Kurt Bühligen

Kurt Bühligen (born December 13, 1917 in Granschütz , † August 11, 1985 in Nidda ) was a German fighter pilot in World War II .

Life

After completing an apprenticeship as a locksmith , Bühligen volunteered for the Air Force in 1936 , where he initially trained as a mechanic. In 1938 he signed up for pilot training after which he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" . After eight victories in the air , he received the Iron Cross First Class on October 29, 1940 and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on September 4, 1941 as a sergeant major .

In December 1942, Bühligen was relocated to North Africa with Group II of JG 2 , where he stayed until March 1943. In the meantime he had risen to major (Kr.O.) . In April 1943 he was appointed commander of Group II of JG 2. On March 2, 1944, he received the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (413rd award). On April 28, 1944 he took over the management of JG 2 as the successor to Major Kurt Ubben . A short time later, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel . On August 14, 1944, he received the swords for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (88th award). After his transfer to the Eastern Front , he had to make an emergency landing behind the Soviet lines due to an engine failure. He was taken prisoner by the Soviets , from which he was released in 1950.

Bühligen achieved a total of 112 confirmed aerial victories.

See also

• List of German fighter pilots in World War II

literature

• John Weal: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Western Front . Osprey Publishing, Oxford 1996, ISBN 978-1-85532-595-1

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 250.