Werner Baumbach (27 December 1916 – 20 October 1953) 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 commanded the secret bomber wing

Kampfgeschwader 200 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 200 (KG 200) (" irCombat Squadron 200") was a German ''Luftwaffe'' special operations unit during World War II. The unit carried out especially difficult bombing and transport operations and long-distance reconnaissance flight ...

(KG 200) of 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 ...

, the air force 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 ...

. Baumbach received the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords 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 ...

for the destruction of over of Allied shipping.

Career

Baumbach entered the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1936 and, after initial training at the 2nd Air Warfare School ( Fliegerhorst Gatow), was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of the first pilots to fly the

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast ...

bomber and flew various bombing missions with

Kampfgeschwader 30 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 (KG 30) was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. Service history Formed on 15 November 1939 in Greifswald. I Gruppe formed 1 September, II Gruppe on 23 September and III Gruppe on 1 January 1940, based in Greif ...

(KG 30). On 19 April 1940, he bombed and damaged the French cruiser ''Émile Bertin'' for which he was awarded the

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 ...

1st Class. In 1942, Baumbach was removed from active pilot duty and started working on new bomber designs; among others, he helped design the composite bomber system, ''

Mistel ''Mistel'' (German for " mistletoe", a parasitic plant) was the larger, unmanned component of a composite aircraft configuration developed in Germany during the later stages of World War II. The composite comprised a small piloted control airc ...

''. In 1944, he was placed in command of the newly formed

(KG 200) and was in charge of all ''Luftwaffe'' special missions. Baumbach was promoted to ''Oberstleutnant'' on 15 November 1944 and was the acting '' General der Kampfflieger'' for two months. On the last stage on the war, during the days of the Flensburg Government, Baumbach was placed in charge of the government air squadron. After the war, Baumbach spent three years as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...

before he moved to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

where he worked as a test pilot. He died in a plane crash on 20 October 1953 near Berazategui, while evaluating a British

Lancaster bomber The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling ...

for the

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

. He was interred in his hometown,

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

. The street "Werner-Baumbach-Straße" in Cloppenburg was named after him.

Awards

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe (german: Frontflugspange) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by ...

for Bomber Pilots in Gold with Pennant "200" ** in Silver (22 March 1941) ** in Gold (1942) *

Pilot/Observer Badge The Pilot/Observer Badge (german: Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen) was a World War II German military decoration awarded to Luftwaffe service personnel who had already been awarded the Pilot's Badge and Observer Badge. It was instituted ...

in Gold with Diamonds (14 July 1941) *

(1939) ** 2nd Class (28 September 1939) ** 1st Class (4 May 1940) *

** Knight's Cross on 8 May 1940 as ''

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...

'' and pilot in the 5./''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 ** 20th Oak Leaves on 14 July 1941 as '' Oberleutnant'' and ''

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 ...

'' of the 1./''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 ** 16th Swords on 17 August 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 ...

'' and '' Gruppenkommandeur'' of the I./''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 *The Order of Military Merit - Bulgarian

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * Speer, Albert (1970). ''Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs''. Simon and Schuster Inc., 1970. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumbach, Werner 1916 births 1953 deaths German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom German test pilots German World War II pilots German World War II bomber pilots Luftwaffe pilots People from Cloppenburg People from Oldenburg (state) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1953 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Argentina