Английская Википедия:Friedrich Beckh

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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

Шаблон:Legend Шаблон:Legend

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

Notes

Шаблон:Reflist

References

Citations

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Bibliography

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Шаблон:Refend

Шаблон:S-start Шаблон:S-mil Шаблон:Succession box Шаблон:Succession box Шаблон:S-end

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