Werner Baumbach

Werner Baumbach (27 December 1916 – 20 October 1953) was a German bomber pilot during World War II. He commanded the secret bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) of the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany. Baumbach received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for the destruction of over 300,000 gross register tons (GRT) of Allied shipping.[1]

Werner Baumbach
Born	27 December 1916 Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony
Died	20 October 1953 (aged 36) La Plata, Argentina
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1936–45
Rank	Oberst
Commands held	I./KG 30, KG 200
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
Other work	Test pilot

Career

Baumbach entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 and, after initial training at the 2nd Air Warfare School (Fliegerhorst Gatow), was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Junkers Ju 88 bomber and flew various bombing missions with Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30). On 19 April 1940, he bombed and damaged the French cruiser Émile Bertin for which he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.[1]

In 1942, Baumbach was removed from active pilot duty and started working on new bomber designs; among others, he helped design the composite bomber system, Mistel. In 1944, he was placed in command of the newly formed Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) and was in charge of all Luftwaffe special missions. Baumbach was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 15 November 1944 and was the acting General der Kampfflieger for two months.

On the last stage on the war, during the days of the Flensburg Government, Baumbach was placed in charge of the government air squadron.[2]

After the war, Baumbach spent three years as a prisoner of war before he moved to Argentina where he worked as a test pilot. He died in a plane crash on 20 October 1953 near Berazategui, while evaluating a British Lancaster bomber for the Argentine Air Force. He was interred in his hometown, Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony.[3]

Awards

• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber Pilots in Gold with Pennant "200" in Silver (22 March 1941) & in Gold (1942)[4]
• Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds (14 July 1941)[4]
• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (28 September 1939) & 1st Class (4 May 1940)[4]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
  • Knight's Cross on 8 May 1940 as Leutnant and pilot in the 5./KG 30[5]
  • Oak Leaves on 14 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1./KG 30[5]
  • Swords on 17 August 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./KG 30[5]

References

Citations

1. Berger 2000, p. 26.
2. Speer 1970, p. 496.
3. Schumann 2007, p. 19.
4. Schumann 2007, p. 20.
5. Scherzer 2007, p. 206.

Bibliography

• Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6.
• 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 [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9.
• Speer, Albert (1970). Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs. Simon and Schuster Inc., 1970. ISBN 0-684-82949-5