Arved Crüger (25 June 1911 – 22 March 1942) was 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 ...

wing commander during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

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 ...

recipient. He married the German movie actress Carola Höhn in 1941. He was appointed ''

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) of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 77 (KG 77—77th Bomber Wing) in 1942. Crüger was posted as

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

on 22 March 1942.

Early life and career

Gustav-Arved Crüger was born on 25 June 1911 in

Pillau Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...

, district of Samland in

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

. He joined the military service as a ''

Fahnenjunker ''Fahnenjunker'' (short Fhj or FJ, ; ) is a military rank of the Bundeswehr and of some former German armed forces. In earlier German armed forces it was also the collective name for many officer aspirant ranks. It was established by the ''Pre ...

'' (Officer Cadet) in the 2nd Infantry Regiment (''Infanterie-Regiment 2'') on 1 April 1931. He then attended the Military School

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

from 1 October 1932 until 1 June 1933. Among his classmates were

Werner Mölders Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 ...

, Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, Joachim Pötter, Hans-Henning Freiherr von Beust, Hubertus von Bonin, Gerhard Kollewe and Wolfgang Schellmann. With graduation he was promoted to ''

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. Howeve ...

'' and transferred to the 6th Communications-Department (''Nachrichtenabteilung'' 6). He then attended the Artillery School in

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Polabian Slavs, Slavic se ...

before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1934. In April 1939, he was transferred to the 10. '' Staffel'' (10th squadron) of ''Lehrgeschwader'' 1 (LG 1—1st Demonstration Wing) flying the

Heinkel He 111 The Heinkel He 111 is a German airliner and medium bomber designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter at Heinkel Flugzeugwerke in 1934. Through development, it was described as a wolf in sheep's clothing. Due to restrictions placed on Germany a ...

bomber.

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 3 September, he flew his only combat mission with LG 1. A week later, he was appointed ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries. The rank normally held by a ''Staffelkapitän'' has changed over time. In the present-day German ''Luftwaffe'' – p ...

'' (squadron leader) of 3. ''Staffel'' of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 30 (KG 30—30th Bomber Wing). On 9 April 1940, during

Operation Weserübung Operation Weserübung ( , , 9 April – 10 June 1940) was the invasion of Denmark and Norway by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In the early morning of 9 April 1940 (, "Weser Day"), Ge ...

, Crüger claimed a hit on either or while in fact was sunk. ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' Crüger received the

() on 19 June 1940 in recognition of his leadership as ''Staffelkapitän'' of the 3. ''Staffel'' of KG 30 during the anti-shipping campaign against the

British Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

and during the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. In November 1940, Crüger was appointed '' Gruppenkommandeur'' (group commander) of III. '' Gruppe'' (3rd group) of KG 30. On 29 March 1941, Crüger and led his group in an attack against a British task force southwest of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. The group claimed three hits on the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

earning him a reference on 30 March 1941 in the '' Wehrmachtbericht'' (armed forces report), an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht. Crüger married the German actress Carola Höhn on 13 September 1941 at the German

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The marriage produced a posthumous son, Michael, who was born on 25 March 1942. After his wedding vacation Crüger took command as ''

'' (wing commander) of the ''Schnellkampfgeschwader'' 210 on 30 September 1941 at the Eastern Front. He then became ''Geschwaderkommodore'' of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 77 on 13 March 1942. Fighting in the Mediterranean theater of operations Crüger went

on 22 March 1942. Flying the

Junkers Ju 88 The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one o ...

A-4 3Z+AA (''Werknummer'' 8627—factory number) he failed to return from a combat mission against the British forces on

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. Crüger and his crew, ''Oberfeldwebel'' Erich Atzler, ''Oberfeldwebel'' Kurt Raithel and ''Oberfeldwebel'' Walter Wagner, appear to have been shot down by Royal Navy AA fire while attacking shipping en route to Malta.

Awards

* Anschluss Medal (2 October 1938) *

Sudetenland Medal The 1 October 1938 Commemorative Medal () was commonly known as the Sudetenland Medal. It was a decoration of Nazi Germany awarded during the interwar period, and the second in a series of Occupation Medals. Description Instituted on 18 October ...

(25 August 1939) *

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 ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class (17 March 1940) ** 1st Class (4 May 1940) * Officer of the Order of the Crown of Romania (6 May 1940) *

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe () 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 '' Reichsmarschall'' ...

for Bomber Pilots in Gold ** in Silver (19 May 1941) ** in Gold (15 October 1941) *

on 19 June 1940 as ''

'' and ''

'' of the 5./''Kampfgeschwader'' 30

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruger, Arved 1911 births 1940s missing person cases 1942 deaths Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action Aviators killed by being shot down People from Baltiysk Military personnel from East Prussia Luftwaffe pilots Missing in action of World War II Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania) German World War II pilots Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II