Ulrich Grauert

Ulrich Grauert (born March 6, 1889 in Berlin ; † May 15, 1941 at Saint Omer ) was a German officer , most recently Colonel General of the German Air Force in World War II .

Life

On March 13, 1909, Grauert joined the 1st Pomeranian Field Artillery Regiment No. 2 of the Prussian Army as an ensign coming from the cadet corps . Here he was promoted to lieutenant on January 27, 1910 and subsequently completed courses at the field artillery shooting school in Jüterbog and at the artillery workshop in Spandau. After the outbreak of the First World War , Grauert joined the staff of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade as an orderly officer . As a first lieutenant , he trained as an aircraft observer in March 1915 and commanded a combat squadron ( Kasta ) for a long time . After the war he was the leader of the aviation division of the Guard Cavalry Rifle Division , which fought against the Spartakists together with various volunteer corps . Since the Reichswehr was no longer allowed to own aircraft, Grauert returned to the artillery in 1920 and rose to the position of department commander until 1933 .

When the secret reconstruction of an air force began in the Third Reich , Grauert was transferred to the new branch of arms because of his flying experience and was appointed head of department in the Reich Ministry of Aviation . In this position he was promoted to major general on October 1, 1936 . In 1937 he was appointed Higher Fliegerkommandeur 2, from which the 1st Fliegerdivision emerged a year later. This was followed by promotion to Lieutenant General on April 20, 1938.

After the attack on Poland , Grauert's division was increased to I. Fliegerkorps, whereupon he received the position of commanding general and was promoted to general of the fliers on October 1, 1939 . With this unit Grauert took part in the western campaign in 1940 and in the Battle of Britain . Like most commanding generals, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross after the victory over France and was promoted to Colonel General on July 19, 1940.

On May 15, 1941, Grauert was on an inspection flight along the Channel coast with his Junkers Ju 52 when the machine was used by pilots of No. 303 (Polish) Fighter Squadron of the RAF was discovered and shot down. Grauert was killed in the process. He is buried in the German military cemetery in Nampcel, France. He was married to Erika, daughter of General Fritz von Loßberg .

Awards

• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with swords
• Prussian military pilot badge
• Order of the Iron Crown III. Class with the war decoration
• Prussian military aviator commemorative badge
• Wehrmacht service award IV. To I. class
• Clasp for the Iron Cross, 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on May 29, 1940
• Pilot and observer badges in gold with diamonds

literature

• Dermot Bradley (Ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand: The Generals of the German Air Force 1935-1945. The military careers of the aviator, anti-aircraft cartillery, paratrooper, air intelligence and engineer officers, including doctors, judges, intendants and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 1: Abernetty – v. Gyldenfeldt. Biblio Publishing House. Osnabrück 1991. ISBN 3-7648-2207-4 . Pp. 375-376.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Robert Gretzyngier, Wojtek Matusiak: Poles in defense of Britain: a day-by-day chronology of Polish day and night fighter pilot operations, July 1940 - June 1941. Grub Street Publishing, London 2001, ISBN 978-1-902304-54 -0 , p. 118.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Mittler & Sohn publishing house. Berlin. P. 124.
3. ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 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. 346.