Theodor Nordmann

Theodor Nordmann
Nickname "Theo"
Born 18 December 1918(1918-12-18)
Dorsten
Died 19 January 1945(1945-01-19) (aged 26)
near Insterburg
Allegiance Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
Years of service 1937–1945
Rank Major
Unit StG 1, StG 3
Battles/wars

World War II
Awards Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Major Theodor Nordmann (born 18 December 1918 in Dorsten – Killed in flying accident 19 January 1945 near Insterburg) was a German World War II Luftwaffe Stuka ace.[Notes 1] He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Contents

Career

Nordmann joined the Luftwaffe in 1937, and served as a reconnaissance pilot until March 1940, when he transferred to 1/StG 186, flying the Junkers Ju 87 'Stuka'. The unit was originally intended to serve on the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, but in July 1940 was renamed III./StG 1 and flew conventional bombing missions during the battle of France and Battle of Britain. Nordmann was awarded the Iron cross 1st and 2nd class during 1940. In 1941 Normann's unit was relocated to the Mediterranean for actions against Malta, where he claimed a 5,000 ton merchantman sunk.

StG 1 took part in the invasion of Russia in June 1941 and in September 1941, after 200 operations and 20 tanks destroyed, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz.

During the fighting over Orel in the summer of 1942, Nordmann, as Staffelkapitän of 8./StG 1, made his 600th operational mission, the first Stuka pilot to achieve this total.

His radio operator and gunner, Feldwebel Gerhard Rothe, was one of only 15 Stuka gunners to be honored with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

In January 1945 Nordmann was killed when his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 collided with his wing man in bad weather. Nordmann was Gruppenkommandeur of II./SG 3 from October 1943 until his death in January 1945. He claimed some 80 Soviet tanks destroyed and 43,000 gross register tons (GRT) of merchant shipping sunk. He flew almost 1300 combat missions, including roughly 200 with the Fw 190.

Awards

Notes

  1. ^ For a list of Luftwaffe ground attack aces see List of German World War II Ground Attack aces
  2. ^ According to Scherzer on 16 March 1943 as leader of of the III./Sturzkampfgeschwader 1.[4]

References

Citations
  1. ^ a b c d e Berger 2000, p. 248.
  2. ^ Patzwall and Scherzer 2001, p. 333.
  3. ^ a b Obermaier 1976, p. 49.
  4. ^ a b c Scherzer 2007, p. 572.
  5. ^ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 67.
Bibliography
  • Berger, Florian (2000). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges (in German). Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
  • Brütting, Georg (1995). Das waren die deutschen Stuka-Asse 1939 - 1945 (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch. ISBN 3-87943-433-6.
  • Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945 (in German). Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe 1939-1945 Band II Stuka- und Schlachtflieger (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 3-87341-021-4.
  • 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. 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.
  • Helden der Wehrmacht - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2004. ISBN 3-924309-53-1.

External links