Ritterkreuzträger of Kampfgeschwader 4 (KG 4) "General Wever"

Kampfgeschwader 4 „General Wever“ was formed on 1 May 1939 through the redesignation of Kampfgeschwader 253, receiving its honorary name from General Walther Wever, the prewar advocate of strategic bombing who had died in a 1936 aircraft accident, and initially based its Stab at Erfurt with I. Gruppe at Gotha, II. Gruppe at Erfurt and III. Gruppe at Nordhausen, equipped primarily with Heinkel He 111 bombers. Under its first Geschwaderkommodore, Oberst Martin Fiebig, the unit took part in the Polish campaign of 1939 and then in Unternehmen Weserübung against Norway and Denmark in 1940, where its crews distinguished themselves in attacks on ports and troop concentrations including Andalsnes, Namsos and Dombaas. During the Western Campaign it supported operations over the Netherlands, Belgium and France before transferring to bases in Holland for the Battle of Britain, conducting night bombing and minelaying missions against England, including raids on Coventry, until early 1941 when III. Gruppe temporarily left to join Kampfgeschwader 30 after converting to Junkers Ju 88. Elements of the Geschwader participated in the Balkan campaign and the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, operating under various Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front and later supporting the Stalingrad airlift as well as the continuous defensive fighting that followed. From late 1943 parts of I. Gruppe converted to the Heinkel He 177 heavy bomber for longer-range missions, while the bulk of the unit continued flying He 111s in tactical bombing and supply roles during the retreats of 1943–1945, including operations over the Crimea, Hungary and the final relief efforts for Budapest and Breslau. Successive Geschwaderkommodore after Fiebig included Oberst Hans-Joachim Rath, Oberst Dr. Gottlieb Wolff, Oberstleutnant Heinz-Joachim Schmidt, Oberstleutnant Werner Klosinski and Major Reinhard Graubner, who led the remaining Gruppen until the unit surrendered to British forces on 8 May 1945.

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RITTERKREUZTRÄGER


General der Flieger Martin Fiebig (1891-1947) was born on 7 May 1891 in Rösnitz, Upper Silesia, and entered military service on 3 March 1910 as Fähnrich in Infanterie-Regiment „von Grolmann“ (1. Posensches) Nr. 18, serving as company officer before becoming battalion adjutant at the outbreak of the First World War and later transferring to aviation as pilot and squadron leader in a bomber wing until 1918. After postwar service involving secret aviation development work in the Soviet Union and time with Lufthansa, he rejoined the Luftwaffe, rising to Oberst by 1 June 1938 and assuming command as Kommodore of Kampfgeschwader 253, soon redesignated Kampfgeschwader 4 „General Wever.“ Leading this Geschwader through the Polish campaign and the Norwegian operations of Unternehmen Weserübung, where its crews achieved notable success against targets including Andalsnes, Namsos, Grong, Dombaas and Steinkjaer, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 8 May 1940 as Oberst und Geschwaderkommodore. Shot down over Holland on 10 May 1940 during the Western Campaign and briefly held as a prisoner, he later directed close-support units with the IV. and II. Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front from 1941, commanded the 1. Flieger-Division, and on 1 July 1942 became Kommandierender General of the VIII. Fliegerkorps. For the outstanding leadership and combat achievements of this Fliegerkorps on the Eastern Front he received the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz on 23 December 1942 as its 168th recipient while holding the rank of Generalleutnant. Promoted to General der Flieger in early 1943, he subsequently commanded the X. Fliegerkorps and other higher formations until the war’s end, after which he was extradited to Yugoslavia, convicted of war crimes related to the 1941 bombing of Belgrade, and executed by hanging in Belgrade on 23 October 1947.



Oberst Hans-Joachim "Hajo" Herrmann was born on 1 August 1913 in Kiel and died on 5 November 2010 in Düsseldorf. He joined the Hamburger Polizei in May 1933 and transferred to the Luftwaffe on 1 August 1935. After training he served with Kampfgeschwader 253, later Kampfgeschwader 4 "General Wever". From 1936 to 1937 he flew as a bomber pilot with the Legion Condor in the Spanish Civil War, completing about 50 missions. At the outbreak of the Second World War he flew with 7. Staffel of Kampfgeschwader 4 over Poland and Norway. On 20 June 1940 he became Staffelkapitän of 7./KG 4 and took part in the Battle of Britain. For his achievements as a bomber pilot, including attacks on Polish concentrations in the Kutno pocket and the fortress at Drøbak during the Norwegian campaign, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 October 1940 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 7./Kampfgeschwader 4. His Staffel later transferred to Kampfgeschwader 30. In April 1941, operating from Sicily, he scored a direct hit on the ammunition freighter Clan Fraser in the harbour of Piraeus; the resulting explosion destroyed eleven ships totaling over 40,000 GRT and rendered the port unusable for months. As Gruppenkommandeur of III./KG 30 he attacked Arctic convoys, including PQ-17. In 1942 he joined the Luftwaffenführungsstab. Concerned by the limitations of conventional night fighters, he developed the "Wilde Sau" tactic of using single-engined day fighters over illuminated cities at night. He formed and commanded Jagdgeschwader 300, scoring nine victories against four-engined bombers. For the Clan Fraser attack, the creation of Wilde Sau tactics and his aerial victories he received the Eichenlaub on 2 August 1943 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 300. Appointed Inspekteur der deutschen Luftverteidigung, he was awarded the Schwerter on 23 January 1944 as Oberst for his nine victories and innovative fighter tactics. He later commanded the 1. Jagddivision and 9. Flieger-Division and initiated the Rammjäger of Sonderkommando Elbe. Altogether he flew roughly 320 to 370 combat missions, sank twelve ships of about 60,000 to 70,000 GRT, and was shot down four times. Captured by Soviet forces in May 1945, he remained a prisoner until October 1955. After studying law he practised as a Rechtsanwalt in Düsseldorf.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampfgeschwader_4