Franz Reuss

Franz Reuss (born August 17, 1904 in Augsberg ; † June 5, 1992 in Munich ) was a German major general in the Air Force in World War II .

Life

Reuss joined the Bavarian State Police in 1923 , where he achieved the rank of captain until 1936 . On October 1, 1935, he switched to the Army of the Wehrmacht and, from October 6, began general staff training at the Army War Academy in Berlin . After he had completed this on July 31, 1938, he switched to the Air Force one day later and made several aircraft-specific training courses. From April 1, 1939, he took over the 9th squadron of Kampfgeschwader 53 as a major as squadron captain . His squadron, equipped with the twin-engined Heinkel He 111 bomber , was in Groß-Ostheim at the beginning of the Second World War and did not take part in the fighting in Poland . On February 26, 1940 he moved to III. Group of Kampfgeschwaders 76 as group commander . He led this group, equipped with the twin-engined Dornier Do 17 bomber , in the campaign in the west that began on May 10, 1940 . On June 3, 1940, Belgian and French fighters shot him down over Compèigne when he was flying an air raid on Claye-Souilly airfield . He was wounded in the process and was taken to a hospital in Bonn , from which he was released on October 14, 1940. Then he went to the Air War Academy in Berlin-Gatow as a trainer. On February 17, 1941, he took over the post of First General Staff Officer in Air Fleet 5 in Oslo , where he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on April 1 . On April 16, 1941, he switched to the staff of the IV. Fliegerkorps of Luftflotte 4 and from June 22, 1941 took part in the German-Soviet War in the south of the Eastern Front and was awarded the German Cross in Gold . Then, from November 1, 1942, he took over the post of Chief of Staff of the 2nd Air Force Field Corps and was promoted to Colonel on December 1 . From August 29, 1943 he temporarily took over the 4th Air Division, which at that time was subordinate to Air Fleet 6 in the central section of the Eastern Front. After he had received his promotion to major general on June 1, 1944, he was also officially divisional commander of this unit and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 18 . On April 5, 1945 he was taken prisoner of war, from which he was released on January 17, 1947.

Web links

• Henry L. deZeng IV, Douglas G. Stankey: Air Force Officer Career Summaries, Section L – R. (PDF) 2016, p. 656 , accessed on May 21, 2017 (English).