Theodor Weissenberger

Theodor Weissenberger, 1944

Theodor Weissenberger (born December 21, 1914 in Mühlbach ; † June 11, 1950 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg ) was a German Air Force officer , most recently a major and fighter pilot in World War II as well as a racing car driver .

Second World War

In October 1936 he joined the 2nd Company of Flieger-Ersatz -teilung 14 in Detmold . He was promoted to Sergeant in the Reserve on December 1, 1940 and joined Jagdgeschwader 77 in August 1941 . On October 24, 1941, he achieved his first aerial victory, was promoted to sergeant major on February 1, 1942, and to lieutenant on July 1, 1942 .

September 1942 he was transferred to the 6th squadron of Jagdgeschwader 5 . As a destroyer pilot, he had achieved 23 kills by then, whereupon he was awarded the German Cross in Gold . After another 15 victories in the air, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on November 13, 1942 . For Lieutenant promoted on 1 June 1943, he took over on June 15, 1943 as squadron commander, the seventh season of the fighter wing. 5

The oak leaf was awarded to him after his 112th victory in the air on August 2, 1943. He took over the 6th squadron as chief on September 14, 1943 and from March 26, 1944 became commander of Group II of Jagdgeschwader 5. On June 1, 1944 he was promoted to captain and on June 3, 1944, commander of I. Gruppe des Jagdgeschwader 5. On July 25, 1944, he achieved his 200th aerial victory and then retrained to the new Me 262 jet fighter . In November 1944 he became the commander of the 1st group of Jagdgeschwader 7 . On January 1, 1945 he was promoted to major and appointed commodore of Jagdgeschwader 7. At the end of the war, Weissenberger had achieved 208 victories on over 500 enemy flights.

death

Weissenberger died in a racing accident on the Nürburgring during the XV Eifel race on June 11, 1950. He had an accident with a BMW self-made in the Metzgesfeld section . Weissenberger is buried in Langenselbold in the old cemetery.

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
German cross in gold on September 8, 1942
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves
- Knight's Cross on November 13, 1942
- Oak leaves on August 2, 1943 (266th award)

literature

Ernst Obermaier: The Knight's Cross bearers of the Air Force Volume I: Fighter pilots. ISBN 3-87341-065-6 .
Raymond F. Toliver, Trevor J. Constable : These were the German fighter pilot aces 1939–1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1972, ISBN 3-87943-193-0 .
Edward H. Sims: Fighter pilots - The great opponents of yore. Motorbuchverlag Stuttgart, 16th edition, 1996, ISBN 3-87943-115-9 , p. 33.
Mike Spick: The fighter breed of the German Air Force. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, 2000, ISBN 3763759786 .

Web links

Commons : Theodor Weissenberger - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Theo Weissenberger. www.motorsportmemorial.org, accessed June 20, 2019 (English).

Individual evidence

^ Burkhard Köhr: 15th Eifel race, June 11, 1950. Per steep section, August 18, 2009, accessed on June 20, 2019 .
↑ ^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. 776.

personal data
SURNAME	Weissenberger, Theodor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German air force officer and fighter pilot in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	December 21, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH	Mühlbach
DATE OF DEATH	June 11, 1950
Place of death	Nürburgring

[1] Burkhard Köhr: 15th Eifel race, June 11, 1950. Per steep section, August 18, 2009, accessed on June 20, 2019 .

[RKT-2] 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. 776.