#werner molders

[usafphantom10]

15 July 1941. The first pilot to claim 100 victories was German WWII fighter ace Werner Mölders. (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941). The Wehrmacht and the West German Bundeswehr, both honoured him by naming two fighter wings, a destroyer and barracks after him.

@ron_eisele via X

[wwiigermany]

Werner Mölders 

(18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941)

World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 enemy aircraft and was highly decorated for his achievements. Mölders developed fighter tactics that led to the finger-four formation. Mölders joined the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany, in 1934. In 1938 he volunteered for service in Germany's Condor Legion, then supporting General Francisco Franco's Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War, and shot down 14 aircraft. Following the start of World War II in 1939, he took part in the "Phoney War" of 1939–1940, the Battle of France of May to June 1940, and the Battle of Britain (July 1940 onwards). With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, the Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of Operation Barbarossa, achieving 101 victories by mid-July 1941. Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was appointed Inspector of Fighters. While inspecting the Luftwaffe units in the Crimea he received orders to return to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, a Luftwaffe general and World War I flying ace. The aircraft in which Mölders was traveling as a passenger to Berlin experienced an engine failure and attempted an emergency landing. It crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others.

[gloryandmetal]

[gloryandmetal]

Adolf Galland and Werner Mölders at Theo Osterkamp's birthday. Were they making airplane noises tho, this is important. » Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-B12018; 183-B12019; 183-B14085 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

[bookmarkquotes]

'The most important thing for a fighter pilot is to get his first victory without too much shock.' -Werner Molders | View more inspirational quotes at Jar of Quotes.

[thebeautyandthehorror]

One of famous Luftwaffe’s units, the Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) “Pik-As” (Ace of Spades), with Messerschmitt Bf 109Es during the Battle of Britain, 1940. Werner Mölders, nicknamed “Vati” (daddy) by his german comrades, was the first pilot in aviation history to claim 100 aerial victories, and the first fighter pilot to be awarded with the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross.  On 5 June 1940, on his 133rd combat mission of the war, was shot down and was taken prisoner. While in French captivity, Mölders asked to shake hands with the pilot who had shot him down, and learned that the pilot had been killed in action 30 minutes after their encounter. When a French soldier was later sentenced to death for beating Mölders, the german pilot approached Hermann Göring and requested clemency, which was granted.  Werner Mölders didn´t survived the war, he died in a aircraft crash at the age of 28