Quote:
Originally Posted by philippe1
Can any of your readers tell me if a certain friedrich Lang who served with a stuka unit survived the war?and in what unit he served.
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Friedrich Lang's autobiography, "Aufzeichnungen aus der Sturzkampffliegerei", was self-published in 1999 (a slightly revised edition appeared in 2002.)
In July 1938 Lang joined 1./StG 163, which later became 1./StG 2. He served in the Polish and Western Campaigns, and after being wounded in Aug 1940, was appointed as the Technical Officer of the I. Gruppe. After his recovery in April 1941, he rejoined the 1. Staffel, flying in the Balkan and Crete campaigns and from June onwards, in the Russian campaign. In Oct 1941, Lang became Staka of 1./StG 2 and was awarded the Knight's Cross shortly thereafter. In Feb 1942, he became the first Stuka pilot to fly 500 missions. In Nov 1942, after over 600 missions, he received the Oak Leaves and was assigned as the Fliegerverbindungsoffizier (Air Liaison Officer) for Luftflotte 4 to Armeeoberkommando 17 in the Kuban.
In April 1943, he became Kommodore of III./StG 1. In March 1944, he flew his 1000th mission, earning him the Swords. He was given command of Schlachtflieger-Schulgeschwader 101 in May 1944, and flew his last mission on Feb 2 1945, when he was injured due to his Fw 190 flipping over on landing. He was released from US captivity in Sep 1945, and served in the Bundeswehr from 1956 to 1971.
Leon Venter