Karl Rammelt


Karl Rammelt was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Rammelt was credited with 46 aerial victories in 450 combat missions.

Early life and career

Rammelt was born on 10 June 1914 in Nebra, then in the Province of Saxony within the German Empire. He joined the military service of the Luftwaffe in 1934, serving on the technical ground staff until 1940. Following flight fighter pilot training, Rammelt was posted to II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 in May 1942.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In May 1942, II. Gruppe was commanded by Hauptmann Hartmann Grasser and based at Bryansk but periodically also operated from airfields at Oryol and Dugino on the Eastern Front. On 2 July, the 9th Army launched Operation Seydlitz as part of the Battles of Rzhev. Defending against this operation, the Soviet Air Forces attacked the Luftwaffe airfield at Bryansk on 5 July. II. Gruppe of JG 51 was scrambled and claimed 46 Soviet aircraft shot down for the loss of two Bf 109s damaged. That day, Rammelt claimed five aerial victories, two Petlyakov Pe-2 bombers and three Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, making him an "ace-in-a-day". On 3 September 1942, Rammelt's Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 ran out of fuel, resulting in an emergency landing at Dugino.

North Africa

II. Gruppe had been withdrawn from the Eastern Front in early October 1942 and sent to Jesau in East Prussia, present day Yushny, Bagrationovsky District, for conversion to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Conversion training began on 7 October and on 4 November, the unit received the order to convert back to the Bf 109 and to transfer to the Mediterranean theatre. Via various stopovers, II. Gruppe moved to Sidi Ahmed airfield, arriving on 14 November. There, the unit was subordinated to Fliegerführer Tunis. On 27 November, Rammelt claimed his first aerial victory in North Africa. The Gruppe had encountered squadrons of the Royal Air Force No. 324 Wing from Souk-el-Arba Airfield. In the encounter, Rammelt claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down southwest of Béja.
On 4 February 1943, the United States Army Air Forces 97th Bombardment Group sent 18 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers against an airfield west of Gabès. Defending against this attack, Rammelt claimed one of the B-17 bombers shot down, which was not confirmed. On 17 March, Rammelt was appointed Staffelkapitän of 4. Staffel of JG 51, succeeding Oberleutnant Georg Seelmann. On 18 April, II. Gruppe received orders to exchange their newer Bf 109 G-4 and G-6 aircraft with older Bf 109 G-2 trop aircraft of Jagdgeschwader 77 and retreat from Africa to Bari, Italy. On 20 March, II. Gruppe engaged in combat with fighters of the USAAF 31st Fighter Group. In this engagement, Rammelt claimed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter shot down northwest of Maknassy. On 29 March, he claimed another P-40 fighter shot down in an area northeast of Skhira.
On 7 June, Rammelt was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of JG 51. Rammelt had unofficially led the Gruppe since his predecessor, Hauptmann Hartmann Grasser, had left in April. In consequence, command of 4. Staffel was given to Oberleutnant Horst Walther.

Defense of the Reich

On 18 August, II. Gruppe relocated to Neubiberg Airfield near Munich for combat in defense of the Reich mission where they received factory new Bf 109 G-6 aircraft. On 28 December, Rammelt claimed a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force shot down south of Padua. Hit by the defensive fire, he was then wounded when he bailed out of his Bf 109 G-6 south of Rovigo. During his convalescence until March 1944, Rammelt was replaced by Hauptmann Günther Rübell. On 24 October 1944, Rammelt was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 40 aerial victories claimed. On 23 December, Rammelt was again wounded when he bailed out of his Bf 109 G-14 in a location north of Esztergom. Due to his injuries sustained, command of II. Gruppe was passed to Oberleutnant Otto Schultz.

Later life

Following World War II, Rammelt applied for service in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe of the Bundeswehr. On 1 June 1956, he was appointed the first commander of a training squadron of Flugzeugführerschule "S" based at Memmingen Air Base. On 1 June 1958, Rammelt was succeeded by Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Batz In July 1965, Rammelt served in the Hubschrauber -Lehr, Versuchs- und Transportstaffel at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base. There he formulated his ideas for the creation of heavy helicopter transportation squadrons. Although preparations for the creation of Helicopter Transport Wing 64 were already in progress, Rammelt believed in decentralizing helicopter units, resulting in a less effective leadership of such units. Rammelt retired on 30 September 1969 holding the rank of Oberstleutnant. He died on 13 May 2009 at the age of in Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Rammelt was credited with 46 aerial victories victories claimed in 450 combat missions, among them many ground support missions. This figure includes 20 claims on the Eastern Front and 26 over the Western Allies, including 11 four-engine heavy bombers. Further 12 claims on the Eastern Front and two B-17 bombers on the Western Front were not confirmed. Aders and Held also list him with 46 aerial victories of which 27 were claimed over the Western Allies. Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 41 aerial victory claims, plus 16 further unconfirmed claims. Of his 41 confirmed aerial victories, 19 were claimed on the Eastern Front and 22 on the Western Front, including eight heavy bombers.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 04 Ost 90761". The Luftwaffe grid map covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards

  • Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
  • Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 25 June 1943 as Oberleutnant and pilot
  • German Cross in Gold on 16 January 1944 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51
  • Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 October 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"