Wilhelm Süssmann

Wilhelm Süssmann (born September 16, 1891 in Usedom ; † May 20, 1941 in Aegina ) was a German Lieutenant General in the Air Force in World War II .

Life

Süssmann joined the Infantry Regiment "Keith" (1st Oberschlesisches) No. 22 of the Prussian Army on October 25, 1909 as a flag junior , where he was promoted to lieutenant on June 16, 1911 . After the beginning of the First World War , he switched to the air force . He advanced to captain and was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross .

Since the air force was disbanded after the end of the war, Süssmann joined the security police in Sagan as a captain on September 25, 1920 . He remained a policeman until August 1, 1935, when he moved to the newly founded Air Force as a lieutenant colonel .

There he initially served in the Reich Ministry of Aviation (RLM) before taking part in an observer course at the Braunschweig Aviation School. On October 12, 1935 he took over duties in the staff of the RLM and on January 1, 1936 he switched to the staff of the Luftkreiskommando I. On March 12, 1936, he took over the leadership of this staff combined with the promotion to colonel on April 1, 1936. As of April 1, 1938, he moved to the head of Kampfgeschwader 254 as a squadron commodore and stayed there when the squadron was renamed Kampfgeschwader 155 on November 1, 1938 . In this post he was promoted to major general on January 1, 1939 . After he was transferred to the special staff W of the RLM on January 16, 1939, he took over the Kampfgeschwader 55 as a squad commodore on May 1, 1939 . After relinquishing command of the squadron on March 8, 1940, he led the Luftgaustab z. b. V. 200. Afterwards he was Higher Aviation Training Commander 7, before he took over the 7th Aviation Division (the later 1st Paratrooper Division ) on October 1, 1940 as commander. It was here that he was promoted to lieutenant general on December 1, 1940. In the spring of 1941, the 7th Air Division prepared with its paratroopers for the air landing on the Greek island of Crete . When this began on May 20, 1941, Süssmann was the leader of Kampfgruppe Mitte and was sitting in a DFS 230 cargo glider . When the tow plane, a Heinkel He 111 of II./KG 26 , disengaged the glider near Aegina , there was contact between the two and the glider crashed. Sussmann was killed in the impact.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ James E. Mrazek. Airborne Combat: The Glider War / Fighting Gliders of WWII , p. 56 , Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2011 ISBN 9780811744669
2. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV, Douglas G. Stankey. Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries, Section S – Z, Süßmann, Wilhelm , April 2017 , PDF
3. ↑ Henry L. deZeng IV, Douglas G. Stankey. Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries, Section G – K, Kruppe, Willy , April 2017 , PDF

Web links

• Henry L. deZeng IV, Douglas G. Stankey: Air Force Officer Career Summaries, Section S – Z, Süssmann, Wilhelm. (PDF) April 2017, pp. 429–430 , accessed on March 15, 2018 (English). 
• Henry L. deZeng IV, Douglas G. Stankey: Air Force Officer Career Summaries, Section G – K, Croup, Willy. (PDF) April 2017, accessed on March 15, 2018 (English).