Georg Dörffel (27 July 1914 – 26 May 1944) was a highly decorated

Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...

in the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and one of only 882 recipients of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was lower in precedence than the Grand C ...

. Georg Dörffel was killed on 26 May 1944, north of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. During his career he flew 1004 missions as a ground assault pilot. He was posthumously promoted to

Career

Georg Dörffel joined the military service in ''Infanterie-Regiment 22'' (22nd infantry regiment) in 1933. In 1935 he transferred to the Luftwaffe holding the rank of ''

Oberfähnrich (OFähnr or OFR) designates in the Heer of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the last or highest Officer Aspirant (OA – de: ) rank. According to the salary class it is equivalent to the ranks of or , an ...

'' (senior officer candidate). At first he served as an observer in a Kampfgeschwader (ground attack wing) before transferring as to the 5.(Schlacht)/

Lehrgeschwader 2 ''Lehrgeschwader'' 2 (LG 2) (Demonstration Wing 2) was a Luftwaffe unit during World War II, operating three fighter, night fighter, reconnaissance and ground support ''Gruppen'' (groups). ''Lehrgeschwader'' were in general mixed-formation unit ...

(5.(S)/LG 2—5th ground attack squadron of the 2nd demonstration wing) flying the

Henschel Hs 123 The Henschel Hs 123 was a single-seat biplane dive bomber and close air support, close-support aircraft flown by the Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Henschel & Son, Henschel. It was the last biplane to be operated by the ''Luftwaffe''.. Th ...

ground attack aircraft. With this squadron as part of the II.(Schlacht)/LG 2 (2nd ground attack group of the 2nd demonstration wing) he flew as a ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'' (Second Lieutenant) and pilot during the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

. The group was responsible of repelling a large enemy tank formation north of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; ; ), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord department and in the Hauts-de-France region of France on the Scheldt river, which is known locally as the Escaut river. A sub-pref ...

on 17 May 1940 which threatened the flank of the German advance. Dörffel received the

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

2nd and 1st Class for this action on 21 May 1940. Dörffel was shot down twice during the campaign in the west, the first time on 14 May 1940 near Tirlemont, Belgium and in June 1940 near

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. He was wounded on both occasions. In October 1940 he was appointed ''

Staffelkapitän ''Staffelkapitän'' is a command appointment, rather than a military rank, in the air force units of German-speaking countries. The rank normally held by a ''Staffelkapitän'' has changed over time. In the present-day German ''Luftwaffe'' – p ...

'' (squadron leader) of the 5.(S)/LG 2, which was re-designated 5./ Schlachtgeschwader 1 (5th squadron of the 1st ground attack wing) in early 1942. In this role and position he flew in the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

and from April 1941 in the Balkans Campaign. With the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Dörffel was transferred to the Eastern Front, particularly in support of the central and southern sectors, providing air support to the German ground forces. Together with the squadron leader of the 2.(S)/LG 2, ''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' Alfred Druschel, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 21 August 1941 after over 200 combat missions. He was shot down near Skvorin at the

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

on 1 July 1942. Dörffel flew his 600th combat mission on 16 August 1942. He was appointed acting ''

Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major or ''Oberstleutnant'' (Lieutenant Colonel), and comman ...

'' (group commander) of the I./SG 1 (1st group of the 1st ground attack wing) on 2 March 1943 followed by his official appointment as group leader on 11 June 1943. Dörffel flew his 800th mission of the war in July 1943 followed by his 900th mission one month later. He was promoted to ''

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

'' on 1 September 1943. In early October 1943 he flew 19 combat missions on one day against the attacking

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

forces crossing the

Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

near

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. He flew his 1,000th combat mission of the war on 6 October 1943, claiming his 30th aerial victory on that flight. He was grounded one day later and transferred and appointed commander of the ''Schlachtfliegerschule'' (ground attack fliers school) at Prossnitz. In early May 1944 he took command of Schlachtgeschwader 4 (SG 4—4th ground attack wing) stationed in Italy as ''

Geschwaderkommodore ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (short also ''Kommodore'') is a ''Luftwaffe'' position or appointment (not rank), originating during World War II. A ''Geschwaderkommodore'' is usually an OF5-rank of ''Oberst'' (colonel) or Kapitän zur See (naval captain ...

'' (wing commander). Georg Dörffel was

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

on 26 May 1944 north-west of

, Italy. Dörffel was forced to bail out of his Focke-Wulf Fw 190 F-8 (''Werknummer''—factory number—580 464) following an attack on a four-engined bomber formation. He probably struck his head on the

tailplane A tailplane, also known as a horizontal stabilizer, is a small lift (force), lifting surface located on the tail (empennage) behind the main lifting surfaces of a fixed-wing aircraft as well as other non-fixed-wing aircraft such as helicopters ...

; his parachute failed to open. He was buried in

Pomezia Pomezia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio, central Italy. In 2009 it had a population of about 60,000. History The town was built entirely new near the location of ancient Lavinium on land resultin ...

, Italy, and posthumously promoted to ''

'' (Lieutenant Colonel).

Awards and decorations

Aviator badge An aviator badge is an insignia used in most of the world's militaries to designate those who have received training and qualification in military aviation. Also known as a pilot's badge, or pilot wings, the aviator badge was first conceived to re ...

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by '' Reichsmarschall'' ...

in Gold with Pennant "1000" *

Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe The ''Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe'' (Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe) was a Luftwaffe award established on 27 February 1940 by ''Reichsmarschall'' Hermann Göring, the ''Reich'' Minister of Aviation and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was ...

(17 November 1941) *

(1939) ** 2nd Class (21 May 1940) ** 1st Class (21 May 1940) *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

(1939) ** in Black *

Eastern Front Medal The Eastern Medal (), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hitler on 26 May 1942. The Eastern Medal was awarded to any member of the ''W ...

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 24 January 1942 as ''

'' in the 5./Lehrgeschwader 2 *

** Knight's Cross on 21 August 1941 as ''Oberleutnant'' and ''Staffelkapitän'' of the 5.(S)/Lehrgeschwader 2 ** 231st Oak Leaves on 14 April 1943 as ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' and acting ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of the I./Schlachtgeschwader 1

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

Lexikon der WehrmachtTracesOfWar.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorffel, Georg 1914 births 1944 deaths People from Kłodzko County Military personnel from the Province of Silesia Luftwaffe pilots German World War II pilots Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down Silesian-German people