Martin Drewes

Martin Drewes
Martin Drewes
Born	(1918-10-20) 20 October 1918 Salzgitter
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1937–1945
Rank	Major
Unit	ZG 76, NJG 3 and NJG 1
Commands held	III./NJG 1
Battles/wars	World War II Mediterranean Theatre Anglo-Iraqi War Defense of the Reich
Awards	Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub
Other work	Civil pilot, businessman

Martin Drewes (born 20 October 1918) was a night fighter ace in the German Luftwaffe during World War II. 52 victories were scored most against British four-engine bombers Handley Page Halifax and Avro Lancaster. Drewes flew variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 110.

Early life

Drewes was born on 20 October 1918 in Lobmachtersen-bei-Braunschweig, a small village near Hannover (northwestern Germany). He was the son of a local pharmacist.

As the end of the 1930s, Martin Drewes volunteered for the officer's school of the German Army and at the end of the course transferred to the Luftwaffe during 1939.

World War II

Drewes was first assigned to II./Zerstörergeschwader 76 flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110, operating defensive patrols over the North Sea.

In May 1941, the Luftwaffe committed Flyer Command Iraq (Fliegerführer Irak) which comprised one squadron (staffel) of He 111s (4./KG 4), one staffel of Zerstörer (Bf 110s of 4./ZG 76), and 12 transports including a number of Junkers Ju 90s to support the Iraqi rebels during the Anglo-Iraqi War.

The ten day stint in the Middle East included a victory (Gloster Gladiator) for Drewes. Allied air-opposition was light and the Luftwaffe force concentrated mainly on ground support duties. By 26 May, despite cannibalizing two machines damaged in an RAF raid on Mosul, no Bf 110 was left serviceable. Drewes and his unit were evacuated the following day. Soon after ZG 76 was converted to a night fighter unit and renamed Nachtgeschwader 3.

Drewes scored regular night victories over Germany, before being transferred to Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 where he would remain until the end of the war. In 1944 he became Gruppenkommandeur III./NJG 1. At the end of hostilities he had flown 252 operations, and claimed a total of 52 victories (including a Spitfire, a Gladiator, 7 American 4-engined bombers shot down in daylight operations, and 43 British night bombers), most of them achieved with his radio man Oberfeldwebel Georg "Schorsch" Petz. Drewes was decorated with Ritterkreuz and Eichenlaub.

He was captured by English forces at the end of the war. In 1949 he emigrated to Brazil, where he still lives.

List of victories

Martin Drewes in Hannover Aircraft Museum in 2011

235 missions

• 1 Gloster Gladiator
• 1 Supermarine Spitfire
• 1 Short Stirling
• 1 Consolidated B-24 Liberator
• 6 Boeing B-17
• 9 Handley Page Halifax
• 33 Avro Lancaster

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (26 May 1941)
  • 1st Class (9 April 1943)
• German Cross in Gold on 24 February 1944 as Oberleutnant in the 11./NJG 1
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (31 March 1944)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 27 July 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./NJG 1
  • 839th Oak Leaves on 17 April 1945 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./NJG 1

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Drewes, Martin (2002). Sombras da noite. Rio de Janeiro: Adler Editora. ISBN 85-89015-02-5.
• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 (in German). Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
• Mauermann, Helmut (2005). Fliegerhorst Störmede. Eine Chronik in Bild und Wort. German language book of the base of III./NJG 1 Dec 1944 until March 1945, with a foreword of Martin Drewes
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 3-87341-065-6.
• Patzwall, Klaus D. and Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941–1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall (in German). ISBN 3-931533-45-X.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 3-7648-2299-6.
• Weal, John (1999). Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstörer Aces World War Two. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-753-8.

External links

• Aircraft Resource Center
• Luftwaffe 39-45 (Portuguese)
• Fliegerhorst Störmede
• Ritterkreuzträger-1939-45