Gustav Pressler

Gustav Preßler (born October 13, 1912 in Hamburg , † October 9, 1985 in Lippstadt ) 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

Gustav Preßler was initially a police officer in the early 30s before he joined the German Air Sports Association (the predecessor organization of the Air Force) in 1934 . Here he was trained as a fighter pilot and on April 1, 1939, was transferred as a squadron captain to the 4th squadron of Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 .

Second World War

With this squadron he took part in the attack on Poland and in the western campaign and was transferred to the squadron staff in 1941. After participating in the Balkan campaign , the squadron was relocated to the Eastern Front in June 1941 , and Preßler came to III as a group commander . Group of Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann" . During the defensive battles of the Wehrmacht in the winter of 1941/42 he led his group so successfully that he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on February 4, 1942 . In December of the same year he was first transferred to Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 and then appointed commodore of the squadron on April 1, 1943 . After more than 500 enemy flights and meanwhile promoted to major , Preßler received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on January 26, 1943. On April 30, 1944, he gave command of the squadron to Major Peter Gasmann and was transferred to the rank of lieutenant colonel as training manager for the air force mission to Sofia . On December 15, he finally took over the leadership of the battle squadron 104 until the end of the war.

armed forces

In 1956, Preßler joined the Bundeswehr and ended his career there in 1965 as a lieutenant colonel .

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
Front flight clasp for combat and dive fighter pilots in gold with pendant
German cross in gold on January 13, 1942
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on February 4, 1942
- Oak leaves on January 26, 1943 (188th award)

literature

Nauroth, Holger: Stukageschwader 2 - "Immelmann" - from the origin to the present , Verlag KW Schütz, 1988, ISBN 3-87725-123-4 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^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. 604.

personal data
SURNAME	Pressler, Gustav
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German pilot and knight's cross carrier in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	October 13, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH	Hamburg
DATE OF DEATH	October 9, 1985
Place of death	Lippstadt

[RKT-1] 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. 604.