Bruno Loerzer

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Bruno Loerzer

Born	(1891-01-22)22 January 1891 Berlin
Died	23 August 1960(1960-08-23) (aged 69) Hamburg
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918) Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftstreitkräfte Luftwaffe
Years of service	1911 - 1920, 1935 - 1945
Rank	Generaloberst
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	House Order of Hohenzollern Pour le Mérite Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Bruno Loerzer (22 January 1891 - 23 August 1960) was an officer in the German Luftstreitkräfte during World War I and Luftwaffe during World War II.

Career

May 1918 members of "Jasta" 26; From left to right, Buder, Klassen, Riemer, Zogmann, Weiß (z.b.V.), Fritz Loerzer, Bruno Loerzer {in middle}, Mar; at far right Fritz Beckhardt

Born in Berlin, Loerzer was a prewar army officer who learned to fly in 1914. Hermann Göring flew as Loerzer's observer from 28 October 1914 until late June 1915. Transferring to fighters, Loerzer flew with two Jagdstaffeln in 1916 before joining Jagdstaffel 26 in January 1917. By then he had scored two victories over French aircraft. His tally reached 20 victories at the end of October and he received the Pour le Mérite in February 1918.

The same month, he took command of the newly formed Jagdgeschwader III, the third of Germany's famed "flying circuses." His aces included his brother Fritz, who claimed 11 victories. Leading Jasta 26 and three other squadrons, with Hermann Dahlmann's support as adjutant and wingman, Loerzer proved a successful wing commander. Equipped with the new BMW-engined Fokker D.VII, JG III cut a wide swath through Allied formations in the summer of 1918, and his own score mounted steadily. He achieved his last ten victories in September when he reached his final score of 44 victories. Shortly before the armistice, he was promoted to Hauptmann (captain).

Loerzer irregularly fought with Freikorps anti-communist paramilitary units from December 1918 until March 1920, helping to create an atmosphere of chaos and lawlessness in Germany. He commanded FA 427 in the Baltic area, supporting the Eiserne Division in the tactical air role.

During the 1930s he was a leader in various civil aviation organizations (National Socialist Flying Corps: NSFK), and rejoined the Luftwaffe in 1935 with the rank of Oberst (colonel).

Loerzer benefited from his long friendship with Göring, becoming Inspector of Fighters with rank of major general in 1938. During the early war years he was commander of II Fliegerkorps (Air Corps), being awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) in May 1940.

His II Air Corps participated in the invasion of Russia in the summer of 1941, as a section of Kesselring's 2nd Air Fleet—in support of Fieldmarshall von Bock.

His unit was transferred to Messina, Sicily in October 1941, and he remained there until the middle of 1943, when his section returned to the Italian mainland.

Göring promoted Loerzer to Generaloberst in February 1943 and in June 1944 was chief of the National Socialist Leadership Branch of the Luftwaffe. He retired in April 1945.

Loerzer died in 1960, at the age of 69.

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross (1914)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
Knight's Cross Second Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Swords
Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords
Pour le Mérite on 12 February 1918 as Oberleutnant and leader of Jagdstaffel 26
Cross of Honor
Sudetenland Medal with Prague Castle Bar
Iron Cross (1939)
- 2nd Class
- 1st Class
Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 May 1940 as Generalleutnant and commanding general of the II. Fliegerkorps^[1]^[2]
Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht (7 August 1941)

Reference in the Wehrmachtbericht

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
Thursday, 7 August 1941	Am Verlauf dieser gewaltigen Schlacht waren die Armeen des Generalfeldmarschalls von Kluge und der Generalobersten Strauß und Freiherr von Weichs, die Panzergruppen der Generalobersten Guderian und Hoth sowie die Luftwaffenverbände der Generale der Flieger Loerzer und Freiherr von Richthofen ruhmreich beteiligt.	During the course of this great battle, the armies of Field Marshal von Kluge and the Colonel General Strauß and Freiherr von Weichs, the Panzer groups of Colonel-General Guderian and Hoth, and the Luftwaffe detachments of the generals of the Air Loerzer and Freiherr von Richthofen were involved gloriously.

References

Citations

↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 512.
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 295.

Bibliography

Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000). Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 – Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtsteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
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 Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Norman Franks et al. (1993). Above the Lines: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces of the German *Air Service, Naval Air Service, and Flanders Marine Corps 1914-1918. Grub Street, London.
Anthony Kemp (1982, 1990 reprint). German Commanders of World War II. Osprey Pub., London.
Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 1, 1 September 1939 to 31 December 1941] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bruno Loerzer.

Military offices
Preceded by none	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 53 Pik As March, 1937 – March, 1938	Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Werner Junck
Preceded by none	*Inspekteur der Jagdflieger* 1 April 1938 – 31 January 1939	Succeeded by Oberst Werner Junck
Preceded by General Wilhelm Wimmer	Commander of 2. Flieger-Division (1938-1939) 1 February 1939 – 11 October 1939	Succeeded by II. Fliegerkorps
Preceded by 2. Flieger-Division	Commander of II. Fliegerkorps 11 October 1939 – 23 February 1943	Succeeded by Generalleutnant Martin Harlinghausen

Recipients of the Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds

v t e Recipients of the Pour le Mérite and Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Fedor von Bock Kuno-Hans von Both Ernst Busch Hermann Göring Robert Ritter von Greim Siegfried Haenicke Alfred Keller Heinrich Kirchheim Otto Lancelle Bruno Loerzer Theo Osterkamp Johann von Ravenstein Erwin Rommel Karl Rothenburg Siegfried Runge Ferdinand Schörner Wolff von Stutterheim Ernst Udet Horst von Wolff

Names are in alphabetical order

v t e German Colonel Generals and General Admirals of the Third Reich

Colonel General (Generaloberst) of the Army	Wilhelm Adam Hans-Jürgen von Arnim Ludwig Beck Johannes Blaskowitz Eduard Dietl Nikolaus von Falkenhorst Johannes Frießner Werner von Fritsch Friedrich Fromm Heinz Guderian Curt Haase Franz Halder Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord Josef Harpe Gotthard Heinrici Walter Heitz Carl Hilpert Erich Hoepner Karl-Adolf Hollidt Hermann Hoth Hans-Valentin Hube Erwin Jaenecke Alfred Jodl Georg Lindemann Eberhard von Mackensen Erhard Raus Georg-Hans Reinhardt Lothar Rendulic Richard Ruoff Hans von Salmuth Rudolf Schmidt Eugen Ritter von Schobert Adolf Strauß Karl Strecker Heinrich von Vietinghoff Walter Weiß Kurt Zeitzler

Colonel General (Generaloberst) of the Luftwaffe	Otto Deßloch Ulrich Grauert Hans Jeschonnek Alfred Keller Günther Korten Bruno Loerzer Alexander Löhr Günther Rüdel Kurt Student Hans-Jürgen Stumpff Ernst Udet Hubert Weise

General Admiral (Generaladmiral)	Conrad Albrecht Hermann Boehm Rolf Carls Hans-Georg von Friedeburg Oskar Kummetz Wilhelm Marschall Alfred Saalwächter Otto Schniewind Otto Schultze Walter Warzecha Karl Witzell

SS-Oberst- Gruppenführer	Kurt Daluege Josef Dietrich Paul Hausser Franz Xaver Schwarz

v t e Aviation in World War I

People and aircraft	Commanders Aces Aircraft of the Entente Powers Aircraft of the Central Powers Zeppelins

Campaigns and battles	Strategic bombing German Cuxhaven Bombing of cities Aerial reconnaissance Fokker Scourge Flight over Vienna Bloody April Battles

Entente Powers air services	British air services Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force Australian Flying Corps Canadian Air Force (1918–1920) French Air Service Imperial Russian Air Service Italian Military Air Corps United States Army Air Service Greek air services Army Air Service Naval Air Service

Central Powers air services	Imperial German Air Service Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Ottoman Air Force Bulgarian Army Aeroplane Section

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 75791605 LCCN: n2008060136 GND: 1031431055

Persondata
Name	Loerzer, Bruno
Alternative names
Short description	German flying ace
Date of birth	22 January 1891
Place of birth	Berlin
Date of death	23 August 1960
Place of death	Hamburg

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