Kurd Peters (7 August 1914 – 24 July 1957) was a German officer (

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 ...

) 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 a recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 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 order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. He was credited with four aerial victories in

Defense of the Reich The Defence of the Reich () is the name given to the strategic defensive aerial campaign fought by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany over German-occupied Europe and Germany during World War II against the Allied strategic bombing campaign. Its aim ...

actions. In November 1943. Peters was appointed ''

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 II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 300 (JG 300—300th Fighter Wing). On 21 June 1944, Peters claimed three aerial victories. His first two claims of the day were in fact ''Herausschüsse'' (separation shots)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from its

combat box The combat box was a tactical formation used by heavy (strategic) bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. The combat box was also referred to as a "staggered formation". Its defensive purpose was in massing the firepower of the b ...

which was counted as an aerial victory. A

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

bomber was forced from its combat box southeast of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

at 10:07. The second B-24 bomber was then forced from formation at 10:15 southwest of Berlin. At 10:20, he shot down a B-24 bomber near

Adlershof Adlershof (, literally "Eagle's Court") is a locality (') in the Boroughs of Berlin, borough (') Treptow-Köpenick of Berlin, Germany. Adlershof is home to the new City of Science, Technology and Media (WISTA), located on the southwestern edge of ...

. On 29 June, Peters was shot down in his

Focke-Wulf Fw 190 The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (Shrike) is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the ...

A-7 (''Werknummer'' 340303—factory number) near

Laucha an der Unstrut Laucha an der Unstrut (, ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Unstrut, northwest of Naumburg and west of Freyburg. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (collective municipality) o ...

and

Naumburg Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNES ...

. He baled out and was wounded. Command of II. ''Gruppe'' was then transferred to ''Major''

Alfred Lindenberger Leutnant (later Major) Alfred Lindenberger was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories. He also scored four victories during World War II while serving as commander of a fighter group.The Aerodrome website 98http://www.thea ...

Awards and decorations

* Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (5 October 1942) *

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 20 October 1942 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 ...

'' in the 1.(Fern)/''Aufklärungsgruppe'' 22 *

on 29 October 1944 as ''

'' and ''

'' of the II.(Sturm)/''Jagdgeschwader'' 300

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Kurd 1914 births 1957 deaths Military personnel from Braunschweig German World War II pilots Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German Air Force personnel