Usage of Pervitin
 

Only sometimes there is a possibility of hints about usage of pervitin in Luftwaffe. I have found an episode in Steinhoffs "Strasse von Medina", but what about others? Does anybody has some hints?

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

There are more references, IIRC Lipfert also mentions the use in his biography. I've certainly come across more examples, but haven't made a note on the subject (although I have on occasion asked questions about it).

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Hello,

According to todays definitions, Pervitin is a drug or more precise it is the commercial name for methamphetamine. It was produced since 1938 by the Temmler pharmaceutical company in Berlin. In 1941 the sale of Pervitin was restricted.

Use Google for more information.


regards,
Tomi

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

I think you'll find that the RAF and USAAF gave aircrew benzedrine to stave off fatigue as well.

Give young men guns, powerful machinery and speed ... what could possibly go wrong?

I./kg66
 

I know from at least one veteran that it was used with I./KG66, the Luftwaffe's Pathfinder unit, during Unternehmen Steinbock (the Baby Blitz) in early 1944.

Regards,

Marcel

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Thanks!

Lipfert stated only usage of Alcohol IIRC, but i am not sure.

@ Marcel van Heijkop

Can you give any name please?

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Hi Jens,

Former JG 300 pilots told me that some of them used regularly Pervitin during the last months of the war, especially men of I. and III./JG 300. I heard some reports about unexpected bad effects. For example:" Hauptmann Fritz Lonzius, unser Gruppenkommandeur, war am Kriegsende Pervitin-abhängig und nicht mehr fähig, die Gruppe in der Luft zu führen..."

best wishes from France - JY.

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

We were issued with benzedrine in our survival equipment, to be used to stay awake if necessary. This was early 50s

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Benzedrine is superior to amphetamine, the latter causing more effects rather than killing sleepness. Anyway, it is interesting if use of 'speeds' resulted in any increase of accidents. This must have been a subject of scientific research and I believe the stuff must have been rationed.

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Some years ago I worked with a US Vietnam vet ... a grunt as I recall it. He told me the radio operators in most patrols, and the guys back at the fire control bases or whatever they call them, were heavy users. Point being that with one end of the conversation going like wild-fire, the other end had to play the same game! Could be urban myth, but then again we hear of lots of drug use in 'Nam. D

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Thanks guys.

These are good hints!

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Pervitin was frequently issued by staff medics to aircrew who had to fly long range or both day and night missions. Transportgruppe 30, who flew supplies to the navy cauldrons of La Rochelle, St. Nazaire etc. in 1944/45, used it excessively. See my book "Schafsweide", ISBN 3-9807935-0-8 for detailed info.

Re: Usage of Pervitin
 

Also very interesting.

I have found, Priller was against the usage of Pervitin.

Seems to me, that mostly units with long-range-actions (Transport, Bomber) or great stress ((Night)Fighter, late-war, RLV) used it.

Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

"By 1940, Pervitin was widely distributed among pilots in the Luftwaffe to prime them for the rigors of long missions, or to ward off sleeplessness and hunger if their planes were shot down, Holland told Live Science

That was the year of the Blitz — the Nazis' relentless and devastating bombing attack against Britain — an initiative fueled by massive quantities of speed, Holland said.

Records from the British War Office estimated that over the three months of the Blitz — from April to June 1940 — about 35 million Pervitin tablets were sent to 3 million German soldiers, seamen and pilots, Nicolas Rasmussen, a professor in the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of New South Wales in Australia, reported in 2011 in The Journal of Interdisciplinary History."

https://www.livescience.com/65788-wo...gn=20190625-ls

Bronc

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

I have spoken to night fighter crews about Pervitin. They spoke quite freely about it. Some used it in small amounts and others did not like it because they could not sleep afterwards. One night fighter ace ate it like candy and made him very aggressive.

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

One quote from a Nachtjagd pilot that I've included in a January 1944 narrative in the NCA series (full story will be published in the 1st vol for 1944): In order to stay awake, I ate some Scho-Ka-Kola before we took off. A kind of chocolate containing the chemical Pervitin as a ‘waker-upper.’ The stuff works great, but afterwards, you’re exhausted and you also get bad headaches.

Cheers, Theo

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

And should you fancy buying some after that glowing review: https://www.scho-ka-kola.de/homepage-english.html

(Only caffeine in it these days, though!)

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

Hello gentlemen!

Not a document, but a little nice story!
Parts of TGr. 30 were stationed at airfield Reichenbach from 24.March 45 to
22.April 45. By night they flew to supply the channel islands and the
"Atlantikfestungen". The crews got Pervitin to stay awake. This Pervitin
were little white pills, which looked like Saccharin. On 23.April 45 airfield Reichenbach was abandoned. The barracks were plundered by some people
from the "Torfwerksiedlung". They found a lot of these little white pills and
put them into their coffee and tea. The doctor from Schussenried got a lot
of work that time because of circulatory trouble and sleeplessness.

Hope you`ll enjoy it!
My source: Flugplatz Reichenbach 1938-1945, Walter Hermanutz

Herzliche Grüsse aus Oberschwaben,

Wolfgang

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

TGr. 30 also flew supplies of an energy supplement, Dextro-Energen, to the "Atlantic Fortresses".(You can still get it, renamed as Dextro-Energy).

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

That's simply Dextrose (89%) resp. sugar (82%).

Gerhard

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

Many of the most successful products are mostly sugar!

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

Documentation in German TV


https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x353c9e

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNBmbOMdZnE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oUQhw2X2FA

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

I saw the above mentioned PBS documentary World war speed and found it interesting.

WW2 week by week on youtube also mentions Pervitin use and Hitler's drug use.

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

The History on 21 July 2019 had a program "Nazis on Drugs" dealing with this subject and Hitler's drug use

I think I read where a RAF pilot shot down in the sea during the Dieppe raid consumed the speed pills in his survival kit which kept him high for 2 days until it wore off and he crashed so to speak.

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

Ahem, it wasn't just 'Nazis' who were whacked out on drugs whilst on ops, as the USAF demonstrates with it's use of 'Go Pills'.

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

Best tell that to the History Channel: I'm sure they'll happily forgo dramatic impact if it makes their programmes more accurate!

Re: Luftwaffe Use of Pervitin: Documented?
 

Do I sense a slight touch of irony here Nick? :D

Cheers
Stig

Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Hi guys

One reads from time to time of the use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew during operations in WWII. Do we know what regulations existed within the various Axis air forces? German, Italian, Japanese. And the outcome when ignored?

Were there any well-known examples?

Just out of interest.

I've post similarly on the Allied site.

Stay safe
Brian

Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew.
 

Hi guys

One reads from time to time of the use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew during operations in WWII. Do we know what regulations existed within the various Axis air forces? British, American, Russian. And the outcome when ignored?

Were there any well-known examples?

Just out of interest.

I've post similarly on the Axis site.

Stay safe
Brian

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Use of benzedrine and other stimulators has been well recorded by both Allied and Axis forces in WW2. Alcohol appears to have been even greater widespread use, including a number of comments on the use of oxygen by fighter pilots to help recover from hangovers. Or are you referring to illegal use of drugs?

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Just reread Macky Steinhoff's "Straits of Messina" he talks about taking a few tablets of Pervitin in one go during a transit flight and being grounded for a day by the Wing Doctor when he landed.

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Neil Page wrote about this on his Falke Eins blog a few years ago: http://falkeeins.blogspot.com/2016/1...d-alcohol.html

Pervitin (methamphetamine) was standard in aircrew survival packs in the Battle Of Britain. In Summer 1940 the Luftwaffe was also busy distributing 2,500,000 bottle of champagne amongst the Luftflotten and the RLM. I'll have something about both these things on a future update to my website.

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Many thanks, guys

There are a number of accounts that suggest many Soviet pilots had a quick swig of strong vodka as they departed for battle. I couldn't blame them!

i look forward to your piece, Nick.

Stay safe
Brian

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

BCRS v4 has: German ace Hans Assi Hann having one drink too many on the day he was shot down.
VVS pilots getting 100 grams of vodka for each kill , the field ration.
The 18 GIAP under Stalin's son Vasly parting hard

There is also the case of a RAF pilot shoe down in the sea during the Dieppe raid who took all his bezedrine pills at once and was soon rescued and came down 2 days later.

Some german NJG pilots did use Pervin from what I have read

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

men and women of the RAF in England liked to visit pubs. On the night of 26/27 Apr 1941 one was hit by a bomb and a few men of 222 Squadron were KIA including F/Lt B Van Mentz. this is from the Foreman 1941 book and the book "Fly For Your Life"

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Alcohol abuse was widespread in Luftwaffe units, especially late war.

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Heavy drinking was common among Russian officers pre-WW I . I understand there was a lot of drug use opium, MJ, and cocaine in Russia during the WW I period.

Herman Goring was a drug addict do to his WW I wounds

WW I German ace Ernst Frieherr Von Athaus was a heroin user according to some accounts.

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

An overview of the use of Pervitin among the military and civilians.


https://thesecuritydistillery.org/al...are-in-1939-45

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

Neville Duke's war diaries certainly show an affection and a culture for drinking. Both in Britain in 1941 and later in the Middle East he hits the booze every moment he can, always in the company of other pilots, both with his squadron and on leave. Tony Bartley admits he was drinking a bottle of whisky a day in 1943 before finally being taken off ops.

Re: Use of alcohol and drugs by aircrew?
 

I was examining the 1942 diaries for 2/48th Battalion (9th Australian Division) recently and found mention of the court martial of a chap for possession of hashish.

No doubt other servicemen, including aircrew, dabbled during their time in the Middle East.