Martin Drewes
Martin Drewes (born October 20, 1918 in Lobmachtersen ; † October 13, 2013 in Blumenau (Brazil) ) was a German pilot and aviation author .
Life
Second World War
As a pharmacist son Drewes answered on the high school in Wolfenbüttel to Heer (army) . As an officer candidate in the 6th Panzer Regiment, he switched to the Air Force after the attack on Poland began . After completing his flying training, he became a pilot in Group II of Destroyer Squadron 76.
In the spring of 1941, the Prime Minister of Iraq , Raschid Ali al-Gailani , asked the German Reich for assistance against the British. As a result, a small contingent of air forces was sent to Iraq, the Sonderstab F (Sonderkommando Junck). Drewes flew several missions there with a Messerschmitt Bf 110 in the 4th squadron of the destroyer squadron ZG 76. The missions ended - without having achieved any military success - in the early summer of 1941.
After being transferred back to Germany and further deployments in Destroyer Squadron 76, Martin Drewes - meanwhile first lieutenant - retrained to night hunting at the end of 1941 . He flew in Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 until the summer of 1943 , then in Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 until the end of the war . During his time with Nachtjagdgeschwader 1, Oberleutnant Walter Scheel was his adjutant. Drewes had a lifelong friendship with him ever since.
Drewes achieved 52 victories in around 250 missions, 43 of them at night. He experienced the end of the war as a major and commander of the III. Night Fighter Squadron Group 1.
post war period
After a brief British captivity , he decided in 1949 to emigrate to Brazil . As a former senior officer, he saw no chance of taking up a degree he had planned. During his first time in Brazil, he was also an aviator until it turned out that he could not make a living from it. In Brazil, Martin Drewes built a career as an entrepreneur and married a Brazilian woman who died in 2010.
Drewes lived in Blumenau (Brazil) until his death, but returned to Germany at least once every year, so that over the years he has made more than 90 visits from Brazil to his former homeland. Since 1961 he was lieutenant colonel d. R. of the Air Force (Bundeswehr) . He died a week before his 95th birthday.
War awards
- Iron Cross (1939) 2nd class on May 26, 1941
- Iron Cross (1939) 1st Class on April 9, 1943
- German cross in gold on February 24, 1944
- Trophy of honor for special achievement in the aerial warfare on March 31, 1944
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on July 27, 1944
- Oak leaves for the Knight's Cross on April 17, 1945 (839th award)
Publications
- Little stories of a colorful path . Self-published in 1999
- Sombras da noite . Adler Editora, Rio de Janeiro 2002
- Störmede Air Base - A chronicle in words and pictures . Helmut Mauermann - Foreword by Martin Drewes, self-published 2005
- Sand and fire . Twenty-nine six publishing house, Moosburg 2011
See also
- List of German fighter pilots in World War II
- List of bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Fighter Pilots
- List of bearers of oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Web links
- Literature by and about Martin Drewes in the catalog of the German National Library
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Drewes, Martin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German pilot and aviation author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 20, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Praise Makers |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 13, 2013 |
| Place of death | Blumenau (Brazil) |