[Larry deZeng]

01.02.43 promo to Oblt.
01.09.44 promo to Hptm.

That would be 18 months from Oberleutnant to Hauptmann, a not uncommon rate of advancement for flying officers and Fallschirmjäger officers. But I have seen a few instances of that promotion being made in 3 to 6 months. In those cases, I think it was just a matter of everything coming together at the right time for the individual: (1) a distinguished officer with outstanding efficiency reports; (2) all the right decorations; (3) a highly skilled pilot; (4) excellent leadership qualities; (5) a loyal National Socialist (at least outwardly); and most of all, (6) an opening for a Hauptmann in his unit's KStN, or what today we would call an available job slot.

L.