Werner Baumbach | |
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Werner Baumbach | |
Born | 27 December 1916 |
Died | 20 October 1953 | (aged 36)
Place of birth | Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony |
Place of death | La Plata, Argentina |
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/branch | Luftwaffe |
Years of service | 1936–1945 |
Rank | Oberst |
Unit | KG 30, KG 200 |
Commands held | 5./KG 30, I./KG 30, KG 200 |
Battles/wars | World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords |
Other work | Test pilot |
Werner Baumbach (27 December 1916 – 20 October 1953) was a bomber pilot in the German Luftwaffe during World War II and commander of the secret bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200). He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) for the destruction of over 300,000 gross register tons (GRT) of allied shipping.[1]
Career[]
Born on 27 December 1916 in Cloppenburg, Baumbach entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Junkers Ju 88 bomber and flew various bombing missions with Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30). On 19 April 1940 he bombed and damaged the French cruiser Émile Bertin for which he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.[1] In 1942, Baumbach was removed from active pilot duty and started working on new bomber designs; among others, he helped design the composite bomber system Mistel. In 1944, he was placed in command of the newly formed Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) and was in charge of all Luftwaffe special missions. Baumbach was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 15 November 1944 and was tasked with leading the affairs of the General der Kampfflieger.
After the war, Baumbach spent three years as a prisoner of war before he moved to Argentina where he worked as a test pilot. He died in a plane crash on 20 October 1953 while evaluating a British Lancaster bomber. He was interred in his hometown Cloppenburg.[2]
Baumbach released his memoirs, Zu spät: Aufstieg und Untergang der deutschen Luftwaffe (English title: "Broken Swastika"), in the late 1940s. The book demonstrates that even after Germany's defeat, Baumbach still believed to a very large extent in the National Socialist ideology. The fact that Baumbach's time as commander of KG 200 is not mentioned with a single word highlights the extreme secrecy of Germany's special missions program.
Awards[]
- Narvik Shield
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber Pilots in Gold with Pennant "200"
- Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds (14 July 1941)[3]
- Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe
- Iron Cross (1939)
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
- Knight's Cross on 8 May 1940 as Leutnant and pilot in the 5./KG 30[4]
- 20th Oak Leaves on 14 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1./KG 30[4]
- 16th Swords on 17 August 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./KG 30[5][Notes 1]
- Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht on 14 February and 28 February 1941
Wehrmachtbericht references[]
Date | Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording | Direct English translation |
---|---|---|
Friday, 14 February 1941 | Bei dem erfolgreichen Angriff im Seegebiet ostwärts Harwich zeichnete sich die Besatzung des Kampfflugzeuges Kommandant und Flugzeugführer Oberleutnant Baumbach, Bombenschütze Unteroffizier Menz, Funker Feldwebel Thieß und Bordschütze Unteroffizier Greifmühlen besonders aus.[6] | In the successful attack in the sea area east of Harwich, the crew of the combat aircraft commander and pilot Lieutenant Baumbach, bombardier Corporal Menz, radio operator Sergeant Thiess and aerial gunner Corporal Greifmühlen especially distinguished themselves. |
Friday, 28 February 1941 | Die Besatzung eines Kampfflugzeuges, Oberleutnant Baumbach, Feldwebel Erkens und Unteroffizier Stahl, vernichteten bis zum 27, Februar insgesamt 240 000 Tonnen feindlichen Schiffraums.[7] | The crew of a combat aircraft, Lieutenant Baumbach, Sergeant Erkens and Corporal Stahl, destroyed a total of 240 000 tons of enemy shipping until 27 February. |
Notes[]
References[]
- Citations
- Bibliography
- Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges. Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
- Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) (in German). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches]. Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
- Kaiser, Jochen (2010). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 1 (in German and English). Bad Zwischenahn, Germany: Luftfahrtverlag-Start. ISBN 978-3-941437-07-4.
- Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham - Huppertz (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-20-3.
- Scherzer, Veit (2007) (in German). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives]. Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
- Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9.
- Thomas, Franz (1997) (in German). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K]. Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
- Williamson, Gordon Williamson and Bujeiro, Ramiro (2004). Knight's Cross and Oak-Leaves Recipients 1939-40 — Volume 114 of Elite Series. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-84176-641-0.
- Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, 1985. ISBN 3-423-05944-3.
- Frey, Gerhard; Herrmann, Hajo: Helden der Wehrmacht - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2004. ISBN 3-924309-53-1.
External links[]
- "Photo of Werner Baubach with Juan Perón". http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Werner_Baumbach.jpg&filetimestamp=20100802072418. Retrieved 2010.
- Werner Baumbach in the German National Library catalogue
- "Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945". Werner Baumbach. http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Luftwaffe/B/Ba/Baumbach-Werner.htm. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- "Lexikon der Wehrmacht". Werner Baumbach. http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BaumbachW.htm. Retrieved 6 June 2007.
- Werner Baumbach receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on YouTube
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The original article can be found at Werner Baumbach and the edit history here.