Wilhelm Meyn
Wilhelm Meyn (born June 3, 1923 in Hamburg , † May 4, 2002 in Hoppstädten ) was a German Air Force officer and attack pilot in the Air Force in World War II and Major General of the Air Force of the Bundeswehr .
Military career
Promotions
- 1st February 1942 lieutenant
- 1st September 1944 first lieutenant
- March 16, 1956 Captain
- May 1, 1958 Major
- September 1, 1961 Lieutenant Colonel
- April 1, 1967 Colonel
- 1st October 1969 Brigadier General
- October 1, 1975 Major General
Second World War
Meyn joined the Luftwaffe on October 15, 1940 , where he received training as a dive pilot on the Ju 87 (Stuka) until mid-October 1942 . On October 16, 1942, he was initially assigned to the supplementary squadron of Battle Squadron 3 , where he remained until the beginning of April 1943. During this time he flew his first missions in the Mediterranean. On April 11, 1943 he was assigned to this squadron of the 7th Squadron. This was followed by operations in Italy and with the Citadel company on the Eastern Front and over the Black Sea . Meyn also flew on missions in the Smolensk - Orel - Kharkov area and the Kuban bridgehead . After converting the squadron to Fw 190 , Meyn flew missions in Estonia and Latvia . He achieved 26 victories and received the German Cross in Gold on January 28, 1944 and the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on October 28, 1944 . At that time he was the youngest attack pilot in the Air Force to receive this award. At the end of the war in the rank of first lieutenant , he acted as squadron captain of the local 9th squadron and was able to transfer his squadron from the Kurlandkessel to Flensburg shortly before the end of the war . Meyn flew a total of 721 enemy flights and achieved 26 aerial victories. On May 8, 1945 he was taken prisoner by the British, from which he was released at the end of September 1945.
Post-war years and military career
He then served from October to December 1945 in the US Army as a controller with the US Army Chief Branch Checker . From February 1946 to May 1950, Meyn completed a degree in architecture at the Technical University of Karlsruhe . Until March 1956 he worked as a freelance architect there.
On March 16, 1956, Meyn joined the Federal Air Force , where he was appointed captain , where he received a refresher course in flying and training as a flight instructor until the end of February 1957. In this function, he taught from March to September 1957 at the Luftwaffe 30 weapons school at the Fürstenfeldbruck airfield and the Büchel air base . On October 1, 1957, Meyn was appointed squadron captain of Fighter Bomber Wing 31 in Nörvenich , whose function he held until the end of December 1958. He then rose within this squadron to commander of the flying troops. On March 13, 1961, Meyn was appointed commodore of Fighter Bomber Wing 36 in Rheine . He then held the same position again in Fighter Bomber Wing 31 from December 1962 to January 1964.
From January 3, 1964 to the end of September 1965, Meyn completed the 8th General Staff course at the command academy of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg and was subsequently appointed to the Federal Ministry of Defense in Bonn , where Meyn initially acted as an assistant officer until July 1971, later as head of division and head of staff department . From August 1971 to the end of January 1975 he then served with the AFCENT . In February 1975 Meyn rose to become chief of staff in the Cologne-Wahn air fleet ; a position he held until the end of September 1975. On October 1, 1975, Meyn was appointed commander of the 2nd Air Force Division in Birkenfeld while being appointed major general . At the end of July 1977 Meyn gave up this command and on the following day, August 1, 1977, was appointed Deputy Commanding General of the Air Fleet Command in Cologne-Wahn. Meyn held this position until his retirement on February 28, 1979.
Meyn was married. His marriage had three children.
Quote
"With these things we stop entire divisions."
literature
- Heinz-Peter Würzenthal: The Generals and Admirals of the Bundeswehr , Volume 3: Laegeler - Quiel, ISBN 3-7648-2382-8 , pp. 273-274
- Georg Brütting: That was the German Stuka-Asse 1939-1945 , Motorbuch-Verlag Stuttgart, 4th edition 1984, ISBN 3-87943-433-6 , pp. 229-230
Individual evidence
- ↑ General on the phone . Der Spiegel, 38/1970
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Meyn, Wilhelm |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Air Force Lieutenant in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 3, 1923 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 4, 2002 |
| Place of death | Hoppstädten |