Alwin Boerst

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Alwin Boerst (born October 20, 1910 in Osterode am Harz , † March 30, 1944 near Iași , Romania ) was a " Stuka " pilot in the German Air Force during World War II and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .

Early career

Alwin Boerst began to fly gliders during his school days and studied physics , mathematics and flight science in Göttingen after graduating from high school . On April 4, 1934, he joined the army and served with the drivers and later with the tank destroyers . In 1937 he joined the Luftwaffe as a non-commissioned officer and initially served in the 7th squadron of combat squadron 157 "Boelcke" before he was promoted to lieutenant in 1937 and transferred to the 1st group in Stuka squadron 2 "Immelmann" .

Second World War

Boerst took part in the attack on Poland with Stuka-Geschwader 2 and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class here after 39 front-line flights. The squadron was then involved in the western campaign and Boerst flew missions here against Fort Eben-Emael and against Liège , Namur , Calais and Amiens . At the end of the campaign, Boerst had flown 113 front-line flights and was therefore awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on June 9, 1940.

After operations during the Battle of Britain , his squadron was relocated to the Mediterranean and Boerst was squadron captain of the 3rd squadron of the Stuka squadron 2. During the Balkan campaign , his squadron attacked targets of the Metaxas line and targets in southern Greece before he went on 22 sorties flew as part of the airborne battle for Crete . Here Boerst sank the Royal Navy destroyers HMS Kelly and HMS Kashmir on May 23, 1941 .

In June 1941 the squadron was transferred to the Eastern Front. Here you were first assigned to Army Group Center , a little later to Army Group North . On September 23, 1941, the squadron launched an attack on the Baltic fleet in the port of Kronstadt . In the same month Boerst was awarded the Cup of Honor for Special Achievement in Air Warfare , shortly afterwards on October 5, 1941, after 330 missions, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

After deployments during the Battle of Stalingrad and after 624 enemy flights, Boerst was withdrawn from the front in September 1942 and on November 28th he was awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In March 1943, however, he again took command of the 3rd squadron and in August 1943 of the entire 1st group. On January 29, 1944, as one of 25 attack aircraft, he managed to score 1,000. Enemy flight.

Shot down and death

On March 30, 1944, Boerst's machine was turned off during his 1,061. Enemy flight near Iași in Romania captured by Soviet flak fire and shot down. Boerst and his radio operator Oberfeldwebel Ernst Filius were killed. Filius was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross on May 4, 1944, Alwin Boerst was awarded the Knight's Cross on April 6, 1944, and was promoted to Major .

Awards

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 231.
personal data
SURNAME Boerst, Alwin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German pilot and knight's cross carrier in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Osterode am Harz
DATE OF DEATH March 30, 1944
Place of death near Iași , Romania