Helmut Mahlke

Helmut Adalbert Mahlke (born August 27, 1913 in Berlin-Lankwitz , † December 26, 1998 in Kiel ) was a German officer , most recently lieutenant general in the air force of the Bundeswehr . 1967/68 he was head of the Air Force Office .

Life

Education and Pre-War

After studying marine engineering and aircraft construction at the TH Berlin , Mahlke joined the Reichswehr on April 1, 1932 . There he received a pre-military pilot training at the German Aviation School in Warnemünde until August 1932 . On August 29 of the same year he joined the 2nd ship master division of the Baltic Sea in Stralsund . After attending the Mürwik naval school , Mahlke served as a cadet on the light cruiser Cologne from November 1932 to January 1934 , on which he undertook a trip abroad. He then attended various ensign courses until April 1935.

On April 30, 1935 Mahlke was transferred to the Air Force , where he was promoted to lieutenant on October 1, 1935 . From May 1935 to March 1936 he received a sea ​​observer training there . Subsequently, he served as a training officer until February 1938, where he also completed an aircraft pilot training land / sea. On April 1, 1937, he was promoted to first lieutenant . He then served as a sea observer in the flight squadron 1./196. In July and August 1939 Mahlke received a Stuka training at the Stukaschule in Kitzingen in preparation for taking over a Stuka squadron for the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin .

Second World War

When the Second World War broke out , Mahlke came to Kiel as a squadron captain for the porters' fall combat squadron 2./186 , later Wertheim . On April 1, 1940, he was promoted to captain . In the western campaign , Mahlke's squadron supported the advancing army units. After the fighting in the west was over, Mahlke was appointed commander of the III on July 2, 1940. Group appointed in Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 . With this group, Mahlke flew until November 1940 in the Battle of Britain against the coast of southern England and over the English Channel . While the air force command pulled the Stuka associations out of the Battle of Britain because of excessive losses, he continued to regard these as justifiable when using tactical surprises and ample hunting protection before and after the fall. In February 1941 his group was transferred to Sicily , where operations were carried out against Malta and North Africa. After that Mahlke flew from May 21 to June 2, 1941 missions in the airborne battle of Crete . For this he received the Italian Medal of Bravery in silver on November 20, 1941 .

At the time of the award, Mahlke's fall combat group was in the central section of the Eastern Front . In the first days of the German-Soviet War until early July 1941, Mahlke was shot down twice. On July 8, 1941, his machine was set on fire by a Russian fighter. During the subsequent parachute jump, Mahlke suffered serious injuries and burns and had to be rescued from the combat area near Latigal in the Smarhon - Maladsetschna area by army units of the 17th Panzer Division . For his wound he received the wound badge in silver. In the Borissow hospital he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 16, 1941 after 145 enemy flights . After his recovery, Mahlke was assigned to the 1st Air Division as 1st General Staff Officer in September 1941 . He fulfilled the same function until the end of the war in the Air Force Command East and from May 11, 1943 with Air Fleet 6 . Here he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on March 31, 1944 . On June 1, 1942 Mahlke was promoted to major (from January 1, 1943 major in the general staff) and on May 1, 1944 to lieutenant colonel in the general staff. On May 9, 1945 he was taken prisoner of war , from which he was released on September 9, 1947.

In total Mahlke flew 159 enemy flights with the Ju 87. His group sank two destroyers , a submarine and 29 merchant ships with a total of around 152,000 GRT.

Post-war period and armed forces

Helmut Mahlke at a Kiel Week reception on board the destroyer Bayern (1966)

After his release from captivity, Mahlke worked from October to December 1947, initially as a commercial clerk at the Dr. Schmücking in Schötmar , then in 1948 also as a commercial clerk at the Dr. Runge in Bad Meinberg . In January 1949 Mahlke started his own business as a sales representative. On November 16, 1955, he entered the service of the Bundeswehr . There Mahlke, who was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1955, was a consultant and later a sub-department head in the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn . With effect from June 1, 1960, he was promoted to Brigadier General. On October 1, 1962, Mahlke moved to the German Navy , where he received the adjusted rank of flotilla admiral . There he was in command of the Naval Aviation Division in Kiel until February 1966 . On March 1, 1966, Mahlke returned to the Federal Air Force , adjusting his rank to Brigadier General, and until the end of September 1966 commanded the 7th Air Force Division in Schleswig. He was promoted to major general with effect from July 1, 1966. From October 1966 to the end of March 1968, he acted as a general of the Luftwaffe combat units and from April 1967 was in parallel with the management ( mdFb ) of the head of the Air Force Office in Cologne. Entrusted to madness . On April 1, 1968, Mahlke, while being promoted to Lieutenant General , was appointed Commanding General of the Air Force Group North in Münster , a position he held until his retirement on September 30, 1970.

Mahlke was married. The marriage had three children.

Publications

• Helmut Mahlke: Stuka attack: Sturzflug , Mittler Verlag 1993, ISBN 978-3-8132-0425-4 .

literature

• Ernst Obermaier: The Luftwaffe Knight's Cross Bearers - Stuka and Attack Airmen 1939–1945. Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1976, ISBN 3-87341-021-4 , p. 155.
• Georg Brütting : That was the German Stuka aces 1939–1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-87943-433-6 , pp. 226-227.
• Heinz-Peter Würzenthal: Germany's generals and admirals - Laegeler - Quiel. Volume 3, Biblio-Verlag, 2006, ISBN 978-3-7648-2382-5 , pp. 162-164.

Web links

• Helmut Mahlke in the Munzinger archive ( beginning of article freely accessible)