Walter Oesau

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Walter Oesau (born June 8, 1913 in Farnewinkel ; † May 11, 1944 near St. Vith , Belgium ) was a German Air Force officer (most recently a colonel ) and fighter pilot in World War II .

Life

Oesau joined the 2nd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment of the Reichswehr in October 1933 , where he was promoted to lieutenant on April 20, 1937 . In April 1938 he changed to the staff of Jagdgruppe 88 of the Condor Legion in La Sénia and took part in the Spanish Civil War. After winning eight aerial victories there, Oesau returned to Germany in early 1939. For his achievements in Spain, Oesau received the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds, the Military Medal and the Medalla de la Campaña .

In September 1939 he became a first lieutenant leader of the 7th squadron in Jagdgeschwader 51 . He achieved his first World War II aerial victory on May 13, 1940 when he shot down a French Curtiss Hawk 75 fighter. After the end of the Western campaign , he was able to prove five aerial victories. On July 19, 1940, he was promoted to captain . As such, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on August 20, 1940 . In the same month he was appointed commander of the III. Group of Jagdgeschwader 51, from where he was in December 1940 as commander for III. Group of Jagdgeschwader 3 was transferred. On February 5, 1941, he achieved his 40th victory in the air and one day later received the oak leaves for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (9th award). Since June 1941 he was deployed on the Eastern Front in Russia. Here he was able to record his 80th aerial victory on July 15, 1941. On the same day he was promoted to major and appointed commodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 . One day later, Oesau received the swords for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (3rd award). The 100th victory in the air followed in October 1941. At the same time he was banned from flying, which was not lifted until August 1942. In June 1943 he was appointed " Jagdfliegerführer Bretagne " (formerly Jagdfliegerführer 4 ) and in October 1943 was given command of Jagdgeschwader 1. On May 1, 1944, he was promoted to colonel . His last aerial victory was on May 8, 1944 against an American Republic P-47 .

death

On May 11, 1944, he led his unit against a bomber crowd to Belgium. He was chased and shot down over the Eifel by several American P-38 "Lightnings", where he was killed. After Oesau's death, Jagdgeschwader 1 was renamed Jagdgeschwader 1 "Oesau" . Henceforth it was one of the eleven traditional squadrons of the Wehrmacht . In around 300 missions, Oesau has won 125 aerial victories, ten of them against four-engine bombers. He was buried with military honors in the cemetery in Meldorf . The grave has been preserved (as of 2019).

Others

Oesau was named five times in the Wehrmacht report. The reports about him and other fighter pilots each concluded the daily report. While new successes in the number of aerial victories were reported on September 6, 1940 and on February 6, July 4 and October 27, 1941, the report concluded on May 15, 1944 with the announcement of Oesau's " heroic death ".

literature

  • Friedrich Griese : Oesau. Our fighter pilots . Your life and your achievements in individual presentations. Published by the General der Jagdflieger on behalf of the Reichsmarschall. Issue 2. Berlin-Herrlingen: Hanns Arens Verlag 1943 [1944]. 48 pp.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jörg Nimmergut : German medals and decorations until 1945. Volume 4. Württemberg II - German Empire. Central Office for Scientific Order Studies, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-00-001396-2 , p. 2091.
  2. ↑ a b c 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. 576.
  3. ↑ Thomas Menzel: The traditional squadron of the Wehrmacht. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: The Federal Archives, article date: March 16, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesarchiv.de
  4. ^ The Wehrmacht reports 1939–1945. Society for Literature and Education, Cologne 1989. ISBN 3-423-05944-3 . Volume 3, p. 814.
  5. ^ The Wehrmacht reports 1939–1945. 3 volumes. Society for Literature and Education, Cologne 1989. ISBN 3-423-05944-3 : On September 6, 1940: 20 or more aerial victories in the aerial battles of the last few weeks (Volume 1, p. 296). On February 6, 1941: 40th aerial victory (Volume 1, p. 417). On July 4, 1941: 54th aerial victory (Volume 1, p. 606). October 27, 1941: 100th victory in the air (Volume 1, p. 710).
  6. ^ The Wehrmacht reports 1939–1945. Society for Literature and Education, Cologne 1989. ISBN 3-423-05944-3 . Volume 3, p. 104.
personal data
SURNAME Oesau, Walter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German air force officer and fighter pilot
DATE OF BIRTH June 8, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Farnewinkel
DATE OF DEATH May 11, 1944
Place of death near St. Vith , Belgium