Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp (19 November 1897 – 27 February 1976) was a German fighter pilot notable for being one of the few two-war aces in history. After scoring six victories in World War I, he became a

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

ace in World War II, with 12 additional victories. Also he was a member of the

National Socialist Flyers Corps The National Socialist Flyers Corps (; NSFK) was a paramilitary aviation organization of the Nazi Party. History NSFK was founded 15 April 1937 as a successor to the German Air Sports Association; the latter had been active during the years when ...

with the rank of NSFK-

Obergruppenführer (, ) was a paramilitary rank in Nazi Germany that was first created in 1932 as a rank of the ''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) and adopted by the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) one year later. Until April 1942, it was the highest commissioned SS rank after ...

Early life and World War I

Harry

von Bülow The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' I ...

-Bothkamp was a child of nobility, born in his family's castle in the village of Bothkamp in the

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

.'Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp (1897-1976)' at luftwaffe39-45.historia.nom.br via translate.google.com
Accessed 18 December 2017 He began his military service with Saxon

Hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

Regiment No. 18 when he was 17, before learning to fly in August 1916. In December 1916 he joined the German air service. He was one of three brothers (the others being Walter and Conrad) to serve in the Fliegertruppe during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He first flew two-seaters with

FFA FFA may refer to: Aviation and military * First Flight Airport, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, United States * Free-fire area in U.S. military parlance * Flug- und Fahrzeugwerke Altenrhein, a Swiss aircraft and railway vehicle manufacturer * Fe ...

53, which became FA 272 (A), as a reconnaissance pilot directing artillery fire, before becoming a fighter pilot with Jasta 36, which was commanded by his brother

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

who fell on 6 January 1918. During his time with Jasta 36, Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp shot down an Airco D.H.4 on 12 October 1917, followed by five additional enemy fighters. His last victory came on 21 July 1918, over Major R.H. Freeman, CO of 73 Squadron. His notable win was his fourth, over British 10-kill ace Captain Cecil Clark of 1 Squadron, who was wounded and taken prisoner. Harry was discharged from the service by order of the Kaiser on 25 August 1918. Harry was the last survivor of four brothers; the oldest, Friedrich, was killed in 1914, Walter died in a dogfight at

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

in January 1918, and Conrad died in a flying accident on 26 September 1918 while commanding part of the Aviation Battalion of the

Finnish Air Force The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; ; ) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions. The Finnish Air ...

. Harry had earned the

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

and

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

for his service.

Between the wars

After

he returned to school ( Gymnasium) receiving his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

and went to

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

studying

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Together with

Paul Bäumer :''This article deals with Paul Bäumer the pilot. For the fictional Paul Bäumer, see All Quiet on the Western Front. For the late member of electronic music group Bingo Players, see Bingo Players'' Paul Wilhelm Bäumer known as The Iron Eagle ...

he founded

Bäumer Aero Bäumer Aero GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Paul Bäumer. It is noted for producing the Bäumer Sausewind monoplane sports aircraft. History Paul Bäumer and Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp were successf ...

GMBH in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Fuhlsbüttel is an urban quarter in the north of Hamburg, Germany in the Hamburg-Nord district. It is known as the site of Hamburg's international airport, and as the location of a prison which served as a concentration camp in the Nazi system of repression. ...

to produce airplanes. The company went bankrupt in 1930 in the course of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. He rejoined the German military aviation as a Hauptmann (

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

) in 1935, in the newly established

. The following year, he was promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and assigned as the original commanding officer of

Jagdgeschwader 2 Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen" was a German fighter Wing (military aviation unit), wing during World War II. JG 2 operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat, single-engine interceptor aircraft. Named afte ...

"Richthofen", also known as JG II. In 1939, he became Inspector of the Nationalsozialitische Fliegerkorps, the Luftwaffe's civil reserve.

World War II and beyond

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces

invaded Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet ...

. On 30 November, Bülow-Bothkamp was appointed ''

Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major or ''Oberstleutnant'' (Lieutenant Colonel), and comman ...

'' (group commander) of II. '' Gruppe'' (2nd group) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), succeeding ''Oberstleutnant''

Carl-Alfred Schumacher Carl-Alfred (August) Schumacher (19 February 1896 – 22 May 1967) was a German military officer and politician. During World War II, Schumacher served in the German Luftwaffe, commanding the Jagdgeschwader 1 (World War 2), ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 ( ...

in this capacity. He led this ''Gruppe'' until 31 March 1940, surrendering command of the ''Gruppe'' to ''Hauptmann'' Karl Hentschel. On 1 April, he took over command of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) as ''

Geschwaderkommodore ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (short also ''Kommodore'') is a ''Luftwaffe'' position or appointment (not rank), originating during World War II. A ''Geschwaderkommodore'' is usually an OF5-rank of ''Oberst'' (colonel) or Kapitän zur See (naval captain ...

'' (wing commander) from ''Oberst'' Gerd von Massow. Bülow-Bothkamp led JG 2 during the

blitzkrieg ''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...

into France during May and June 1940. Despite being over 40 years old, he vanquished at least 12 opponents in this campaign. This performance as a fighting commander of JG 2 earned him another promotion, to ''Oberstleutnant'' ( Lieutenant Colonel), and he was awarded the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

() on 22 August 1940. On 1 September 1940, he was reassigned to Nachtjagdschule 1 (Night Fight School 1). He remained in command of this unit through its redesignation as Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 (NJG 101), until October, 1943. He commanded the 5th Fighter Division from November, 1943 and then commanded ''Jafu 4'' on the western front from March 1944 to September 1944. He ended the war back with the Nationalsozialistische Fliegerkorps. He died of natural causes in

Kirchbarkau Kirchbarkau is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and ...

, near his ancestral castle, where he was buried in the same plot as his brothers.

Awards

(1914) ** 2nd Class (23 June 1916) ** 1st Class (30 May 1917) * Aviator badge (WW I) (3 March 1917) *

Albert Order The Albert Order () was created on 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony (known as Albert the Bold). It was to be awarded to anyone who had served the state well, for civil virtue, s ...

II. Class with swords (9 May 1917) * Military Order of St. Henry (7 October 1918) *

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...

(9 October 1918) * Aviator badge (WW II) (4 February 1935) * Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4. Class (2 October 1936)'Awards of Harry von Bülow 1916-1936' at wehrmachtlexikon.de
Accessed 18 December 2017 *

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

2nd and 1st Class *

on 22 August 1940 as ''

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

'' of the Reserves and ''

'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 2 "Richthofen"

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * Nauroth, Holger- Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen", A Photographic History () - Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2005 * * Ringlstetter, Herbert - Helmut Wick, An Illustrated Biography Of The Luftwaffe Ace And Commander Of Jagdgeschwader 2 During The Battle Of Britain () - Schiffer Publishing, Atglen, PA, 2005 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulow-Bothkamp, Harry 1897 births 1976 deaths People from Plön (district) Military personnel from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Luftwaffe pilots German World War I flying aces German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Schleswig-Holstein Luftstreitkräfte personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class National Socialist Flyers Corps members