert Ihlefeld (Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 1), Hauptmann Heinz "Heinrich" Künnecke (Staffelkapitän 1.Staffel / I.Gruppe), Oberleutnant Karl Emil Demuth (Staffelkapitän 3.Staffel / I.Gruppe), Hauptmann Bernhard "Bernd" Gallowitsch (Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe), Hauptmann Gerhard Strasen (Gruppenkommandeur III.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 4), and Hauptmann Wolfgang Ludewig (Staffelkapitän 2.Staffel / I.Gruppe). When this photograph was taken at Leck, Schleswig-Holstein, towards the end of the war, there were about 45 Heinkel He 162s of I.(Einsatz)/JG 1 in the background.

Pilots of JG 1

Three Staffelkapitäne of I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1). From left to right: Hauptmann Wolfgang Ludewig (2.Staffel), Hauptmann Heinz "Heinrich" Künnecke (1.Staffel) and Oberleutnant Karl Emil Demuth (3.Staffel). When this photograph was taken at Leck, Schleswig-Holstein, towards the end of the war, there were about 45 Heinkel He 162s of I.(Einsatz)/JG 1 in the background.

A Focke-Wulf Fw 190 of Walter Oesau (part 2)

Walter Oesau, Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1), with his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5 'Grüne 13' (Werknummer 1230). He reached his 100th victory on 26 October 1941

Oberst Walter Oesau

Oberst Walter "Gulle" Oesau, Geschwaderkommodore for Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) and for whom it was named after his death on 11 May 1944. Oesau scored 127 victories in over 300 combat missions. 9 victories were scored during the Spanish Civil War, 74 were scored on the Western front including 14 four-engined bombers (one B-17 as engültige Vernichtung) and 44 over the Eastern front

Luftwaffe Ace Erich Hartmann in the Cockpit of Bf 109

Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 "Gelbe 1". With this aircraft he made his 300th victory on 25 August 1944. Also seen is his trusted mechanic and best friend, Heinz 'Bimmel' Mertens

Luftwaffe Ace Erich Hartmann with his Trusted Mechanic

Oberleutnant Erich Hartmann, the world's most successful fighter pilot with a tally of 352 victories. He is seen here with his mechanic, Heinz 'Bimmel' Mertens, and his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6