Bernhard Jope (10 May 1914 – 31 July 1995) was a German bomber pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. As part of

Kampfgeschwader 40 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 40 (KG 40) was a Luftwaffe medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II, and the primary maritime patrol unit of any size within the World War II Luftwaffe. It is best remembered as the unit operating a majority of the four-eng ...

(bomber wing), Jope flew missions across the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean in support of the German navy, damaging in October 1940 the . In 1943, he led

Kampfgeschwader 100 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Itali ...

in the attacks on the , the British battleship and cruiser , and the US cruiser .

Biography

Bernhard Jope joined the military service of the Luftwaffe on 1 April 1935 after graduating from the ''Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig'' (technical university in Gdańsk-

Wrzeszcz Wrzeszcz (pronounced , german: Langfuhr; csb, Wrzészcz) is one of the boroughs of the Northern Polish city of Gdańsk. With a population of more than 65,000 in an area of (population density 6,622), Wrzeszcz is the most populous part of Gdań ...

) in aircraft construction. Prior to joining the military service he had already almost completed his flight training at the ''

Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule The Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (DVS), German Air Transport School, was a covert military-training organization operating as a flying school in Germany. It began during the Weimar Republic in Staaken, Berlin in 1925 and its head office was tra ...

'' (German Air Transport School). In support of the ''Kriegsmarine'', Jope flew the

Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 ''Condor'', also known as ''Kurier'' to the Allies ( English: Courier), was a German all-metal four-engined monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner. A Japanese request for a long-range mariti ...

on experimental missions across the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

and

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on behalf of

Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and t ...

. On 26 October 1940 he spotted the troop transport and severely damaged her with two 250 kg bombs. The ''Empress of Britain'' was subsequently sunk by , commanded by Hans Jenisch, on 28 October 1940. During his time at

(KG 100) Jope led an attack on 9 September 1943 on the Italian battle fleet that was sailing from La Spezia en route to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, to surrender to the Allies. Jope led a formation of eleven

Dornier Do 217 The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bombe ...

bombers armed with the

Fritz X Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. ''Fritz X'' was the world's first precision guided weapon deployed in combat and the first to sink a ship in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname us ...

radio controlled glide bomb and in the ensuing action the 45,000 ton was hit twice and sank. The Roma's sister ship, , was hit by a single Fritz and seriously damaged, but was able to make it to Malta. In later action, Jope and

KG 100 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Ital ...

scored hits with the Fritz on the British battleship and cruiser , and the US cruiser .

After the war

After the war, Jope worked until his retirement as a pilot for Lufthansa. Jope died on 31 July 1995, in Königstein.

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(1939) 2nd Class (27 September 1939)Kaiser 2010, p. 44. & 1st Class (12 September 1940) *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold on 5 February 1942 as ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' in the I./KG 40Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 212. *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

** Knight's Cross on 30 December 1940 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 2./KG 40Scherzer 2007, p. 423. ** Oak Leaves on 24 March 1944 as '' Major'' and '' Geschwaderkommodore'' of KG 100

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jope, Bernhard 1914 births 1995 deaths Military personnel from Leipzig People from the Kingdom of Saxony Lufthansa people German World War II bomber pilots Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Condor Legion personnel Gdańsk University of Technology alumni