Eberhard Eimler

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Eberhard Eimler (born November 30, 1930 in Ulm ) is a retired German general . D. the Air Force . He was Air Force Inspector from 1983 to 1987 and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe from 1987 to 1990 .

Life

Family and education

Eberhard Eimler was born in 1930 as the son of the captain of the pioneers Robert Eimler , later major general . In 1944 he was drafted into the Volkssturm in East Prussia , where he grew up . In 1948 Eimler completed his school education at the Stephaneum Aschersleben (today Saxony-Anhalt) with the Abitur . He then completed an apprenticeship as an electrical installer in his native Ulm . He then took up a degree in electrical engineering at the TH Stuttgart , which he completed as an electrical engineer. During his studies he worked as a manager of the American Express Company's Ulm branch .

In 1951 Eimler married the Dutch merchant's daughter Hildegard Ruegner.

Military career

Training, first uses, and service as a staff officer

In May 1956, Eimler entered the service of the Air Force and completed a pilot training there. As early as April 1957, as a lieutenant, he himself became a flight instructor at the “B” pilot school in Fürstenfeldbruck . He stayed there until 1961 and later completed the 8th Air Force General Staff course as a captain at the command academy of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg. Subsequently, he was promoted to major and served as a staff officer for deployment and operations issues at the leadership academy.

From the summer of 1966, Eimler served as a consultant in the Bonn Federal Ministry of Defense during the “ starfighter crisis ” . A little later he became adjutant to the then Inspector of the Air Force Lieutenant General Johannes Steinhoff . During this time he experienced the management of the “starfighter crisis” and the first planning for the Tornado and Alpha Jet fighter planes .

As a lieutenant colonel on October 1, 1970, he became commander of the flying group of Light Combat Wing 43 in Oldenburg . Half a year later, on April 1, 1971, he became commodore of the Light Combat Squadron 42 in Horse Field . It was there that he was promoted to colonel .

After these assignments, Eimler became head of department for "leadership and operations" in the air fleet command in the Cologne air force barracks Wahn in August 1973 . During this time, the revision of the airspace and air corridor concept of the Federal Republic of Germany fell into his area of ​​responsibility. A short time later he became head of the division for "Air traffic control and flight operations" in the command staff of the Air Force (FüL).

Service in the rank of general

On April 1, 1976, Eimler was appointed Brigadier General. He was the first general in the Federal Air Force who had not served in the Air Force of the Wehrmacht . Until 1978 he was head of department for "operations management" in the command staff of the Air Force. One year later, when he took over official duties as commander of the 2nd Air Force Division in Birkenfeld, on July 1, 1977, he was appointed major general . He held this command until February 28, 1979, when he became Deputy Commanding General of the Air Fleet Command in Cologne.

In the following year Eimler was appointed Lieutenant General on October 1, 1980 and served as Deputy Commander of the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe (AAFCE) under US General Charles A. Gabriel . During this time he also learned the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the Allied allies, which was important for his last assignment.

On April 1, 1983, Lieutenant General Eimler succeeded Friedrich Obleser as Inspector of the Air Force . During his tenure, among other things, the fundamental decision was made to procure the Eurofighter , then Jäger 90 , and to re-establish the Air Force NCO school .

Lieutenant General Eimler was promoted to general on October 1, 1987 , making him only the 24th soldier to receive the highest rank in the Bundeswehr. As the successor to Hans-Joachim Mack , he became Deputy Commander in Chief of NATO Forces in Europe, US General John Galvin . During the following time Eimler was responsible for air and sea warfare, infrastructure, communications and "Command and Control".

On September 30, 1990, Eberhard Eimler retired after reaching the age limit.

After retirement

Eberhard Eimler is a "single person" member of the Presidium of the German Society for Defense Technology . Furthermore, he is an honorary member of the Club-der-Luftfahrt eV and a co-opted board member of the Freundeskreis Luftwaffe e. V. and he is involved as a sponsor for the concerts for the youth fund .

Entanglement in the amigo affair

In the context of the Bavarian amigo affair , Eberhard Eimler was also investigated on suspicion of bribery. Like Max Streibl , Eimler had largely free vacation to the Brazilian hacienda of the Bavarian aircraft industrialist Burkhart Grob , whose company, Burkhart Grob Luft- und Raumfahrt GmbH & Co.KG , later won the contract to develop the Grob G 520 aircraft in which the "airborne, detached primary reconnaissance system" (Lapas) should be installed. Eimler was a key figure in the Defense Ministry's decisions on the Lapas project.

Honors

literature

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Simply plowed under . Die Zeit, April 16, 1993
personal data
SURNAME Eimler, Eberhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German Air Force General and Deputy Commander in Chief of NATO in Europe
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Ulm