Leopold Munster

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Leopold Münster (born December 13, 1920 in Pohorsch-Hochheim near Odrau ; † May 8, 1944 near Wöllersheim south of Hildesheim ) was a fighter pilot (last lieutenant ) in the German Air Force in World War II . Leopold Münster scored 95 aerial victories, including 15 against heavy bombers and 25 on the Western Front.

Life

Leopold Münster was born into a modest family background. After his mother died early, he grew up in an aunt's household. After attending primary school and community school , he began an apprenticeship as a script painter.

After the annexation of the Sudetenland to the German Reich , he joined the Air Force as a volunteer on January 7, 1939. After attending the flight schools in Olomouc , Ulm and Ingolstadt , he took part in aerial battles over England and the Mediterranean in 1940/41 . On April 1, 1941 he was appointed sergeant . After more than 110 missions at the front, he was awarded the gold front flight clasp on December 6, 1941 and the cup of honor for special achievement in the air war on September 13, 1942 . After his 52nd victory in the air, he received the German Cross in Gold on October 3, 1942 . Until mid-1943 he was in action on the Eastern Front . From August 1943 he was used in the defense of the Reich against allied bomber squadrons and escort fighters. In January 1944 he was appointed squadron leader in Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" . On April 1, 1944, he was promoted to lieutenant because of particular bravery. After that he was temporarily group commander . On May 8, 1944, he was killed in an attack against far superior incoming four-engine B-24 bombers and escort fighters. After his ammunition had been fired over Hildesheim, he rammed a B-24 with his Messerschmitt Bf 109 or was hit by parts of the exploding bomber. He was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on May 12, 1944 and buried with military honors in his place of birth on the same day.

See also

literature

  • Ernst Obermaier: The knight's cross bearers of the Luftwaffe fighter pilots 1939-1945. Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, Mainz 1989, ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7 .
  • Mike Spick: Air Force Fighter Aces . Ivy Books, New York 1996, ISBN 978-0-8041-1696-1 .
  • Franz Thomas: The oak leaves 1939-1945. Volume 2: L-Z. Biblio-Verlag, Osnabrück 1998, ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9 .

Web links

Wikiquote: Leopold Münster  - Quotes

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alfred Wolf : In the shadow of power politics. A childhood in Moravian Silesia 1931–1945. 1st edition 2011, pp. 410-412. Gerhard Hess Verlag, ISBN 978-3-87336-387-8 .
personal data
SURNAME Munster, Leopold
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German air force officer, fighter pilot and knight's cross holder
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Pohorsch-Hochheim near Odrau
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 1944
Place of death near Wöllersheim south of Hildesheim