Arthur Laumann

Arthur Laumann (born July 4, 1894 in Essen , † November 18, 1970 in Munster ) was a German officer in the air force and scored 26 confirmed kills in the First World War .

Life

First World War

After attending elementary school in Essen, the son of a factory owner took up the profession of a businessman. With the outbreak of the First World War he volunteered on August 2, 1914 and was assigned to the 3rd Rhenish Field Artillery Regiment No. 83 , with which he then came to the front.

At his own request he was assigned to the air force on August 15, 1917 and trained as a pilot. At first he was used as a reconnaissance pilot, but was soon able to enforce his transfer to Jagdstaffel 66, which was led by Rudolf Windisch . He achieved his first aerial victory on May 27, 1918 over a French SPAD two-seater. At the same time, Rudolf Windisch had to make an emergency landing in France on fire. In the area of Château-Thierry , Laumann shot down a number of enemy aircraft. After Windisch's successor fell, Laumann took over Jagdstaffel 66 until he was appointed leader of Jagdstaffel 10. In June 1917, Jagdgeschwader 1 was formed from Jagdstaffeln 4, 6, 10 and 11. All four squadrons operated under the command of Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen . As the last member of Jagdgeschwader 1, Lieutenant Laumann was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on October 25, 1918 . On the last day of the fight of Jagdstaffel 10, November 4, 1918, he shot down his 26th opponent. He frequently flown single-seat aircraft made by the manufacturer Fokker, Type D.VII . As a distinguishing mark, they had the letters AL in black on the long sides.

Interwar years

After the end of the war he was transferred back to his regular regiment, where he was initially on leave from August 1919 and finally retired from active service on December 31, 1920. In the years to come he will work again in the profession he had learned and from July 1932 worked as an aviator at the SA Group Niederrhein. From August 24, 1932 he was SA Standartenführer . When the National Socialists came to power in March 1933, he was appointed leader of the Flieger-Landesgruppe VI Rheinland of the German Air Sports Association . Laumann then joined the Luftwaffe as a major on April 1, 1935, and acted as commander of Luftgau Reserve 12. He was also a squadron captain, later commander of Group II in Fighter Wing 132. Laumann was in this position on August 1, 1937 promoted to lieutenant colonel.

Second World War

After the beginning of the Second World War , Laumann was sent to the embassy in Belgrade and Athens on September 5, 1939 , where he was employed as an air force attaché and promoted to colonel on January 1, 1940 . From this post he was recalled on May 28, 1941 and assigned to be assigned to airport area commander 3 / VIII and on January 14, 1942, he was appointed airport area commander 6 / XVII. Laumann was then transferred to the Fuehrer's Reserve on September 20, 1943 and retired on March 1, 1945 while being promoted to major general .

family

Laumann was a passionate hunter and dog lover and married once. His wife Maria, b. von Benninghofen, gave birth to two children: a son Horst and a daughter Ilse. Both children were also involved in aviation. His son Horst Laumann was shot down over Zagreb during World War II and buried there. His daughter Ilse Stecher, b. Laumann, died 1979 in Plettenberg-Ohle . Arthur Laumann's wife, Maria Laumann, also died in Plettenberg-Ohle in 1981. Both women were buried next to Arthur Laumann, who died on November 18, 1970 in Münster. He was buried in the forest cemetery in Plettenberg-Ohle.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd class on February 8, 1916
• Prussian military pilot badge on May 18, 1918
• Iron Cross (1914) 1st Class on July 17, 1918
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords on September 7, 1918
• Pour le Mérite on October 25, 1918
• Cross of honor for combatants from the front 1914–1918
• Pilot badge on December 15, 1936
• War Merit Cross (1939) 2nd class with swords
• Knight's Cross of the Order of the Roman Eagle in 1942
• Order of the Iron Trefoil 1st Class (Croatia)
• Order of the crown of King Zvonimir 1st class with swords
• Order of the White Eagle (Serbia) 3rd class
• Croatian pilot badge

literature

• Jürgen Brinkmann: The knights of the order Pour le mérite 1914-1918. Th.Schäfer Druckerei GmbH, Hanover / Bückeburg 1982.
• Walter Zuerl: Pour le mérite-Flieger. Luftfahrtverlag Axel Zuerl, 1987. ISBN 978-3-934596-15-3 .