Douglas Pitcairn

[Pyker]

Anyone have details concerning Hptm Douglas Pitcairn ? In WW2 he was St.Kapt. 1./JG51 and claimed 4 victories before being injured in a crash which ended his combat flying. 1. 25.09.39 Curtiss 2. 21.05.40 Hurricane
3. 23.05.40 Dewoitine 4. 06.06.40 LeO451. He had served in the Spanish Civil War and the book Polesti by James Dugan and Carroll Stewart (Random House, 1962)notes his service in Spain. At page 88; "He entered combat...in 1936 with a Heinkel 51 squadron...his first enemy aircraft destroyed was a...Curtiss, piloted by a French volunteer..." Have not been able to find any details of this victory. Can you help ?

Pyker

[Klaus Schiffler]

On 25 Sep 1939 a Potez 637 of GR II/52 was closely escorted by three Curtiss H-75As of GC II/4 and also by six H-75As of GC I/4 flying top cover over Weissenburg. A group of Bf 109s from I./JG 51, II./JG 52 and II./JG 53 intercepted the French aircraft. Douglas Pitcairn and Heinz Bär claimed one H-75A apiece from the top cover for their first kills. Two of these H-75As crash-landed. One H-75A was also shot down with the pilot being killed by II./JG 53, and the Potez was shot down by 4./JG 52.

One Bf 109E was lost, the pilot being killed, of II./JG 53, which also had two damaged Bf 109Es, 53% and 45%. Two Bf 109Es of I./JG 51 were damaged 10-15%.

This information is in Fledgling Eagles by Christopher Shores.

[Pyker]

Klaus

Thanks for the information about the first victory of Pitcairn in World War 2.

As I noted in my request about Pitcairn I have not been able to find information about a victory ( perhaps unconfirmed ) by him in the Spanish Civil War during his service in the Legion Condor. Pitcairn served there in the 3.Staffel of J.88 and became St.Kpt. for the period April 1937 - 26 July 1937. For his service in Spain, Pitcairn received the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern.

Pyker

[Don Pearson]

"The Legion Condor" by Ries/Ring has no victories listed for Pitcairn. It is interesting to note that he is given credit for initial use of the Mickey Mouse emblem later adopted by Galland.

Don

[Pyker]

Don

In addition the Ries/Ring book notes that Pitcairn's successor as St.Kpt. of the 3. Staffel was Galland. The Condor Legion Victory List on the excellent web site of Jan Safarik does not list him either, not even in the "unconfirmed" victory section !

Pyker

[Fenton52]

I don't have any more details regarding Colonel Pitcairn's record during the Spanish War, but I met with him in 1969 in Munich & that evening had dinner with he & his wife. If there is any info you are interested about, in regard to what I know, I'd be glad to share. Just let me know. Incidentally, his commentary in 1955 at the War College on the air defenses at Polesti is the spark for the book "Polesti" by Dugan & Stewart.
,
Roy L Miller LT COL (Ret)

[Doug Stankey]

Here is what we have about this guy:

PITCAIRN, Douglas.
(DOB: 15.02.13).
01.04.32 fighter pilot training at Fliegerschule Schleissheim and in Russia (to 30.09.33).
01.10.33 entered service with the Heer (Kraftfahrtruppe).
01.01.35 trf to the Luftwaffe and sent to Fliegerschule Schleissheim for fighter pilot training.
16.04.35 trf to JG Richthofen as a pilot.
12.03.36 trf to III./JG 134 (Lippstadt).
06.11.36 trf to Jagdgruppe I./88 (Legion Condor) as Adjutant and Staffelführer of 3. Staffel (to 26.07.37). 10.08.37 trf to I./JG 135.
01.07.38 Hptm., appt Staka 1./JG 135.
01.11.38 appt Staka 1./JG 233.
01.05.39 appt Staka 1./JG 51.
25.09.39 Hptm. and Staka 1./JG 51.
05.08.40 WIA – in take-off collision at Pihen/10 km SW of Calais.
06.08.40 trf to Erg.Jagdgruppe Merseburg and hospitalized.
12.10.40 Hptm., appt training Gruppenleiter in JFS 2 (to 06.08.41).
07.08.41 Hptm., appt provisional Kdr. Jagdfliegervorschule 2 (to 04.01.42).
05.01.42 appt Ia op 1 in Stab/2. Jagddivision and in Stab/XII. Fliegerkorps (to 15.09.43).
01.04.42 promo to Maj.
01.01.43 trf into the Generalstab d.Lw. (did not attend the Luftkriegsakademie).
16.09.43 appt Ia in Stab/Jagdfliegerführer Rumänien.
01.02.44 appt Ia in Stab/Jagdfliegerführer Balkan.


That’s all we have. Anyone know what happened to this chap? For that matter, where was he from?

HLdZ,
DGS

[Leo Etgen]

Hello guys

5 August 1940: Hauptmann Douglas Pitcairn, Staffelkapitän of 1./JG 51, wounded in Bf 109 E "White 1" during collision on take-off with Bf 109 E-4 "White 8" (W.Nr. 6266) of Feldwebel Willi Gasthaus of 1./JG 51 at Pihen. His aircraft was 100% damaged while that of Gasthaus, who was unharmed, suffered less than 10% damage.

There are two photographs of him as well as two of the above accident in the JG 51 photo-history by Stipdonk and Meyer.

Horrido!

Leo

[Fenton52]

Doug Stankey,

According to the book "Polesti," authored by Dugan & Stewart (Randon House-1962) p.88, "Pitcairn of Perthshire was descended from a Scottish Protestant clan which had emigrated to East Prussia in 1830 after religious quarrels with Catholic neighbors. One of his ancestors was the midshipman who first sighted Pitcairn Island, the haven of H.M.S. Bounty's mutineers. The German Pitcairn had grown up in Memel, joined the revived German air force in the early thirties, and was secretly trained as a fighter pilot in Gerstenberg's school in Lipetsk in the Soviet Union. He entered combat in 1936 with a Henkel 51 squadron flying for Franco and his first enemy aircraft destroyed was a U.S.-built Curtis, piloted by a French volunteer fo the Loyalists." When I visited with him in his home in Jul 1969, he told me he had flown in the same unit in WW2 as did Manfred von Richthofen, popularly known as the "Red Baron," did in WW1. At the time of our visit, he was a liaison officer with the USAFE. He also mentioned that an injury during the war kept him from being awarded the Iron Cross by Hitler. I have not had any contact with him since.

Roy

[VtwinVince]

Very interesting, Roy. People forget that many Jacobites settled in East Prussia after Culloden, including my grandmother's neighbors in Koenigsberg with the name Douglas.

[Pyker]

It would appear that the victory listed for Douglas Pitcairn in the Book Polesti by Dugan and Stewart cannot be documented in other sources [ at least for the present].
Thanks to all of you who responded !

Pyker

[Fenton52]

In a follow up to my previous posts on the visit with Douglas Pitcairn, I had the experience of the following intriguing bit. When I was visiting with him after dinner in his study, I noticed a photo of a Saab fighter with him in the picture. I asked about that & he said that after the war (WW2) he went to Sweden to pay a visit to his friend who was the Swedish air force's commander & Pitcairn was offered & he accepted the courtesy of taking the jet fighter for a spin. He did & the photo is after he landed (single seat). He had never flown that acft previously.

In his garage was a porsche & his wife said that he drove very fast. She said he also skiied & went straight down the hills without turning! Talk about a swashbuckler!

Roy

[Sergio Luis dos Santos]

I did a looking on my papers and found Pitcairn´s sheet with some info on his family. Nothing about his aviation career but guess may be of some interest.

[Kurt Braatz]

Dougls Pitcairn lived in Rimsting by the Chiemsee and died last year. He was a very valuable source for my biographies of Lützow and Mölders. With Lützow, he flew in Spain, and with Mölders, he served at JG 134 and JG 51. A very charming, humourous man. The origins of the family are in Scotland, of course, but his branch immigrated to East Prussia in the 17th or 18th century, where they succeeded as ship merchants.

[CRIPES_A_MIGHTY]

I have just meet a relation of Douglas Pitcairn.
He runs a genealogy company in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.
I was there with the intention of finding out about my partners family history. But while there, I mentioned my passion for aviation, and that's when he told me about Douglas who is in his family tree.
He mentioned his line had emigrated to East Prussia, and that he had flown in Spain.
He told me the story of take off accident which finished his flying..and he ended up at Goering's HQ..something like that.
He was indeed is of Scottish descent.