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Werner Mölders
Sign in to saveGerman officer and fighter pilot during World War II (1913-1941)
Film & TV
Gelsenkirchen
Werner Mölders, né le 18 mars 1913 à Gelsenkirchen et mort le 22 novembre 1941 à Breslau, était un officier de la Luftwaffe et un as de la chasse aérienne durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
via TMDB
Key facts
- Nickname
- Vati ("Daddy")
- Born
- ( 1913-03-18 ) 18 March 1913, Gelsenkirchen , Kingdom of Prussia , German Empire
- Died
- 22 November 1941 (1941-11-22) (aged 28), Breslau , Free State of Prussia , Nazi Germany
- Buried
- Invalidenfriedhof Berlin
- Allegiance
- Nazi Germany
- Branch
- Luftwaffe
- Service years
- 1931–1941
- Rank
- Oberst ( Colonel )
- Unit
- Condor Legion , JG 53, JG 51
- Commands
- III./ JG 53 , JG 51
- Conflicts
- See battles Spanish Civil War World War II Battle of France Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa
- Awards
- Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds , Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Werner
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- German Reich
- Place of birth
- Gelsenkirchen
- Place of death
- Wrocław
- Occupation
- military officer
- Languages spoken
- German
- Conflict
- Operation Barbarossa
- Military branch
- Luftwaffe
- Military rank
- Oberst
- Image
- Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-116-29, Werner Mölders.jpg
Show 10 more facts
- place of burial
- Invalids' Cemetery
- Commons category
- Werner Mölders
- date of birth
- 1913-03-18
- date of death
- 1941-11-22
- name in native language
- Werner Mölders
- manner of death
- accidental death
- commander of (DEPRECATED)
- Jagdgeschwader 53
- allegiance
- Nazi Germany
- start of work period
- 1935-00-00
- end of work period
- 1941-00-00
via Wikidata · CC0
~37 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a 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. He died in a plane crash as a passenger.
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, 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Werner Mölders” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.