Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hello gents,

I would like to ask for your help researching the career of specific Luftwaffe pilots.

I am interested how many and which members of the Army and Navy (maybe Waffen-SS too?) volunteered or were selected for pilot training and subsequent transfer to the Luftwaffe during wartime.

What was the criteria/ ratio behind these changes in the careers? Were e.g. only professional soldiers eligible for such a step? Did the other Armed Forces branches encourage these transfers or did they try to prevent losing their members (and trained and specialized personnel) to the Luftwaffe?

I am excluding from my request the Army members who served as observers in Nahaufklärungsgruppen and from 1943 onwards were sent to pilot training as well the (pilot trained) Army and Navy personnel who were transferred in the 1930s to build up the Luftwaffe.

I know of following examples to above-described process:

• Helmut Lipfert (JG52), member of Nachr. Abt.37 of 1. Panzerdivision, volunteered 1941 for pilot training
• Hans Dortenmann (JG54, JG26), NCO in an Infantry Regiment, transferred to Luftwaffe after self-inflicted wounds saw him unfit for ground combat duties
• Siegfried Sy (JG26), Officer in an Infantry Regiment, began 1943 pilot training
• Willi Heilmann (JG54, JG26), Officer in an Engineer Battalion, began 1943 pilot training

Do you know other examples of such a wartime transfer and career change?

Thanks a lot in advance

Best

Michael

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hi Michael,
It probably happened very often that the pilot was first a member of the WH, or another type of army.
I started searching among JG 26 pilots whose surname begins with the letter S and K.

Uffz.W. Spiegl 5./JG 26 I.R. 483
Uffz.H. Streufert 10./JG 26 Kraftf.-Ers.Abt. 32
Uffz.A. Jenner 11./JG 26 San.Ers.Komp.
Uffz.E. Kohler 3./JG 26 I.R.
Ofw.K. Kruska 6./JG 26 A.R.121
Hptm.G. Kelch 7./JG 26 A.R. 59 and 39.

If you are interested I can continue.
I did not include Flak members in this list.
Interestingly, before the war, many pilots were members of the police.
Regards Tony

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hello Tony,

thank you very much for that promising start! Especially interesting that there are many JG26 pilots who went that career path…

Do you maybe also have the years they switched to the Luftwaffe?

Thanks again and all the best

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Alfred Wehmeyer (ZG 26) started his military career as a Gebirgsjäger (a member of the mountain infantry) and later transferred to the Luftwaffe. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wehmeyer

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hans Beißwenger (JG 54) was first in the SS, then in the anti-aircraft artillery, and then moved to the Luftwaffe: https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Bei%C3%9Fwenger,_Hans

Dietrich Hrabak (JG 54) was first in the navy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Hrabak

Josef Zwernemann (JG 52) was also a sailor at the beginning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Zwernemann

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

there was a Polizeifliegerstaffel stationed in Oberschleißheim, overseeing control of German borders and air traffic.

for the OP, Fahnenjunker Martin Drewes was a tank commander in Pz-Rgt 6 before applying to fly and joining 4./ZG 76 in 1940.

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Quite a massive undertaking and noting the request is wartime only. Hans-Karl Mayer from JG 53 was a midshipman pre-war like loads of others

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

In my research into JG 6 I also have numerous pilots who belonged to other branches of the armed forces before they joined the Luftwaffe. This concerns enlisted men and officers.

John

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hello,
this is the rest of the pilots, the year in which the pilot training began is indicated in parentheses:

Uffz.W. Spiegl (1941)
Uffz.H. Streufert (1942)
Uffz.A. Jenner (1940)
Uffz.E. Kohler (1943)
Ofw.K. Kruska (1939/40)
Hptm.G. Kelch (1941)

OBlt.K. Bertels II./JG 26 Rgt. "General Göring" (1940)
Ofw.F. Roggenkamp 7./JG 26 I.R. 107 (1940)
Ogefr. H. Grimm 9./JG 26 Ln.Rgt. 1 (1943)
Fw.K. Schmidtke 4./JG 26 Ln.Rgt. 1 (1941)
Fw.K. Friedrich 11./JG 26 Geb.Jäger Rgt.98 (1940)
Lt.W. Nink 3./JG 26 I.R. 110 (1942)
Ofw.K.-H. Ehret 7./JG 26 I.R.110 and 485 (1939/40)
Ofw.F. Buchegger 2./JG 26 Aufkl.Rgt.9 (1940)

There are also opposite cases.
Two JG 52 ground staff, Gefr.Rudolf Wüster and Gefr.Eduard Woll, joined the Luftwaffe voluntarily in 1939.
In 1943, they volunteered for the SS and were members of the crew of the tank Tiger SS-Pz.Rgt.2 "Das Reich"
Regards Tony

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hello,
The pilots I had in mind were members of the police in different parts of Germany.
For example, Oblt.Herbert Heck (2./JG 26).
Before the war: SS-Obersturmführer H.Heck, Kriminalsekretär
Staatspolizei-Leistelle,Hamburg (GESTAPO)

Tony

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Thanks a lot for the input so far!


Ernst Scotti of 8./SG3 was an infantry soldier as well before switching to the Luftwaffe.


So not only fighter pilots had an Army past ;)


Best an Merry Christmas to everybody

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Firstly, Didn't 'Wutz' Galland start his service in a flak regiment?

Secondly: Dortenmann had a 'self inflicted wound'? Do you have any details of this interesting little factoid?

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hello,
Major Wilhelm-Ferdinand Galland was a member of FLAK from 1935 to 1940.
Regards Tony

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Herbert Findeisen (JG 54) was first in the infantry, then he became a reconnaissance pilot and, finally, a fighter pilot.

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Mr. Drewes told us the story years ago about panzer school, witha son of Cjiang Ki Chek's son. Years later Martin and son visited the son in Taiwan, spoke still perfect German). Martin related he didn't like the tanks close quarters, but then...the 109, also narrow.
My old friend Otto Wernik (JG1/11) was straining to go to flight school all through LW service, first in a Flak unit, where he earned that qualification badge, then a LW ground unit, where he earned that badge, finally flight school, that badge. He was reunited many years later with his Belgian rescuers, thanks to Lt. Col. Klaeys. Even two re enactors w/US uniforms and his first jeep ride in decades.
As the first westerner i visited and spent a week with Guenther Scholz, JG54/JG5 etc. The stories weren't all repeated, but he was one of the so called Goring Kadetten, first navy, then LW. His friend Mr. Hrabak was also.
Herbert Trautman of our JG27 was invalided out of flying service but sent to the HG division. LW tankers badge awarded, and kindly passed on to a certain bookman.
A merry Healthy Christmas to all and families. Best wishes for the new year, and some...good books!

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Well, Dortenmann shot and cut himself accidentially on a hunting trip. The wounds rendered him unfit for infantry service.

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Well...'ouch'.

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Gentlemen,

I have to move this interesting topic to the front page. I know there were a lot of men from the Kriegsmarine that went to serve with the Luftwaffe.

Edward L. Hsiao

Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
 

Hi Michael

I know there were a few Luftwaffe pilots without a pilots license, also a private license holder flying with NJG units, and making claims, yet not a member of the Luftwaffe at all !

Kind Regards

Johannes