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Joachim Wandel
Joachim "Gnom" Wandel (7 May 1914 – 7 October 1942) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator in the Spanish Civil War and a fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 75 victories, two over the Western Front and 73 over the Eastern Front. Born in Schlochau, present-day Człuchów in northwestern Poland, Wandel served in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War where he was shot down and became a prisoner of war. During World War II, Wandel was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of 2. '' Staffel'' (2nd squadron) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 76 (JG 76—76th Fighter Wing) in March 1940. He claimed his first aerial victory on 5 June 1940 during the Battle of France. In July 1940, Wandel served as a fighter pilot instructor. In late 1941, he was transferred to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) fighting on the Eastern Front, at first serving with the ''Gruppenstab'' (headquarters unit) of II. '' Gruppe'' (2nd group) of JG ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Człuchów
Człuchów (, ''Człochòwo'', or ''Człëchòwò''; formerly ) is a town in the region of Gdańsk Pomerania, northwestern Poland, with 13,350 inhabitants as of December 2021. Człuchów has been the capital of Człuchów County in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998 it was in Słupsk Voivodeship. Location Człuchów lies in a forested area in the southwest of the Pomeranian Voivodeship, at the intersection of Highway 25 from Koszalin to Bydgoszcz and Highway 22 from Gorzów Wielkopolski to Elbląg. The nearest city is Chojnice, to the east. History By the beginning of the 13th century Człuchów was a Slavic settlement under the overlordship of the Kingdom of Poland located at the intersection of two trade routes. In 1312 the Teutonic Knights purchased the settlement for 250 silver marks from Nicholas of Poniec, a son of the voivod of Kalisz. The Order began constructing a fortress known as Schlochau on a hill east of the settlement; the fortres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availabilit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagdgruppe 88
''Jagdgruppe'' 88 (J/88) was a German Condor Legion fighter group serving in the Spanish Civil War. J/88 consisted of a headquarters (''Stab'') and four squadrons (''Staffeln''), although the 4th Staffel was short-lived. J/88 had formed on 3 November 1936. Formation The Condor Legion was an expeditionary force of soldiers and airmen sent to aid the Spanish Nationalist group during the Spanish Civil War. The Germans used the war as an opportunity to evaluate new equipment, guns, vehicles and aircraft, and to develop tactical techniques which were later used in the 1939-45 conflict. In addition to a detachment of converted Junkers Ju 52s, a initial cadre of six Heinkel He-51s, were despatched, with enough service staff to instruct the Spanish aircrews in the operation and maintenance of the aircraft. Under the leadership of Leutnant Hannes Trautloft J/88 arrived by sea in August 1936. While the Spanish Air Force pilots trained, Trautloft and the other pilots became the first of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Faction (Spanish Civil War)
The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup of July 1936 against the Second Spanish Republic and Republican faction and sought to depose Manuel Azaña, including the Falange, the CEDA, and two rival monarchist claimants: the Alfonsist Renovación Española and the Carlist Traditionalist Communion. In 1937, all the groups were merged into the FET y de las JONS. After the death of the faction's early leaders, General Francisco Franco, one of the members of the 1936 coup, would head the Nationalists throughout most of the war and emerge as the dictator of Spain until his death in 1975. The term Nationalists or Nationals () was coined by Joseph Goebbels following the visit of the clandestine Spanish delegation led by Captain Francisco Arranz requesting war material on 24 July 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German Army (1935–1945)
The German Army (german: Heer, ; ) was the land forces component of the ''Wehrmacht'', the regular German Armed Forces, from 1935 until it effectively ceased to exist in 1945 and then was formally dissolved in August 1946. During World War II, a total of about 13.6 million soldiers served in the German Army. Army personnel were made up of volunteers and conscripts. Only 17 months after Adolf Hitler announced the German rearmament program in 1935, the army reached its projected goal of 36 divisions. During the autumn of 1937, two more corps were formed. In 1938 four additional corps were formed with the inclusion of the five divisions of the Austrian Army after the ''Anschluss'' in March. During the period of its expansion under Hitler, the German Army continued to develop concepts pioneered during World War I, combining ground and air assets into combined arms forces. Coupled with operational and tactical methods such as encirclements and "battle of annihilation", the German ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
197th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
The 197th Infantry Division (German: ''197. Infanterie-Division'') was a German division in World War II. It was activated on 1 December 1939. The division was destroyed near Vitebsk during the Soviet Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive of Operation Bagration in the summer of 1944. Operational history The division was activated on 1 December 1939 in the Posen region in Wehrkreis XXI as a division of the seventh ''Aufstellungswelle'', using personnel from the replacement personnel of Wehrkreis XII (Wiesbaden) stationed in the Posen area at the time. The division maintained a Hessian, Palatine and Middle Rhenish regional identity. The division initially consisted of the Infantry Regiments 321 and 332 (formed from Infantry Replacement Regiment 33 and Infantry Replacement Regiment 246, respectively) as well as the Light Artillery Detachment 229. The initial divisional commander was Hermann Meyer-Rabingen. With its two infantry regiments, the 197th Infantry Division was initially underst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Province Of West Prussia
The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth annexed in the First Partition of Poland. West Prussia was dissolved in 1829 and merged with East Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, but was re-established in 1878 when the merger was reversed and became part of the German Empire. From 1918, West Prussia was a province of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, losing most of its territory to the Second Polish Republic and the Free City of Danzig in the Treaty of Versailles. West Prussia was dissolved in 1920, and its remaining western territory was merged with Posen to form Posen-West Prussia, and its eastern territory merged with East Prussia as the Region of West Prussia district. West Prussia's provi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stab (Luftwaffe Designation)
The German language term ''Stab'' (literal translation: "staff") was used during World War II to designate a headquarters unit of the German ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). There were ''Stab'' units at the level of a '' Gruppe'' or ''Geschwader'' – units that were equivalent to wings and groups in the air forces of the English-speaking world. ''Stab'' units directly controlled aircraft as well as controlling those belonging to subordinate units. These command units used the mandated blue or green "staff aircraft" colour for the third character (the individual aircraft's letter) of their alphanumeric ''Geschwaderkennung'' wing code, to distinguish their aircraft from the rest of air units in the same unit. These units were divided in the following form, for the fourth and last character normally used to distinguish individual '' Staffeln'' (squadrons) from the letter "H" onwards in Luftwaffe wing codes: *''Geschwader Stab'' = A (third letter blue) *''Stab I Gruppe'' ("Staff Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagdgeschwader 76
''Jagdgeschwader'' 76 (JG 76) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. JG 76 was first formed in 1939 in Wien- Aspern with only I. ''Gruppe'' (1st group). The ''Geschwader'' was renamed II./Jagdgeschwader 54 on 4 July 1940. The ''Geschwader'' was recreated in July 1944 at Salzburg from the ''Stab''/Zerstörergeschwader 76. From 22 July 1944 to August the gruppe was based at Rotenburg and Athis in France. Operational history The unit participated in the invasion of Poland, claiming 6 aircraft shot down. JG 76 then flew operations through the summer of 1940, and during the Battle of France the unit claimed some 69 Allied aircraft downed, with Ltn. Roloff von Aspern (8), Ltn. Hans Philipp and Ofw. Max Stotz (both 7) Oblt. Dietrich Hrabak (6) the top scorers. JG 76 saw very limited combat in the autumn of 1944, mainly during operations in response to Operation Market Garden. Some 46 aircraft were claimed shot down during 1944-45. Based in Athis, France, on 25 August 1944 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organization Of The Luftwaffe (1933–1945)
Between 1933 and 1945, the organization of the Luftwaffe underwent several changes. Originally, the German military high command, for their air warfare forces, decided to use an organizational structure similar to the army and navy, treating the aviation branch as a strategic weapon of war. Later on, during the period of rapid rearmament, the Luftwaffe was organized more in a geographical fashion. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), Germany was prohibited from having an air force, with the former German Empire's '' Luftstreitkräfte'' disbandment in 1920. German pilots were secretly trained for military aviation, first in the Soviet Union during the late 1920s, and then in Germany in the early 1930s. In Germany, the training was done under the guise of the German Air Sports Association (german: Deutscher Luftsportverband (DLV)) at the Central Commercial Pilots School (german: Zentrale der Verkehrs Fliegerschule (ZVF)). Following its 15 May 1933 formation in secre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Staffelkapitän
''Staffelkapitän'' is a position (not a rank) in flying units ( ''Staffel'') of the German Luftwaffe that is the equivalent of RAF/USAF Squadron Commander. Usually today a ''Staffelkapitän'' is of '' Oberstleutnant'' or ''Major'' rank. In the ''Luftwaffe'' of the Wehrmacht the ''Staffelkapitän'' usually held the rank of an ''Oberleutnant'' or ''Hauptmann''. For the first weeks of his assignment he was known as a ''Staffelführer'' (Squadron Leader), until he was confirmed in this position. If a Non-commissioned officer was tasked with this role, he was also referred to as a ''Staffelführer''. This title is not to be confused with ''Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First World War, where the titl ...'', a rank in the SS. See also * Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945) Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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