Hptm. Karl Neumaier JG 7 + 21.04.1945

[Karl]

Hi,

there was an ebay auction in April 2012 with some photos of Karl Neumaier taken out from an album including the one shown in this thread.
On the back of one of the photos following written information: Born 17.01.1915 in Munich(?) and "Gefallen am 21.IV.1945 bei Sagan" (KIA on 21th April near Sagan).
My Interpretation: Not shot down or crashed while on board of an aircraft, but KIA on the ground in fight against the Russians.

Sagan (Zagan, Poland)-Küpper was an airfield where test / development flights for Ar234 jet bomber were performed. Maybe Neumaier was in charge of testing the Ar234 or assigned to FLÜG1 or KG76?

Regards, Karl

[Larry deZeng]

No mention of Neumaier in the JG 7 unit history below, but an oblique reference to an “Oblt. Neumar” appears in a Liste der Flugzeugführer des Jagdgeschwaders 7 on page 257 but nowhere else in the book:

Boehme, Manfred. Jagdgeschwader 7: Die Chronik eines Me 262-Geschwaders 1944/45. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1983. ISBN: 3-87943-925-7. Hb. Dj. 291p. Illus. Tables. Appendices. Bibliography.

A more recent, more authoritative but shorter history of JG 7 also fails to mention Neumaier but does identify the mysterious “Oblt. Neumar” at Ia of I./JG 7:

Jurleit, Manfred. Strahljäger Me 262 im Einsatz: Alle Geschwader, Gruppen und Kommandos. Berlin: Transpress Verlagsgesellschaft, 1993. ISBN: 3-344-70778-7. Hb (card cover). 199p. Heavily illus. Tables. Appendices. Glossary. Source notes.

So, basically, we have little or no evidence of Neumaier’s service record after September 1939. I strongly suggest you contact BA-MA for a copy of his personnel file, these usually running 10-25 pages, or a copy of his 2-4 page Karteikarte that lists his assignments.

I agree with Karl (the post preceding this one) that some time after Neumaier was promoted to Hptm. by the Luftwaffe in 1942, he was seconded to the Army or Waffen-SS. The may have happened in September 1944 when many of the Fliegerschulen were disbanded and the personnel sent off to the ground forces. Being with the administrative or instructor cadre with the Fliegerschulen would also explain why there is so little about him in the surviving documents.

[Melvin Brownless]

Originally Posted by Larry deZeng

No mention of Neumaier in the JG 7 unit history below, but an oblique reference to an “Oblt. Neumar” appears in a Liste der Flugzeugführer des Jagdgeschwaders 7 on page 257 but nowhere else in the book:

Boehme, Manfred. Jagdgeschwader 7: Die Chronik eines Me 262-Geschwaders 1944/45. Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag, 1983. ISBN: 3-87943-925-7. Hb. Dj. 291p. Illus. Tables. Appendices. Bibliography.

A more recent, more authoritative but shorter history of JG 7 also fails to mention Neumaier but does identify the mysterious “Oblt. Neumar” at Ia of I./JG 7:

Jurleit, Manfred. Strahljäger Me 262 im Einsatz: Alle Geschwader, Gruppen und Kommandos. Berlin: Transpress Verlagsgesellschaft, 1993. ISBN: 3-344-70778-7. Hb (card cover). 199p. Heavily illus. Tables. Appendices. Glossary. Source notes.

So, basically, we have little or no evidence of Neumaier’s service record after September 1939. I strongly suggest you contact BA-MA for a copy of his personnel file, these usually running 10-25 pages, or a copy of his 2-4 page Karteikarte that lists his assignments.

I agree with Karl (the post preceding this one) that some time after Neumaier was promoted to Hptm. by the Luftwaffe in 1942, he was seconded to the Army or Waffen-SS. The may have happened in September 1944 when many of the Fliegerschulen were disbanded and the personnel sent off to the ground forces. Being with the administrative or instructor cadre with the Fliegerschulen would also explain why there is so little about him in the surviving documents.

Thanks Larry, so no problem getting files from the BA-MA unlike WASt? Really appreciate everyones effort on this one, thanks guys!

Regards,

Melvin

www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co.uk

[Larry deZeng]

Melvin wrote in part:

Thanks Larry, so no problem getting files from the BA-MA unlike WASt? Really appreciate everyones effort on this one, thanks guys!

May require some persistence. If you try on your own by going directly to BA-MA with an e-mail the odds are in your favor provided you explain exactly what you need the copies for and give them the link to your splendid website. When they see that you are not glorifying Neumaier as some sort of Nazi hero, then I think they will cooperate. Should they turn you down, then you will have to get one of BA-MA's accredited private researchers to get the copies for you. I know of 4 members of TOCH who get copies of these records from BA-MA without any trouble on a regular basis once they get past the first transaction.

L.

[Melvin Brownless]

Larry,

Thank you very much for your kind words regarding our remembrance website, really appreciate that! Thanks also for your advice regarding BA, will give that a go and see what happens.

Regards,

Melvin

www.aircrewremembrancesociety.co.uk

[John Manrho]

I have ordered about 100+ Personalaktes with in total almost 6,000 pages. Not a problem for officers who have been killed or died >30 years ago. Others are more difficult, especially the ones who entered the Bundesluftwaffe after 1956.

Cheers,

John

Ps. Not cheap though....