Gerhard Kollewe

Gerhard Kollewe
Born	3 March 1912 Deutsch-Kruschin, Province of Posen, German Empire
Died	17 October 1942 (1942-10-18) (aged 30) over the Mediterranean Sea
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1931–42
Rank	Major
Commands held	II.(Kampf)/LG 1
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Gerhard Kollewe (3 March 1912 – 17 October 1942) was a German World War II Luftwaffe bomber pilot and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Gerhard Kollewe joined the military service of the Reichswehr, serving in the 7th Infantry Regiment, after graduating from Gymnasium (secondary school) in 1931. In the summer of 1935 he transferred to the newly established Luftwaffe.

In 1939 Kollewe was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 4.(Sturz)/186 (T), a diver bomber squadron designated for future operation on the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin. At the outbreak of World War II during the invasion of Poland he flew against targets in Poland and on 3 September 1939 participated in the sinking of the Polish destroyer OPR Wicher and minelayer ORP Gryf in the port of Gdynia.

Following the Battle of Crete, Kollewe was involved in the damage inflicted on HMS Isis and HMS Ilex on 15 June 1941. This achievement earned him a reference on 16 June 1941 in the Wehrmachtbericht (armed forces report), an information bulletin issued by the headquarters of the Wehrmacht. To be singled out individually in this way was an honour and was entered in the Orders and Decorations' section of a soldier's Service Record Book.

Kollewe was killed in action 17 October 1942 on a mission against Malta. British fighter pilots Sergeant Tiddy and P/O Giddings of the No. 126 Squadron RAF and No. 249 Squadron RAF claimed this aerial victory. Of his Junkers Ju 88 crew A-4, L1+YC (Werknummer 141 033—factory number) his observer Feldwebel Bernhard Mähler was also killed in action. His radio operator Oberfeldwebel Martin Assum and aerial gunner Feldwebel Paul Ballof were taken prisoner of war.

Awards

• Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th Class (2 October 1936)
• Spanish Cross in Silver with Swords (6 June 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (16 September 1939)
  • 1st Class (September 1939)
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber Pilots in Gold
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 July 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II.(Kampf)/Lehrgeschwader 1
  • 112th Oak Leaves on 12 August 1942 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of II.(Kampf)/Lehrgeschwader 1
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 16 June 1941

Wehrmachtbericht reference

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Monday, 16 June 1941	[Im östlichen Mittelmeer bekämpften deutsche Kampfflugzeuge unter Führung des Hauptmanns Kollewe mit besonderem Erfolg einen Verband britischer Kriegsschiffe. Sie versenkten einen Leichten Kreuzer durch vier Bombenvolltreffer schweren Kalibers und beschädigten einen schweren Kreuzer.] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)	In the eastern Mediterranean, German bombers fought under the command of Captain Kollewe particularly successful with a task force of British warships. They sank a light cruiser with four bomb hits of heavy caliber and damaged a heavy cruiser.

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Kaiser, Jochen (2010). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 1 (in German and English). Bad Zwischenahn, Germany: Luftfahrtverlag-Start. ISBN 978-3-941437-07-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• 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. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Taghon, Peter (2004). Die Geschichte des Lehrgeschwaders 1—Band 1—1936 – 1942 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 3-925480-85-4.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
• Weal, John (2009). Junkers Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader in North Africa and the Mediterranean. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84603-318-6.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

External links

"Gerhard Kollweve". Lexikon der Wehrmacht. Retrieved 22 February 2010.