Paul Zorner

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Paul Zorner , actually Paul Zloch , (born March 31, 1920 in Roben near Leobschütz , † January 27, 2014 in Homburg ) was a German Air Force officer and night fighter pilot in World War II . He ended the war as a group commander with 59 aerial victories in the rank of major and was awarded the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . In 2006 Zorner received the Medal of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his services as the founder of the "Partnership with Silesia" association .

Life

Childhood and youth

Paul Zorner grew up as the second eldest child of Paul Anton Zloch and his wife Bibiana, who was widowed during the First World War . His mother brought a daughter, Gretel, into the new marriage from her first marriage. Paul was followed by six other siblings. The surname "Zloch" comes from Masurian and means "irascible". Paul Anton Zloch was employed as a teacher in the village. When a new law on the German civil service was passed, Paul Anton Zloch let Zloch rename himself and his family to Zorner. At the time, this was a simple, welcome by the authorities formality that the Germans should promote. In order to enable the children to attend grammar school, the family moved several times, first to Gläsen in the Leobschütz district and then, in autumn 1932, to near Neisse . In the Hitler Youth , Zorner was responsible for the younger children as the "Pimpfenführer", a position he held until October 1937. On March 8, 1938, Zorner received his Abitur certificate at the Carolinum State Gymnasium in Neisse, and in the following months did the compulsory service in the Reich Labor Service . Tested for airworthiness as early as 1937, he began his service in the Air Force in November 1938.

air force

According to the presentation order, Paul Zorner's first unit on his way to becoming a pilot in the Air Force from November 7, 1938 was Flieger Ersatzabteilung 61, which was stationed in Oschatz at that time . After the compulsory basic training and swearing-in in the 2nd company, Zorner was transferred to Air War School 2 in Berlin-Gatow in mid-March 1939 . There the officer candidates completed their officer training as well as the first steps on the way to the various aviation authorizations in the form of a basic aviation training course.

Training to become an aircraft pilot and work as a flight instructor

In November 1939, Paul Zorner's supervision was assigned to the LKS in Alt-Lönnewitz in Saxony . There the flight students learned further basics, including instrument flight, on models like the Ju 52 and the He 111 . This course was finished in March 1940 and Zorner received the pilot's license. In contrast to his comrades, he was not transferred to a front unit, but remained as a flight instructor at the C 3 Alt-Lönnewitz pilot school. The next station in his military career was the pilot school (FFS) C 11 in Zeltweg in Styria , where he stayed until January 15, 1941.

Transport pilot

After a short interlude at the FFS C 8 in Wiener Neustadt , Zorner became part of the combat group for special use (KGr. Z. B. V.) 104, which was to carry out supply flights from Trapani in Sicily for the Africa Corps .

Four pilots were temporarily given the "special order" to carry out transports to Iraq, which were mainly flown at night under difficult conditions. In addition, the planes were even given Iraqi national emblems and the pilots of the German Air Force special uniforms that were supposed to conceal the real origin of the soldiers.

With the beginning of the Barbarossa company , the KGr. z. b. V. 104 moved to the Eastern Front. In doing so, it particularly supported Jagdgeschwader 52 and 77 on their rapid advance in the southern section of the front. On October 10, 1941, after trying to get a transfer, Zorner received the order to report to Night Hunting School 1 in Schleissheim .

Night hunting

The training in Schleissheim began on single-engine aircraft such as the Heinkel He 51 , the Arado Ar 96 and other types in order to introduce the previous transport aircraft to aerial combat. Only after this training, which also suffered from the lack of petrol, the pilots were transferred to the night hunting school at the Ingolstadt / Manching air base in order to receive the required night hunting training. At the end of June 1942, Paul Zorner was transferred to his first task force within the night hunt: The III. Group of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 2 at the Dutch air base Gilze-Rijen under the group commander Herbert Bönsch. In the 8th season, however, Zorner did not stay long, on October 3, 1942, he was transferred to the Grove Air Base near the Danish Karup , in the 10th squadron of the night fighter squadron 3 . He remembered the appearance of Prince Heinrich zu Sayn-Wittgenstein , who took over the group after Bönsch's fatal crash. In Grove, Zorner flew the Do 217 . On January 17, 1943, he scored his first aerial victory against a Handley Page Halifax . On December 6, 1942, Zorner was transferred again, this time to the 2nd squadron of Night Fighter Squadron 3, which was stationed at Wittmundhafen Air Base. Here he became a squadron captain. After being used in other squadrons of the Nachtjagdgeschwader 3, he was appointed captain group commander of the III on April 4, 1944 . Night Fighter Squadron Group 5 . He experienced the end of the war as a major and group commander of the 2nd group of Night Fighter Squadron 100.

Captivity

After the end of the war, Paul Zorner was taken prisoner by the Soviets. He returned to his family on January 5, 1950.

After the Second World War

In May 2006 Paul Zorner received the Medal of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his special honorary services as the founder of the “Partnership with Silesia” association . The association, founded in 1995, aims to improve German-Polish relations and organized a. a. Help during the flood of the Oder in 1997 . Zorner was an honorary citizen of the Polish city of Reńska Wieś (formerly Reinschdorf).

Awards

See also

Fonts

  • Nights in the Bomber Stream - Memories 1920–1950. Twenty-nine six publishing house, Moosburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-9807935-9-9 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary in the Saarbrücker Zeitung.Retrieved on October 4, 2019
  2. ^ Paul Zorner: Nights in the stream of bombers. Memories 1920–1950. Edited by Kurt Braatz . NeunzwanzigSechs-Verlag, Moosburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-9807935-9-9 , p. 324f
  3. ↑ Zorner, p. 24
  4. ↑ Zorner, p. 24
  5. ↑ Zorner, p. 26
  6. ↑ Zorner, p. 28
  7. ↑ Zorner, p. 30ff.
  8. ↑ Zorner, p. 35ff.
  9. ↑ Zorner, p. 28
  10. ↑ Zorner, p. 45ff.
  11. ↑ Zorner, p. 66
  12. ↑ Zorner, p. 92
  13. ↑ Zorner, p. 94
  14. ↑ Zorner, p. 98ff.
  15. ↑ Zorner, p. 107
  16. ↑ Zorner, pp. 110-113
  17. ↑ Zorner, p. 119
  18. ↑ Zorner, p. 144
  19. ↑ Zorner, p. 324
  20. ↑ Zorner, p. 323
  21. ↑ Zorner, p. 313
  22. ↑ Award for Paul Zorner ( Memento from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). Accessed October 4, 2019
  23. ↑ Zorner, p. 276
  24. ↑ Press invitation ( Memento of March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Retrieved on October 4, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Zorner, Paul
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zloch, Paul (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German air force officer and night fighter pilot in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH March 31, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Robes , Leobschütz
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 2014
Place of death Homburg