Hannes Trautloft

Trautloft led I. Gruppe of JG 20 during the Battle of France which began on 10 May 1940. At the beginning of the campaign, I. Gruppe was still based at Bönninghardt and subordinated to JG 51. The Gruppe's area of operation was the Netherlands and northeastern Belgium, flying fighter escort missions for the bombers. On 16 May, the Gruppe was ordered to move to Eindhoven airfield where it remained until 20 May when it relocated to an airfield at Hoogerheide. From Hoogerheide, I. Gruppe initially flew missions to Bruges and on 24 May, the area of operations shifted towards Dunkirk and Calais. On the morning of 29 May, I./JG 20 moved further west to an airfield at Sint-Denijs-Westrem.[33] That evening, Trautloft claimed a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire shot down southeast of Dunkirk. Two days later, Trautloft claimed another Spitfire during the Battle of Dunkirk.[34] In preparation for Operation Paula on 3 June, I./JG 20 was ordered to Vitry-En-Artois and flew escort missions in the afternoon. It was then ordered back to Sint-Denijs-Westrem before moving to Saint-Omer to support Fall Rot, the second phase of the conquest of France.[35]

Bf 109 from JG 20

Supporting Army Group B, the Gruppe advanced to Estrées-lès-Crécy on 8 June and claimed its last aerial victory of the Battle of France on 13 June. The next day, I./JG 20 moved to an airfield southeast of Rouen and to Vouziers on 20 June. On 22 June, I./JG 20 returned to Saint-Omer where it patrolled the French coast on the English Channel. In total, I. Gruppe of JG 20 under Trautloft's command claimed 35 aerial victories during the Battle of France, losing five pilots killed in action, two were taken prisoner of war and three were wounded. In addition, ten Bf 109s were lost in combat.[36] Following the armistice of 22 June 1940, the Battle of France ended on 25 June. By this date, the official allotted strength of I./JG 20 had been reduced to 60%.[37]

On 4 July, I./JG 20 was officially integrated into JG 51 becoming its III. Gruppe. The end of the Battle of France marked the beginning of the Battle of Britain.[37] The Gruppe received new aircraft during the second half of July, bringing its strength nearly to its allotment. On 19 July, III. Gruppe claimed the destruction of eleven Boulton Paul Defiant interceptor aircraft in aerial combat south of Folkestone, including one claim by Trautloft.[38] According to British records, No. 141 Squadron lost six aircraft in this encounter.[39] Trautloft claimed his last aerial victory with JG 51 on 8 August. That day, the Gruppe claimed five victories over RAF fighters, including a Spitfire near Dungeness by Trautloft.[40]

In late August it was becoming apparent to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command) that the Battle of Britain was not going as planned. A frustrated Göring relieved several Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of their commands, and appointed younger, more aggressive men in their place.[41] On 21 August the Luftwaffe communicated and continued with the changes which had started in June when Falck had been tasked with the creation of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing). Lützow took command of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), Adolf Galland was given command of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing), Werner Mölders was given command of JG 51, and Trautloft took over Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) from Martin Mettig.[42][43]

Command was transferred on 25 August and Trautloft was promoted to Major (major). At the time, JG 54 was based at Campagne-lès-Guines and also fighting against the RAF, either escorting bombers to England or flying combat air patrols.[44] Trautloft claimed his first aerial victory with JG 54 that very same day. At 20:20, he claimed a Spitfire over the English Channel. Trautloft claimed two further aerial victories against the RAF, bringing his total to eight victories claimed during World War II. This includes a Hawker Hurricane shot down over Maidstone on 7 September, and a Spritfire claimed on 27 October over Ashford.[45] On 15 September, the Luftwaffe embarked on an all-out attack against London which later dubbed the Battle of Britain Day. The next day, Trautloft met with his three group commanders at Campagne-lès-Guines, these were Hauptmann Hubertus von Bonin of I. Gruppe, Hauptmann Dietrich Hrabak of II. Gruppe, and the acting Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe, Oberleutnant Günther Scholz.[46][47] The topics of discussion where the poor radio discipline and the concern regarding overclaiming of aerial victories.[46] On 2 November, Trautloft's Bf 109s E-3 (Werknummer 724—factory number) was damaged by a squib load but he managed to land the aircraft safely.[45] On 20 November, the Geschwaderstab began transferring to Germany for a period of rest and maintenance, arriving at Dortmund Airfield on 3 December. The unit stayed in Dortmund until 15 January 1941, when it was ordered to Le Mans Airfield in France. On 29 March, JG 53 was withdrawn from France and ordered to Graz-Thalerhof in preparation for the Balkans campaign.[44]

The Geschwaderstab remained in Graz-Thalerhof until 14 April and relocated to Deta. The next day, the Geschwaderstab moved again, this time to Pančevo Airfield where it remained until 19 April. Following the capitulation of Yugoslavia JG 54 was ordered to Belgrade. Trautloft's Bf 109s E-3 (Werknummer 724) was again damaged on 22 April in a forced landing at Fünfkirchen, present-day Pécs, following engine failure. On 25 April, JG 54 was ordered to return to Germany, arriving at Airfield Stolp-Reitz in Pomerania, present-day Słupsk, on 3 May. The Geschwaderstab did not claim any aerial victories during the Balkans campaign.[48]

Map indicating Operation Barbarossa's attack plan

At Stolp-Reitz, JG 54 upgraded their aircraft to the Bf 109 F-2. For the next four weeks, the pilots familiarized themselves with the new aircraft before on 15 June, the Geschwaderstab was ordered to Trakehnen in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. During the upcoming invasion, JG 54 would be deployed in the area of Army Group North, was subordinated to I. Fliegerkorps (1st Air Corps) and supported the 16th and 18th Army as well as the Panzer Group 4 in their strategic objective to reach Leningrad.[49]

On 22 June, the day of the invasion, JG 54 was tasked with escorting German bombers from Kampfgeschwader 1, 76 and 77 (KG 1, KG 76 and KG 77—1st, 76th and 77th Bomber Wing) on their mission to bomb Soviet airfields near the Lithuanian border. On one of these missions, Trautloft claimed an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber shot down northwest of Marijampolė. The next day, he claimed a Tupolev SB bomber in the vicinity of Kussen in the Krasnoznamensky District.[50] On 24 June, elements of JG 54 moved to Kaunas with the objective to achieve air supremacy over the combat area of Army Group North. Flying from Kaunas, Trautloft claimed two DB-3's, one on 24 June and another the next day. On 28 June, the Geschwaderstab was moved to Daugavpils, protecting the bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Daugava. On 30 June, the bridgehead came under heavy attack by Soviet bombers attacking German forces near the captured bridges over the Daugava. In defense of the bridgehead, Trautloft claimed two further DB-3's.[51] That day, 1 Minno-torpednyy Aviatsionnyy (1 MTAP—1st minelaying and torpedo-bomber regiment) had dispatched 32 DB-3s which lost 15 aircraft in this engagement plus 10 further aircraft sustained combat damage.[52]

On 27 July, Trautloft was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 20 aerial victories claimed in World War II.[53] The Geschwaderstab moved to Siversky on 7 September followed by I. and III. Gruppe a few days later. The airfield was located southwest of Leningrad and was equipped with hangars and buildings and JG 54 would be based there during the Siege of Leningrad.[54] On 22 September, Trautloft visited the German front lines of the infantry and came under attack by strafing aircraft.[55]

On 5 December 1941, the Stavka (high command of the Soviet armed forces) launched a series of counter offensives named the winter campaign of 1941–42. Based at Siversky, JG 54 was the only fighter wing in the combat area of Army Group North, responsible for patrolling an area from Leningrad in the north to the Valdai Hills in the south, spanning a front line of approximately 400 km (250 mi).[56] On 7 January 1942, the Stavka launched the Lyuban Offensive Operation which was fought on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga, near Lyuban. The attack began north of Novgorod and aimed at encircling elements of the German 18th Army with the objective to break the German siege of Leningrad. This attack forced Trautloft to largely commit JG 54 to the defense of this attack. Subsequently, most of the missions flown in January and February where over the Volkhov River, connecting Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga, although some missions where still flown over Leningrad.[57] By early March, JG 54 had replaced its Bf 109 F-2 aircraft with the newer Bf 109 F-4 variant. On 6 March, Trautloft claimed a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber aircraft near Chudovo.[58] He was credited with an aerial victory over a I-16 on 9 March and a Yakovlev Yak-1 five days later.[59] On 15 March, German forces launched a counterattack leading the encirclement of the Soviet 2nd Shock Army on 19 March. During this counter offensive, Trautloft claimed two further victories.[60]

On 9 May, Trautloft claimed a Yak-1 fighter and a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber in the combat area south-southwest of Valday and east of Demyansk, following the relief of the Kholm Pocket. The Geschwaderstab returned to Siversky on 15 May.[61]

On 6 July 1943 Trautloft was appointed as Jagdflieger Inspizient Ost, serving with the General der Jagdflieger office. This position put him in overall charge as Inspector of all the Fighter aircraft units fighting on the Eastern Front. On 20 November, Trautloft succeeded Günther Lützow as Inspekteur der Tagjäger, giving him overall responsibilities for all day-fighters.[62] On 11 November, Göring, in his role as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, organized a meeting of high-ranking Luftwaffe officers, including Trautloft. The meeting, also referred to as the "Areopag" was held at the Luftkriegsakademie (air war academy) at Berlin-Gatow. This Luftwaffe version of the Greek Areopagus—a court of justice—aimed at finding solutions to the deteriorating air war situation over Germany.[63]

In late 1944, a rumor crossed Trautloft's desk that a large number of Allied airmen were being held at Buchenwald Concentration Camp.[64] Trautloft decided to visit the camp and see for himself under the pretence of inspecting aerial bomb damage near the camp. Trautloft was about to leave the camp when captured US airman Bernard Scharf called out to him in fluent German from behind a fence. The SS guards tried to intervene but Trautloft pointed out that he out-ranked them and made them stand back. Scharf explained that he was one of more than 160 allied airmen imprisoned at the camp and begged Trautloft to rescue him and the other airmen.[64] Trautloft's adjutant also spoke to the group's commanding officer, a NZ airman Phil Lamason.[65] Disturbed by the event, Trautloft returned to Berlin and began the process to have the airmen transferred out of Buchenwald.[66] Seven days before their scheduled execution, the airmen were taken by train by the Luftwaffe to Stalag Luft III.[67]

In early 1945, Trautloft joined other high-ranking pilots in the "Fighter Pilots' Revolt incident" which escalated in a meeting with Göring on 22 January 1945. This was an attempt to reinstate Galland who had been dismissed for outspokenness regarding the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Luftwaffe high command), and had been replaced by Oberst Gordon Gollob as General der Jagdflieger. The meeting was held at the Haus der Flieger in Berlin and was attended by a number of high-ranking fighter pilot leaders which included Trautloft, Lützow, Hermann Graf, Gerhard Michalski, Helmut Bennemann, Kurt Bühligen, Erich Leie and Herbert Ihlefeld, and their antagonist Göring supported by his staff Brauchitsch and Karl Koller. The fighter pilots, with Lützow taking the lead as spokesman, criticized Göring and made him personally responsible for the decisions taken which contributed to the lost air war over Europe.[68]

Following this incident, Trautloft was relieved of his position and sent to command the 4. Flieger-Schule Division (4th Pilot School Division) in Strassburg. He spent the remainder of the war there.[69] Trautloft ended the war as an Oberst (colonel).[70]

In the last days of the war he stole a small aircraft and flew it to land in a field between Blaichach and Sonthofen which was close to where his fiancé was living in the village of Oberstdorf. Joining up with her they hid in mountain huts, to avoid him being arrested by the occupying Allied troops and being sent to a detention camp.[71] Once things had settled down they came down to the village and after registering with the authorities were able to live undisturbed in Oberstdorf.

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Trautloft was credited with 58 aerial victories, five during the Spanish Civil War.[77] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 58 aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. This number includes five claims during the Spanish Civil War, eight on the Western Front and 45 on the Eastern Front of World War II.[78]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 36 Ost 10523". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.[79]

• Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (14 April 1939)[70]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 July 1941 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 54[88][89]
• German Cross in Gold on 27 July 1942 as Major in Jagdgeschwader 54[90]
• Grand Cross of Merit with Star (26 June 1970)[74]