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Luftwaffe and Axis Air Forces Please use this forum to discuss the German Luftwaffe and the Air Forces of its Allies. |
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#1
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Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Hello gents,
I would like to ask for your help researching the career of specific Luftwaffe pilots. I am interested how many and which members of the Army and Navy (maybe Waffen-SS too?) volunteered or were selected for pilot training and subsequent transfer to the Luftwaffe during wartime. What was the criteria/ ratio behind these changes in the careers? Were e.g. only professional soldiers eligible for such a step? Did the other Armed Forces branches encourage these transfers or did they try to prevent losing their members (and trained and specialized personnel) to the Luftwaffe? I am excluding from my request the Army members who served as observers in Nahaufklärungsgruppen and from 1943 onwards were sent to pilot training as well the (pilot trained) Army and Navy personnel who were transferred in the 1930s to build up the Luftwaffe. I know of following examples to above-described process:
Thanks a lot in advance Best Michael |
#2
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Hi Michael,
It probably happened very often that the pilot was first a member of the WH, or another type of army. I started searching among JG 26 pilots whose surname begins with the letter S and K. Uffz.W. Spiegl 5./JG 26 I.R. 483 Uffz.H. Streufert 10./JG 26 Kraftf.-Ers.Abt. 32 Uffz.A. Jenner 11./JG 26 San.Ers.Komp. Uffz.E. Kohler 3./JG 26 I.R. Ofw.K. Kruska 6./JG 26 A.R.121 Hptm.G. Kelch 7./JG 26 A.R. 59 and 39. If you are interested I can continue. I did not include Flak members in this list. Interestingly, before the war, many pilots were members of the police. Regards Tony |
#3
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Hello Tony,
thank you very much for that promising start! Especially interesting that there are many JG26 pilots who went that career path… Do you maybe also have the years they switched to the Luftwaffe? Thanks again and all the best Last edited by Schlageter; 23rd December 2021 at 00:42. Reason: Spelling mistake |
#4
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Alfred Wehmeyer (ZG 26) started his military career as a Gebirgsjäger (a member of the mountain infantry) and later transferred to the Luftwaffe. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Wehmeyer
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#5
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Hans Beißwenger (JG 54) was first in the SS, then in the anti-aircraft artillery, and then moved to the Luftwaffe: https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/Bei%C3%9Fwenger,_Hans
Dietrich Hrabak (JG 54) was first in the navy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Hrabak Josef Zwernemann (JG 52) was also a sailor at the beginning: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Zwernemann |
#6
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Quote:
there was a Polizeifliegerstaffel stationed in Oberschleißheim, overseeing control of German borders and air traffic. for the OP, Fahnenjunker Martin Drewes was a tank commander in Pz-Rgt 6 before applying to fly and joining 4./ZG 76 in 1940.
__________________
FalkeEins- The Luftwaffe blog |
#7
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Quite a massive undertaking and noting the request is wartime only. Hans-Karl Mayer from JG 53 was a midshipman pre-war like loads of others
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#8
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
In my research into JG 6 I also have numerous pilots who belonged to other branches of the armed forces before they joined the Luftwaffe. This concerns enlisted men and officers.
John |
#9
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Hello,
this is the rest of the pilots, the year in which the pilot training began is indicated in parentheses: Uffz.W. Spiegl (1941) Uffz.H. Streufert (1942) Uffz.A. Jenner (1940) Uffz.E. Kohler (1943) Ofw.K. Kruska (1939/40) Hptm.G. Kelch (1941) OBlt.K. Bertels II./JG 26 Rgt. "General Göring" (1940) Ofw.F. Roggenkamp 7./JG 26 I.R. 107 (1940) Ogefr. H. Grimm 9./JG 26 Ln.Rgt. 1 (1943) Fw.K. Schmidtke 4./JG 26 Ln.Rgt. 1 (1941) Fw.K. Friedrich 11./JG 26 Geb.Jäger Rgt.98 (1940) Lt.W. Nink 3./JG 26 I.R. 110 (1942) Ofw.K.-H. Ehret 7./JG 26 I.R.110 and 485 (1939/40) Ofw.F. Buchegger 2./JG 26 Aufkl.Rgt.9 (1940) There are also opposite cases. Two JG 52 ground staff, Gefr.Rudolf Wüster and Gefr.Eduard Woll, joined the Luftwaffe voluntarily in 1939. In 1943, they volunteered for the SS and were members of the crew of the tank Tiger SS-Pz.Rgt.2 "Das Reich" Regards Tony |
#10
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Re: Luftwaffe Pilots from other Armed Forces branches
Hello,
The pilots I had in mind were members of the police in different parts of Germany. For example, Oblt.Herbert Heck (2./JG 26). Before the war: SS-Obersturmführer H.Heck, Kriminalsekretär Staatspolizei-Leistelle,Hamburg (GESTAPO) Tony |
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