Английская Википедия:Friedrich Beckh
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use dmy dates Шаблон:Use American English Шаблон:Infobox military person
Friedrich Beckh (17 January 1908 – 21 June 1942) was 48 victory-Luftwaffe flying ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He held the position of Geschwaderkommodore of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51 and Jagdgeschwader 52.
Early life and career
Beckh was born on 17 January 1908 in Nuremberg in the Kingdom of Bavaria.Шаблон:Sfn He was a career soldier having joined the cavalry in 1926 as part of the-then 100,000 strong German Army. He joined the Luftwaffe with the rank of Oberleutnant in 1935 and trained to be a fighter pilot but Beckh had no particular aptitude for flying.
World War II
By the time World War II broke out he had already occupied several positions on the General Staff and because of his age did not fly any combat sorties. Instead, he was lecturing at the Air War Academy. It was during 1940 as Jägerverbindungsoffizier in the Luftgaukommando Wiesbaden (fighter communications or liaison officer) that he became close friends with Werner Mölders, the two men served in Jagdgeschwader 134 Horst Wessel. When Mölders became Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) on 27 July 1940 he arranged for Beckh to transfer to his Geschwaderstab, as an officer on secondment from the General Staff.
Beckh was nonetheless an enthusiastic fighter pilot. However, there was one further factor in Beckh's make-up that would constitute something of a handicap when flying fighters. He was simply unable to see anything in the air. In fact, Beckh's eyesight had deteriorated considerably since he had first joined the Luftwaffe.
Group commander
On 1 March 1941, Beckh was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of IV. Gruppe of JG 51, succeeding Oberleutnant Hans-Karl Keitel who was posted as missing in action.Шаблон:Sfn Following the appointment, Mölders had assigned Leutnant Bernd Gallowitsch as Beckh's regular wingman. Gallowitsch had good eyesight and compensated for Beckh's inabilities.Шаблон:Sfn The assignment was based on a recommendation made by Prof. Dr. Paul Robert Skawran, a psychologist who had studied fighter pilot aptitudes and combat readiness with JG 51 at the time.Шаблон:Sfn On 5 March, Beckh claimed his first aerial victory. His opponent was a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire fighter from No. 610 Squadron which was shot down near Boulogne-sur-Mer.Шаблон:Sfn
Operation Barbarossa
On 15 June, IV. Gruppe of JG 51 began transferring east and was located at an airfield named Krzewicze, located approximately Шаблон:Convert west of Brest-Litovsk. On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union.Шаблон:Sfn JG 51 was subordinated to II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), which as part of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2). JG 51 area of operation during Operation Barbarossa was over the right flank of Army Group Center in the combat area of the 2nd Panzer Group as well as the 4th Army.Шаблон:Sfn
During the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa, Beckh had considerable success, mostly in tandem with his wingman Gallowitsch, who at the time was credited with around twenty victories. The two pilots invariably returned from sorties with a victory each.
Wing commander
On 19 July 1941, Beckh was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 51. He succeeded Mölders in this capacity who transferred and appointed Inspekteur der Jagdflieger (Inspector of Fighters).Шаблон:Sfn Command of IV. Gruppe then passed on to Haupmann Karl-Gottfried Nordmann.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
On 8 September, JG 51 supported Heinz Guderian's 2nd Panzer Army in the battles around Kiev. That day, Beckh claimed the GeschwaderШаблон:'s 2000th aerial victory.Шаблон:Sfn However, on 16 September, during a fighter sweep, his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8988—factory number) was hit by anti-aircraft artillery, resulting in a forced landing Шаблон:Convert east of Konotop. During his convalescence, he was temporarily replaced by Major Günther Lützow as commander of JG 51.Шаблон:Sfn Two days after being wounded in action, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Шаблон:Lang) for 27 aerial victories, 23 of them on the Eastern Front.Шаблон:Sfn Initially, he had insisted on leading the Geschwader from the ground. However, the injury caused by the incendiary round which had punctured his left foot had turned into gangrene. When Mölders visited him on 4 October, he immediately had him transferred to a Luftwaffe hospital in Munich-Oberföhring.Шаблон:Sfn
Beckh returned to the Geschwader on 21 December 1941 and he achieved approximately twenty further victories before being transferred back to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM—Ministry of Aviation) on 9 April 1942.Шаблон:Sfn Oberst Adolf Galland, Mölders' successor as Inspekteur der Jagdflieger, was responsible for Beckh's transfer to the RLM. Galland was mindful of Beckh's organizational and managerial talents. Galland quickly realized that the changing air-war necessitated changes in his staff.Шаблон:Sfn
He was then appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing) on 3 June 1942 barely two months later following the death of Major Wilhelm Lessmann.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn At the time, the Geschwaderstab of JG 52 was based at Barvinkove.Шаблон:Sfn
On 21 June 1942, Beckh was airborne in his Bf 109 F-4 "weiße 4" (Werknummer 13362) with his wingman for a low-level sortie of the type he preferred in the area of Izium-Kupiansk-Valuyki, east of Charkov.Шаблон:Sfn East of Valuyki, the duo observed a Russian air base with Russian fighters on the ground. Beckh dived, claiming two fighters, but his wingman observed Beckh's F-4 taking a number of flak hits before it too nosed down and appeared to plunge to the ground. The Bf 109 came down in a marsh near Valuyki. His body was found inside his fighter when the site was excavated in 2004.Шаблон:Sfn At the time of his death he claimed over 40 aircraft in aerial combat and a dozen on the ground.Шаблон:Sfn Beckh was succeeded by Major Herbert Ihlefeld as commander of JG 52.Шаблон:Sfn
Summary of career
Aerial victory claims
According to Obermaier, Beckh was credited with 48 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. This figure includes eleven claims on the Eastern Front and four over the Western Allies.Шаблон:Sfn Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 40 aerial victory claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims. This figure of confirmed claims includes four aerial victories on the Western Front and 36 on the Eastern Front.Шаблон:Sfn
Chronicle of aerial victories | |||||||||||
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Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | ||
– Stab VI. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Шаблон:Sfn Over England and on the English Channel — 1 March – 9 June 1941 | |||||||||||
1 | 5 March 1941 | 14:50 | Spitfire | west of BoulogneШаблон:Sfn | 3 | 6 May 1941 | 13:55 | Spitfire | Шаблон:Convert north of Cap Blanc-NezШаблон:Sfn | ||
2 | 10 March 1941 | 17:25 | Spitfire | Шаблон:Convert west of Le TréportШаблон:Sfn | 4 | 21 May 1941 | 18:00 | Hurricane | Шаблон:Convert north of CalaisШаблон:Sfn | ||
– Stab VI. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Шаблон:Sfn Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 19 July 1941 | |||||||||||
5 | 22 June 1941 | 06:25 | DJ-6Шаблон:Sfn | 7 | 27 June 1941 | 10:03 | SB-2Шаблон:Sfn | ||||
6 | 24 June 1941 | 09:25 | DB-3 | Шаблон:Convert east of PruzhanyШаблон:Sfn | 8 | 7 July 1941 | 16:30 | I-18 (MiG-1) | OrshaШаблон:Sfn | ||
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Шаблон:Sfn Operation Barbarossa — 19 July – 5 December 1941 | |||||||||||
9 | 23 July 1941 | 08:16 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 18 | 27 August 1941 | 15:00 | Pe-2Шаблон:Sfn | ||||
10 | 2 August 1941 | 17:12 | R-5 | Шаблон:Convert south of KondratowaШаблон:Sfn | 19 | 27 August 1941 | 15:00 | Pe-2Шаблон:Sfn | |||
11 | 2 August 1941 | 17:15 | I-15 | Шаблон:Convert east of AleksinoШаблон:Sfn | 20 | 27 August 1941 | 15:05 | Pe-2 | Шаблон:Convert east of NovgorodШаблон:Sfn | ||
12 | 10 August 1941 | 10:43 | I-61 (MiG-3) | Шаблон:Convert east of Vyshny VolochyokШаблон:Sfn | 21 | 6 September 1941 | 09:30 | I-153 | Шаблон:Convert south-southeast of YelnyaШаблон:Sfn | ||
13 | 10 August 1941 | 11:00 | I-15 | Шаблон:Convert northeast of YelnyaШаблон:Sfn | 22 | 6 September 1941 | 12:25 | ground-attack aircraftШаблон:Sfn | |||
14?Шаблон:Refn | 12 August 1941 | 10:43 | I-61 (MiG-3)Шаблон:Sfn | 23 | 8 September 1941 | 09:35 | I-61 (MiG-3)Шаблон:Sfn | ||||
15 | 15 August 1941 | 16:45 | I-61Шаблон:Sfn | 24?[Note 1] | 8 September 1941 | Шаблон:Center | I-61 (MiG-3)Шаблон:Sfn | ||||
16 | 16 August 1941 | 08:45 | R-5Шаблон:Sfn | 25 | 10 September 1941 | 08:06 | DB-3Шаблон:Sfn | ||||
17 | 25 August 1941 | 15:10 | R-3 | Шаблон:Convert north of NovgorodШаблон:Sfn | 26 | 16 September 1941 | 15:05 | SB-2Шаблон:Sfn | |||
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 51 –Шаблон:Sfn Winter War — 6 December 1941 – 30 April 1942 | |||||||||||
27 | 11 March 1942 | 17:23 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 35♠ | 31 March 1942 | 15:25 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
28 | 29 March 1942 | 10:25 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 36♠ | 5 April 1942 | 09:01 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
29 | 30 March 1942 | 10:45 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 37♠ | 5 April 1942 | 09:03 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
30 | 30 March 1942 | 17:25 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 38♠ | 5 April 1942 | 09:05 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
31♠ | 31 March 1942 | 08:42 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 39♠ | 5 April 1942 | 10:01 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
32♠ | 31 March 1942 | 08:43 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 40♠ | 5 April 1942 | 10:35 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
33♠ | 31 March 1942 | 12:08 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | 41♠ | 5 April 1942 | 17:15 | unknownШаблон:Sfn | ||||
34♠ | 31 March 1942 | 12:12 | unknownШаблон:Sfn |
Awards
- Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (11 May 1942)Шаблон:Sfn
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 September 1941 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 51Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
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