Ritterkreuzträger of Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30) "Adler"

Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30), known by the honorary title "Adler", was one of the Luftwaffe’s most effective and renowned bomber wings of the Second World War. Formed in November 1939 at Greifswald and equipped primarily with the versatile Junkers Ju 88, KG 30 was originally trained for anti-shipping and maritime strike operations under X. Fliegerkorps. The Geschwader first gained prominence during the Norwegian Campaign, where its crews attacked Allied naval forces and merchant shipping, notably participating in the operations that damaged major Royal Navy vessels. During the campaign in Western Europe, II./KG 30 achieved one of the war’s most controversial successes by sinking the troopship RMS Lancastria off Saint-Nazaire on 17 June 1940, causing one of the greatest maritime disasters in British history. Throughout the Battle of Britain, the Mediterranean theatre, the Eastern Front, and the Arctic convoy battles, KG 30 remained heavily engaged in maritime interdiction, convoy attacks, and tactical bombing missions. In September 1942 the unit took part in attacks against Arctic Convoy PQ 18, employing the innovative “Golden Comb” mass torpedo attack formation, which inflicted significant shipping losses despite substantial casualties among its own aircrews. The Geschwader produced numerous highly decorated aviators, including Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes recipients such as Werner Baumbach, Heinrich Paepcke, Sigmund-Ulrich Freiherr von Gravenreuth, and Helmut Störchel, with Baumbach later receiving the Eichenlaub mit Schwertern for his exceptional success against Allied shipping. As Germany’s strategic situation deteriorated, KG 30 was redesignated Kampfgeschwader (J) 30 in November 1944 and began conversion from a bomber wing to a fighter formation, although shortages of modern aircraft hampered the transition. The unit was ultimately dissolved in April 1945, bringing to an end the combat history of one of the Luftwaffe’s most experienced and heavily committed bomber Geschwader.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER

Oberst Werner Baumbach (1916-1953) was one of the Luftwaffe’s most highly decorated Kampfflieger and a leading specialist in anti-shipping warfare during the Second World War. Serving with Kampfgeschwader 30, he gained early distinction flying the Junkers Ju 88 against Allied naval and merchant targets in the North Sea, Atlantic, and Norwegian campaigns. As a Leutnant and pilot of 5./Kampfgeschwader 30, Baumbach earned the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 May 1940 after a series of daring and highly successful maritime strike missions, including attacks against Allied warships and transport vessels during the Norwegian campaign, which demonstrated exceptional flying skill and tactical leadership. Continuing to lead combat operations with outstanding success, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 14 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 1./Kampfgeschwader 30 after significantly increasing the tonnage of Allied shipping sunk or damaged under his command and establishing himself as one of Germany’s foremost bomber aces. By 17 August 1942, as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of I./Kampfgeschwader 30, Baumbach received the Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub in recognition of his continued achievements in maritime air warfare, his leadership of bomber formations, and his cumulative destruction of large amounts of Allied shipping, eventually exceeding 300,000 gross register tons. Later in the war he played a major role in the development of advanced Luftwaffe weapons and special operations, eventually commanding Kampfgeschwader 200, the Luftwaffe’s secret special-missions wing. Promoted to Oberst, Baumbach remained one of the most influential bomber commanders of the war and authored postwar memoirs before his death in an aircraft accident in Argentina in 1953.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


Major Heinrich Paepcke (1910-1942) was born on 11 December 1910 in Wattenscheid, Westphalia, and after serving in the Handelsmarine from 1929 to 1934 he joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 as a Fahnenjunker, receiving promotion to Leutnant in 1936 and to Oberleutnant by 1939. In April 1940 he became Staffelkapitän of the 7. Staffel, III. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 30 “Adler,” flying Ju 88 bombers in operations over Norway, the Low Countries and France. On 5 September 1940, as Oberleutnant und Staffelkapitän of that unit, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes for his personal and leadership achievements, having himself sunk an anti-aircraft cruiser near Scheveningen and a 10 000 GRT freighter off Dunkirk while his Staffel destroyed or damaged one heavy and three light cruisers, three destroyers, a minelayer, a coastal patrol boat and five merchant vessels, and also claimed two enemy fighters. Promoted to Hauptmann in May 1940, he later commanded the IV. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 30 before transferring in October 1941 to become Kommandeur of the II. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 77. Operating from bases in the Mediterranean against Malta and its supply convoys, he flew approximately 125 combat missions and on 12 August 1942 distinguished himself by sinking a 12 000 GRT transport from the Pedestal convoy bound for the island. On 17 October 1942, while leading an attack on the airfield at Luca, his Ju 88 collided with a Spitfire and crashed into the sea 17 kilometres north of Malta; he was killed in action at the age of 31. Posthumously promoted to Major, he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 19 December 1942 as the 154th recipient, recognised for his sustained successes as Kommandeur of the II. Gruppe of Kampfgeschwader 77. Paepcke was also awarded the Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 21 September 1942 and both classes of the Eisernes Kreuz.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_30