Wilhelm and Hermann Staege
 

Were the above (Uffz Wilhelm 2.J/88 three victories and Ofw Hermann 2.(J)/LG 2 15 victories) related and if so, what became of the former?

Re: Wilhelm and Hermann Staege
 

Chris

At least Johannes Mathews seems to be convinced they were one and the same person (he does not mention the given name Wilhelm at all)

Hermann went on to 2./JG 77 and 11./JG 2 when he was killed 22.1.1943 during a bombing of his airfield outside Tunis.

It's been a while since I saw Johannes online here, so perhaps you should send him a PM asking how he made the connection?

Cheers
Stig

Re: Wilhelm and Hermann Staege
 

Stig: I suspected as much. Johannes pops up occasionally and I am sure he will see this

Re: Wilhelm and Hermann Staege
 

Hi Chris and Stig

I remember this guy by name, but cannot remember why I surmised it was one pilot not two, but I would have had good reason at the time. This is one reason that I collect every scrap of information about each pilot, I was able to connect many a profile to another to make two claimants into one, and am never happy until I have a Date of Birth/Death for a pilot.

But we all make mistakes, which by duplication "become fact".

Kind Regards

Johannes

Re: Wilhelm and Hermann Staege
 

All,

It’s not definitive but here is a possibility.

There were an Uffz Staege as well as an Uffz Stange that served in the Legion Condor’s 2./J88 at the same time, both made 3 claims in the SCW and both actually made their first claim on 30 November 1937. The Books on the SCW that I’ve seen state that they are Uffz Wilhelm Staege and Uffz Hermann Stange but I’ve found no further information on either of these 2 pilots.

However, we have the following 2 pilots in WWII
- Oblt Willy (Wilhelm) Stange 3 & 8./JG 3 12 claims WWII KIA 22.06.41
- Ofw Hermann Staege, 2.(J)/LG 2, 2./JG 77, 11./JG 2 & II./JG 53 18 claims WWII KIA 22.01.43
I thought I had something about one of these being awarded the Spanish Cross but the details are not in my notes – so not definitive.

Anyway, I believe it’s a mix up of first names for the 2 pilots in the SCW for these 2 pilots of WWII. Possibly mixed up in an earlier work on the Legion Condor and carried through in later publications.

Regards,

Craig…

Re: Wilhelm and Hermann Staege
 

Craig: This appears to be a convincing assumption