Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (born February 2, 1881 in Trumpfsee-Warnitz; died May 4, 1945 in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

) was a German

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

who served in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

during the first and second World Wars.

Early years

In 1899, he became a member of the

Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...

''Hevellia Berlin''. Willy Nolte (Hrsg.): ''Burschenschafter-Stammrolle. Verzeichnis der Mitglieder der Deutschen Burschenschaft nach dem Stande vom Sommer-Semester 1934.'' Berlin 1934, S. 235. Kirdorf occurred on February 5, 1904, as

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, en, officer cadet; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was establis ...

in the ''Infantry Regiment Lutzow Nr. 25''. There he was first a company officer, later an

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the first battalion and last regimental adjutant until March 21, 1914. Then he was from March 22, to August 3, 1914, company officer in the infantry regiment ''Graf Barfuß No. 17''. Here he made in July 1914 a pilot training.

World War I

With the outbreak of

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Kirdford acted from August 4 to September 10, 1914 as General Staff Officer and leader of the flyer Detachment Deputy of the

XIV Corps (German Empire) The XIV Army Corps / XIV AK (german: XIV. Armee-Korps) was a corps level command of the German Empire, German German Army (German Empire), Army before and during World War I. It was, effectively, also the army of the Grand Duchy of Baden, which, i ...

. He acted on several positions and was not wounded. From January 1919 to June 1919 he was commander of the

Neuruppin Neuruppin (; North Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898) and therefore also referred to as ''Fonta ...

airport. He left the army on June 8, 1919.

Reichswehr

On August 1, 1927, Kirdorf was employed by the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

as a civilian employee and graduated in that capacity until the end of September 1930 a secret aviator training in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. After returning to Germany, he became the head of the advertising department of the

German Air Sports Association The German Air Sports Association (''Deutscher Luftsportverband'', or DLV e. V.) was an organisation set up by the Nazi Party in March 1933 to establish a uniform basis for the training of military pilots. Its chairman was Hermann Göring and its v ...

. He held this function from October 1, 1930, until the end of March 1934.

Luftwaffe

From April 1, 1934, to the end of June 1938 Kirdorf became head of the flight readiness of the

Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany) The Ministry of Aviation (german: Reichsluftfahrtministerium, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse ...

. After some other positions he became on February 1, 1939, head of the staff-office of the Luftwaffe. In April 1943 he received another position.

Death

On May 4, 1945, Kastner-Kirdorf committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. In his book, ''Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters'',

Richard Winters Richard Davis Winters (January 21, 1918January 2, 2011) was an American businessman and decorated war veteran who served as a U.S. Army officer during World War II. He is best known for having commanded Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion, 506th ...

recounts finding Kastner-Kirdorf's body in Goering's private compound at

Promotions

* February 19, 1904,

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a German, Swiss and Austrian military rank that has existed since the 16th century. It is usually the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman or sailor could be promoted.Duden; D ...

* May 30, 1904, Fahnenjunker -

Unteroffizier () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Austria , also , is the collective name t ...

* September 15, 1904,

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-d ...

* November 15, 1904,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

* November 19, 1911,

* November 28, 1914,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

* October 20, 1919, as a character

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

* April 1, 1934,

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

* October 1, 1935,

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

* June 1, 1938,

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

* January 1, 1940,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

* July 1, 1941,

General der Flieger ''General der Flieger'' ( en, General of the aviators) was a General of the branch rank of the Luftwaffe (air force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level (OF-8), eq ...