Karl-Gottfried Nordmann

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Nordmann in April 1943

Karl-Gottfried Nordmann (born November 22, 1915 in Gießen ; † July 22, 1982 in Greenwich ) was a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe during World War II .

Life

Nordmann was the son of a doctor.

time of the nationalsocialism

On April 6, 1936, he joined the Air Force as a squire , and on January 1, 1938, Nordmann was promoted to lieutenant . As such, he was a member of Kampfgeschwader 253 from March to April 1938 . After completing his training as a fighter pilot, Nordmann flew as part of the German attack on Poland in Lehrgeschwader 2, where he achieved his first aerial victory. Promoted to first lieutenant on April 1, 1940 , deployments in the western campaign followed from May 1940 .

In the summer of 1940 he became a squadron captain in Jagdgeschwader 51 . After taking part in the Battle of Britain , the squadron was relocated to the Eastern Front with the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union . There, Nordmann rose to group commander of the fourth group of the squadron in July 1941 . On August 1, 1941, after 31 victories in the air, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . Only a few weeks later, after 59 victories in the air, Nordmann was awarded the Knight's Cross by Hitler on September 16, 1941 . On September 19, he was promoted to captain . On April 10, 1942, Nordmann succeeded Günther Lützow as the squadron commodore of Jagdgeschwader 51, which he then commanded until March 30, 1944. On June 18, 1942, he was promoted to major in this position . On June 26 of the same year, Nordmann suffered a fracture of the base of the skull after a failed landing maneuver with a rollover , but flew several times in July and early August. After his unfit for service at the front was determined, a long hospital stay followed, so that he could not return to the front until December 1942. His representative was Joachim Müncheberg . After his return, Nordmann achieved his 78th and last aerial victory on December 16, 1942. Nordmann, promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 1, 1943 , was the stage manager of Tagjagd-Ost from November 28, 1943. and was appointed Jagdfliegerführer 6 on May 1, 1944 . In this position he was promoted to colonel on January 30, 1945 . Most recently, Nordmann was the commander of the 1st hunting division .

post war period

Nordmann joined Daimler-Benz AG, the parent company of Mercedez-Benz of North America, as a member in 1950 and later became head of the sales promotion department. From 1971 to 1981 he was President of Mercedes-Benz of North America.

Nordmann was married to Tina, had a son Peter and a daughter Corinne.

literature

  • Mike Spick: Air Force Fighter Aces. 1996 New York: Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2 .
  • Franz Thomas: The oak leaves 1939-1945. Volume 2: L-Z. Biblio publishing house. Osnabrück 1993. ISBN 3-7648-2300-3 .
  • Ernst Obermaier: The knight's cross bearers of the Luftwaffe fighter pilots 1939-1945. Publisher Dieter Hoffmann. Mainz. ISBN 3-87341-065-6 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ German Soldiers' Year Book 1983, p. 442 [1]
  2. ↑ Jagdgeschwader 51 'Mölders', p. 65 Online
  3. ↑ Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front, p. 90 Online
  4. ^ Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders .: A Chronicle., Page 247 Online
  5. ↑ Jochen Prien: The fighter pilot associations of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945 , Volume 9, Part 2, p. 237 online
  6. ^ Georg Brütting : The book of German flight history: The great time of German aviation until 1945 , Drei Brunnen Verlag, 1979, p. 33 online
  7. ↑ a b Karlfried Nordmann, Ex-Mercedes Official . In: The New York Times . July 23, 1982. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Nordmann, Karl-Gottfried
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German air force officer
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH to water
DATE OF DEATH July 22, 1982
Place of death Greenwich