Werner Baumbach (27 December 1916 – 20 October 1953) was a German bomber pilot during World War II. He commanded the secret bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) of the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany. Baumbach received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for the destruction of over 300,000 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping.[1]
Werner Baumbach | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 27 December 1916 Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony |
| Died | 20 October 1953 (aged 36) La Plata, Argentina |
| Allegiance |  Nazi Germany |
| Service | Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1936–45 |
| Rank | Oberst |
| Commands | I./KG 30, KG 200 |
| Battles / wars | World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
| Other work | Test pilot |
Career
editBaumbach entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 and, after initial training at the 2nd Air Warfare School (Fliegerhorst Gatow), was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Junkers Ju 88 bomber and flew various bombing missions with Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30). On 19 April 1940, he bombed and damaged the French cruiser Émile Bertin for which he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.[1]
In 1942, Baumbach was removed from active pilot duty and started working on new bomber designs; among others, he helped design the composite bomber system, Mistel. In 1944, he was placed in command of the newly formed Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) and was in charge of all Luftwaffe special missions. Baumbach was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 15 November 1944 and was the acting General der Kampfflieger for two months.
On the last stage on the war, during the days of the Flensburg Government, Baumbach was placed in charge of the government air squadron.[2]
After the war, Baumbach spent three years as a prisoner of war before he moved to Argentina where he worked as a test pilot. He died in a plane crash on 20 October 1953 near Berazategui, while evaluating a British Lancaster bomber for the Argentine Air Force. He was interred in his hometown, Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony.[3] The street "Werner-Baumbach-Straße" in Cloppenburg was named after him.[4]
In 1949 he published Zu spät? Aufstieg und Untergang der deutschen Luftwaffe, which was translated into English as Broken Swastika: The Defeat of the Luftwaffe in 1960.
Awards
edit- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber Pilots in Gold with Pennant "200"
- Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds (14 July 1941)[5]
- Iron Cross (1939)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 8 May 1940 as Leutnant and pilot in the 5./Kampfgeschwader 30[7][8][9]
- 20th Oak Leaves on 14 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1./Kampfgeschwader 30[7][10][Note 2]
- 16th Swords on 17 August 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Kampfgeschwader 30[12][Note 3]
- The Order of Military Merit - Bulgarian
Notes
edit- ^ According to Thomas on 3 May 1940.[6]
- ^ According to Von Seemen as Staffelkapitän of the 5./Kampfgeschwader 30.[11]
- ^ According to Scherzer on 16 August 1942.[7] According to Von Seemen as Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Kampfgeschwader 30.[13]
References
editCitations
edit- ^ a b Berger 1999, p. 26.
- ^ Speer 1970, p. 496.
- ^ Schumann 2007, p. 19.
- ^ "Werner-Baumbach-Straße in Cloppenburg". strassenkatalog.de (in German). Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Schumann 2007, p. 20.
- ^ a b Thomas 1997, p. 27.
- ^ a b c Scherzer 2007, p. 206.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 125.
- ^ Von Seemen 1976, p. 79.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 54.
- ^ Von Seemen 1976, p. 25.
- ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 40.
- ^ Von Seemen 1976, p. 14.
Bibliography
edit- Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 – The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 of LG 1] (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9.
- Speer, Albert (1970). Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs. Simon and Schuster Inc., 1970. ISBN 0-684-82949-5
- Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
- Von Seemen, Gerhard (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 : die Ritterkreuzträger sämtlicher Wehrmachtteile, Brillanten-, Schwerter- und Eichenlaubträger in der Reihenfolge der Verleihung : Anhang mit Verleihungsbestimmungen und weiteren Angaben [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 : The Knight's Cross Bearers of All the Armed Services, Diamonds, Swords and Oak Leaves Bearers in the Order of Presentation: Appendix with Further Information and Presentation Requirements] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7909-0051-4.
