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Günther Specht
Günther Specht (13 November 1914 – 1 January 1945) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II. Having joined the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1935 and completed his pilot training, at the start of the war Specht was a ''Leutnant'' in 3./ZG 26 "''Horst Wessel''" (the 3rd squadron of the 26th Heavy Fighter Wing). In 1939 he was wounded by an RAF tail gunner and blinded in one eye. After his recovery he chose to return to active service but was shot down again in France and was seriously injured. These injuries kept him grounded for the next two years. In 1942 he returned to active duty with 1st Fighter Wing ('' Jagdgeschwader 1 Oesau''; ''JG'' 1). He was then made Group Commander (''Gruppenkommandeur'') of II Group of JG 11 (II./JG 11) and promoted to '' Major''. He was appointed as Wing Commander (''Geschwaderkommodore'') of JG 11 and was listed as missing in action during the attack on the Allied bases at Asch and Ophoven as part of Operation Bodenplatte. He was p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ząbkowice Śląskie
Ząbkowice Śląskie ( ; german: link=no, Frankenstein in Schlesien; szl, Ślůnske Zůmbkowicy) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Ząbkowice Śląskie County and of a local municipality called Gmina Ząbkowice Śląskie. The town lies approximately south of the regional capital Wrocław. , it had a population of 15,004. History The town was established by Duke of Silesia Henry IV Probus, of the Piast dynasty, as ''Frankenstein'' in the early 13th century, following the Mongol invasion of Poland. The town was founded in the vicinity of the old Polish settlement of Sadlno, through which ran a trade route connecting Silesia and Bohemia. The town was sited on a piece of land that belonged partly to the episcopal lands of Zwrócona and partly to the Monastery at Trzebnica. The town was located exactly halfway between the sites of two previously existing towns that had failed to attract enough settlers: Frankenberg and Löw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an emergency decree transferring powers of the Prussian government to German Chancellor Franz von Papen in 1932 and ''de jure'' by an Allied decree in 1947. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the Prussian Army. Prussia, with its capital at Königsberg and then, when it became the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Berlin, decisively shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, Prussian Minister-President Otto von Bismarck united most German principalities into the German Empire under his leadership, although this was considered to be a " Lesser Germany" because Austria and Switzerland were not included. In November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front was a European theatre of World War II, military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The Italian campaign (World War II), Italian front is considered a separate but related theater. The Western Front's 1944-1945 phase was officially deemed the European Theater of Operations, United States Army, European Theater by the United States, whereas Italy fell under the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army, Mediterranean Theater along with North Africa. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The first phase saw the capitulation of Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, and France during May and June 1940 after their defeat in the Low Countries and the northern half of France, and continued into an air war between Germany and Britain that climaxed with the Battle of Britain. The second phase consisted of large- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence. Sometimes, the term 'half-colonel' is used in casual conversation in the British Army. In the United States Air Force, the term 'light bird' or 'light bird colonel' (as opposed to a 'full bird colonel') is an acceptable casual reference to the rank but is never used directly towards the rank holder. A lieutenant colonel is typically in charge of a battalion or regiment in the army. The following articles deal with the rank of lieutenant colonel: * Lieutenant-colonel (Canada) * Lieutenant colonel (Eastern Europe) * Lieutenant colonel (Turkey) * Lieutenant colonel (Sri Lanka) * Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom) * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ophoven Airfield
Ophoven Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield which is located west of Opglabbeek (Limburg); approximately northeast of Brussels. History The airfield was built by the United States Army Air Forces IX Engineer Command, 820th Engineer Aviation Battalion in late November/early December 1944. Known as Advanced Landing Ground "Y-32", the airfield consisted of a single 5000' (1500m) Pierced Steel Planking runway aligned 12/30. In addition, tents were erected for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump was created for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water; and a minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting was installed. Opened on 10 December, the airfield was first used as a resupply and casualty evacuation airfield, with C-47 Skytrain transports flying in and out of the airfield frequently. Combat units did not arrive at the airfield until l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asch Airfield
Zutendaal Air Base is a reserve Belgian Air Component base, located east-southeast of Genk (Limburg), approximately east-northeast of Brussels. Overview The base is in reserve status, its primary use being to store retired Agusta helicopters. Since 2009, it has been open to limited civilian recreational flying; it is home to a gliding club, operating on the weekends. History Origins Zutendaal Air Base's origins date to March 1917 when it was originally constructed by the German Army Air Corps as "Flieger Schießschule". it was established for observers destined for artillery units. Near this airfield, the Germans selected a large heath area (between Houthalen, Genk, As, Peer and Opglabbeek) where they installed a firing range. After World War I, the name of the airfield was changed to Asch (as it was spelled at the time) and it became the Flying School of the Belgian Military Aviation, later in March 1920 called Aéronautique Militaire. Situated 2 km SW of the to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. Its principal members by 1941 were the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France, and Poland, as well as their respective dependencies, such as British India. They were soon joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled that of the First World War. As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans, the Allies added the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union, which initially ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Missing In Action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, executed, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave have been positively identified. Becoming MIA has been an occupational risk for as long as there has been warfare. Problems and solutions Until around 1912, service personnel in most countries were not routinely issued with ID tags. As a result, if someone was killed in action and their body was not recovered until much later, there was often little or no chance of identifying the remains unless the person in question was carrying items that would identify them, or had marked their clothing or possessions with identifying information. Starting around the time of the First World War, nations began to issue their service personnel with purpose-made identification tags. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geschwaderkommodore
{{unreferenced, date=May 2019 ''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). A ''Geschwaderkommodore'' will command a ''Geschwader'' (Wing), which in turn contains ''Gruppen'' ( Groups) each commanded by a ''Gruppenkommandeur'' (Group Commander). See also * Organization of the Luftwaffe (1933–1945) Between 1933 and 1945, the organization of the Luftwaffe underwent several changes. Originally, the German military high command, for their air warfare forces, decided to use an organizational structure similar to the army and navy, treating the ... Luftwaffe Air force appointments German Air Force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth countries but not including Canada (since Unification) and South Africa. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-4. It is equivalent to commander in the Royal and United States Navies, as well as to lieutenant colonel in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the United States Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and the Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and in Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (unti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major (Germany)
() is the lowest staff officer rank in the German Army, German Air Force. The rank is rated OF-3 in NATO. The rank insignia is a silver oakleaf cluster with a silver pip (star). The OF-3 equivalent of the German Navy is the . History The rank in German-speaking armed forces dates back to the Middle Ages. World War II 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ..., the SS equivalent was '' Sturmbannführer''. Current rules To be appointed to the rank of , the officer has to pass a staff officer basic course () which is held at the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College (), and serve in a post coded A13 or A13/A14. In the German Army and the Joint Support Service (), the waiting period between meeting the requirements for promotion and actu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
