Josef Jennewein

Josef Jennewein
	;
Medal record
Representing Germany
Men’s Alpine skiing
World Championship

Josef Jennewein
Josef Jennewein
Nickname(s)	"Pepi"
Born	21 November 1919; Sankt Anton am Arlberg, Austria
Died	26 July 1943 (aged 23); missing in action near Orel, Soviet Union
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	JG 26, JG 51
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of Britain; Operation Barbarossa;
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Josef Jennewein (21 November 1919 – 26 July 1943) was a German alpine skier and world champion. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Template:Lang-de). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Josef "Pepi" Jennewein was born on 21 November 1919 at St Anton in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria. He served in the Luftwaffe during World War II and became a flying ace. He remains missing in action following combat east of Orel on 26 July 1943.^[1]

Jennewein became a world champion in the combined event in Zakopane in 1939, and received silver medals in slalom and in downhill.^[2] In 1941 Jennewein participated at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1941 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and won Gold Medals in downhill and the combined event. In 1946, the results were cancelled by the FIS because of the limited number of participants from only German-friendly countries during World War II.^[1]

Jennewein began flight training in 1940 and on completion transferred to 4.(Eins)/JFS 5 based on the Channel Front in summer 1941. On 20 September 1941 he claimed his first victories over three Spitfires. After claiming two further Spitfires on 15 October Jennewein was transferred to 2./JG 51 on the Eastern Front. By July 1942 when he was posted to serve as a flight instructor, and had claimed another 12 Soviet aircraft. He returned to 2./JG 51 before the in late 1942. In an impressive series of multiple victories, Jennewein downed four Soviet aircraft on 18 January, five on 23 February and seven on 24 February. He claimed his 45th victory on 10 March and received the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold in April 1943. On 6 May he recorded five Il-2 Sturmovik aircraft shot down. He claimed 23 victories in July 1943, including five on 21 July. On 27 July, after aerial combat east of Orel, Oberfeldwebel Jennewein force-landed his Fw 190 A-6 behind Soviet lines, never being seen again and posted missing. He was promoted in absentia to Leutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross posthumously on 5 December 1943.

Josef Jennewein flew 271 missions in claiming 86 victories, with five on the Western Front and 81 on the Eastern Front, including 29 Il-2 Sturmoviks.

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (1 March 1943)^[1]
German Cross in Gold on 12 April 1943 as Oberfeldwebel in the I./JG 51^[3]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 December 1943 (posthumously) as Leutnant and pilot in the 1./JG 51 "Mölders"^[4]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c Obermaier 1989, p. 140.
^ Official results for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships – FIS-ski.com - (Retrieved on 15 November 2008)
^ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 210.
^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 243.

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)
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8. {{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)