Kurt Kuhlmey

Kurt Kuhlmey (born November 19, 1913 in Insterburg ; † April 30, 1993 in Bonn ) was a " Stuka " pilot in the German Air Force in World War II and later major general in the German Armed Forces .

Career

Early career

Kuhlmey received flight training at the age of 15, initially on gliders. After graduating from high school in 1933, he joined the Air Force in April 1934, where he was trained as a pilot. In 1936 he was assigned to Sturzkampfgeschwader (St.G.) 162 in Schwerin and in April 1938 to the newly established St.G. 168 transferred to Graz .

Second World War

At the beginning of the war, Kuhlmey was squadron captain in Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 and took part in many operations, including the attack on Poland , the western campaign , the fighting in Norway and North Africa and around the Mediterranean . Here, for example, he was involved in the bombing of the English aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious on January 10, 1941. During his deployment to Africa, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on December 12, 1941 as the first officer in the Air Force .

He was best known, however, in his role as Geschwaderkommodore des Schlachtgeschwaders 3 (SG 3), which he commanded from October 18, 1943 to December 15, 1944. As early as October 1943 he was a major with the management of the business as a squadron commodore of St.G. 3 (from October 18, 1943 SG 3). In March 1944 he had the rank of lieutenant colonel. On June 12, 1944 he reached Finland with the Kuhlmey battle group . There he played a decisive role in the battle of Tali-Ihantala, won by the Finnish-German units, and thus in the failure of the Vyborg-Petrozavodsk operation of the Red Army . In Finland, Kuhlmey is therefore revered as the “hero and savior of the Finnish nation” to this day. On March 14, 1945, he was given command of battle squadron 2 "Immelmann", which he held until April 20, 1945. At the end of the war he had flown almost 500 enemy missions and held the rank of colonel .

armed forces

From 1956 to 1971 Kuhlmey was major general in the German Air Force .

1956: Training as the first jet pilot in the Air Force in the USA.
1958: Air Force stage manager
1961: Deputy Inspector of the Air Force and General of the Aviation Associations.
1962: Kdr. Fliegerdivision Süd.
1963: Kdr. 5. Lw Div.
1968: First Kdr. Air Transport Command (LTKdo).

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
German cross in gold on November 5, 1941
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 15, 1942
Finnish Freedom Cross
Front flight clasp for combat and dive fighter pilots in gold

literature

Nauroth, Holger: Stukageschwader 2 - "Immelmann" - from the origin to the present , Verlag KW Schütz, 1988. ISBN 3-87725-123-4
Obermaier, Ernst: The Luftwaffe Knight's Cross Carriers 1939–1945, Volume II, Stuka- and Attack Airmen , Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1976, ISBN 3-87341-021-4
Journal of Military History 6: The Society for Military History and The Institute of Military Science , 1987 Helsinki, ISBN 951-95217-9-8
Air Force Suomessa - in Finland 1941-1944, Vol. 2, ISBN 951-99072-4-6

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. 483.

personal data
SURNAME	Kuhlmey, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German military, Stuka pilot and knight's cross bearer in World War II, major general in the Bundeswehr
DATE OF BIRTH	November 19, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH	Insterburg
DATE OF DEATH	April 30, 1993
Place of death	Bonn

[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. 483.