Generalleutnant Werner Panitzki (27 May 1911, in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

– 2 June 2000) was a

German Air Force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

general. He was

Inspector of the Air Force The Inspector of the Air Force (german: Inspekteur der Luftwaffe) is the commander of the Air Force of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. The Inspector is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Air ...

, the senior air force appointment, from 1962 to 1966. On 25 August 1966, the Federal Minister of Defence,

Kai-Uwe von Hassel Kai-Uwe von Hassel (21 April 1913 – 8 May 1997) was a German politician from Schleswig-Holstein associated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein from 1954 to 1963, as Federal Minister ...

, dismissed Panitzki, at his own request, because Panitzki in an interview had characterized the procurement of the

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

fighter aircraft as a "purely political decision".

References

German Air Force - Werner Panitzki
(German) 1911 births 2000 deaths Bundeswehr generals Military personnel from Kiel Lieutenant generals of the German Air Force Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German World War II pilots {{germany-airforce-bio-stub