Generalleutnant Kurt-Bertram von Döring (18 February 1889 in

Ribbekardt Rybokarty is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gryfice, within Gryfice County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It lies approximately west of Gryfice and north-east of the regional capital Szczecin. The vil ...

– 9 July 1960 in

Medingen Medingen may refer to: * Medingen (Bad Bevensen), a village in Lower Saxony, Germany *Medingen, Luxembourg Medingen () is a village in the Communes of Luxembourg, commune of Contern, in southern Luxembourg. , the village has a population of 12 ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

World War II

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

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 ...

. He began his career as a

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

in World War I, became a flying soldier of fortune during the 1920s and early 1930s, and then joined the resurgent German air service and served through World War II.

Early life

Born 18 February 1889 at

, Döring joined the Dragoon Regiment Nr. 17 on 14 March 1907. In mid 1913 he transferred to the Air Service, and in May 1914 joined ''Festung Flieger-Abteilung'' in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

.Franks 1993, p. 99.

World War I

In late 1914, he was assigned to ''Flieger-Abteilung 38'', and was commissioned on 1 February 1915. Döring then served with ''Sonderstaffel Nr. 2'' in 1916. An able administrative Officer and leader, as well as being considered a steady and reliable pilot, meant after service with ''Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 227'' Döring took command of '' Jagdstaffel 4'' on 8 April 1917, before he had claimed an air victory. However, he scored his first victory a few days later, on 14 April 1917; he continued to collect wins through 4 October, when he scored his eleventh and last. On 14 December 1917, he was awarded 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 ...

to accompany his

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 ...

First Class.Franks 1993, pp. 99–100. Döring also gained the trust of Jagdgeschwader 1 commander Rittmeister

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

, who assigned command of ''Jagdgeschwader 1'' to Döring when Richthofen was away from the front. Promoted to ''Rittmeister'' on 28 November 1917, Döring remained in command of ''Jagdstaffel 4'' until 19 January 1918, after which he took over ''Jagdgruppe Nr. 4''. In August he took over '' Jagdstaffel 66'', and then a few days later ''

Jagdstaffel 1 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (commonly abbreviated as Jasta 1) was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn ...

''.

Between the world wars

He rejoined the Dragoons on 1 December 1918. He became an advisor with the

Argentinian Air Force The Argentine Air Force (, or simply ''FAA'') is the air force of Argentina and one of three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. In 2018, it had 13,837 military and 6,900 civilian personnel. FAA commander in chief is Brigadie ...

from 1923 to 1927 and the

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force (, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Military of Peru, Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of aerial warfare, air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding i ...

until 1929. From 1930 to 1932, he was a member of the German aviation mission to China. Döring rejoined the Luftwaffe on 1 July 1934, as a major. He commanded the flying School at

Celle Celle () is a town and capital of the district of Celle (district), Celle in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany. The town is situated on the banks of the river Aller (Germany), Aller, a tributary of the Weser, and has a population of about ...

in 1936, and became a ''

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 ...

'' of

JG 2 Jagdgeschwader 2 (JG 2) "Richthofen" was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 2 operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 single-seat, single-engine interceptor aircraft. Named after the famed World War I flying ...

. He commanded the Horst Wessel Squadron in April 1936.

World War II and after

From 15 December 1939 to 1 December 1940 he was a major general commanding ''

Jagdfliegerführer 2 ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 2A Jagdfliegerführer, or Jafü, was the commander of the Fighter forces of a ''Luftflotte''. For more details see Luftwaffe Organization (Chief of Fighter Aviation, Air Fleet 2) was part of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2), one o ...

''. From August 1941 through January 1942, he was a Jagd Division commander with the rank of lieutenant general (Generalleutnant), his seniority dating from 1 November 1941. Döring died on 9 July 1960 at

, administrative district of Uelzen, Lower-Saxony, Germany.

Awards

(1914) 2nd and 1st Class *

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 ...

(26 November 1917) *

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 ...

(1939) 2nd and 1st Class *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), 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 repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 30 December 1942 as ''

'' in the 1. Jagd-DivisionPatzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 90.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Franks, Norman R. L.; et al. (1993). ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 – 1918'' Grub Street. , . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Doring, Kurt-Bertram 1889 births 1960 deaths German World War I flying aces Lieutenant generals of the Luftwaffe Luftstreitkräfte personnel Luftwaffe World War II generals People from Gryfice County Military personnel from the Province of Pomerania Peruvian military personnel Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class