Roderich Cescotti
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Roderich Cescotti (4 May 1919, Herrenalb – 19 March 2015,
Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...
) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Major general of 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 ...
and book author.


Life

When his parents' homeland in
South Tyrol South Tyrol ( , ; ; ), officially the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, is an autonomous administrative division, autonomous provinces of Italy, province in northern Italy. Together with Trentino, South Tyrol forms the autonomo ...
became
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
, the Cescotti family moved to Germany, where Roderich Cescotti was born in 1919 in Herrenalb as the son of an engineer.Cescotti, Roderich: ''Langstreckenflug'' ( “Long-Range Flight"), NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlag, Moosburg 2012, p. 27 ff.


World War II

In the
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 ...
he took part as an
officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
and pilot on various fronts from 1940 to 1945. From September 6, 1940, he was a
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...
in the
Kampfgeschwader 26 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 26 (KG 26) "Löwengeschwader" (in English ''Bomber Wing 26'' aka ''"Lions' Wing"'' by virtue of its insignia) was a German air force Luftwaffe bomber wing unit during World War II. Its units participated on all of the fronts ...
. Until January 7, 1943, he held various positions within the squadron, most recently that of squadron captain. He then transferred to the transport pilots before joining the staff of Airforce Command ''Luftflotte 5'' in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
on 24 May 1943. After another staff assignment in the same year with ''Fliegerführer West'', he transferred to the staff of the ‘’7th Group of the
Kampfgeschwader 100 ''Kampfgeschwader'' 100 (KG 100) was a ''Luftwaffe'' medium and heavy bomber wing of World War II and the first military aviation unit to use a precision-guided munition (the Fritz X anti-ship glide bomb) in combat to sink a warship (the Itali ...
as a technical officer in 1944. After further staff assignments, he took over the command of the 2nd Group of the
Jagdgeschwader 301 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 301 (JG 301) was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing of World War II. The order to form JG 301 was issued on 26 September 1943 and formed on 1 October 1943 in Neubiberg with '' Stab'' and three ''Gruppen'' (groups) as a " Wilde Sau" (wi ...
''Wilde Sau'' ("Wild sow") as a
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 ...
from April to May 1945. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold.Cescotti, Roderich: ''Langstreckenflug'' (‘Long-Range Flight”), NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlag, Moosburg 2012, pp. 312–316.


Post-war period

After the end of the war, Cescotti was taken prisoner by the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, where he was trained as an
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
. From June 3, 1952, he worked in the ‘’Amt Blank’’, the forerunner of the
Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany) The Federal Ministry of Defence (, ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at t ...
, and from June 1, 1955, he was again a member of the German Air Force as a ''Hauptmann''. This marked the beginning of a new career for him as a military pilot on various aircraft types, such as the North American T-6 trainer, the
Lockheed T-33 The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...
jet trainer, the Republic F-84F ‘’Thunderstreak’’ fighter-bomber and the RF-84F ''Thunderflash'' reconnaissance aircraft.


Bundeswehr

On May 4, 1956, Cescotti completed the first solo flight by a military pilot of the Federal Republic of Germany after the war.fursty.org: ''Chronology''
/ref> His first assignment after pilot training took him to
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...
and
Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...
as the person responsible for German pilot training in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
from 1957 to 1958. After that, he was briefly responsible for airforce weapons school and unit leader training at the command of the schools.Cescotti, Roderich: ‘’Langstreckenflug’’ (“Long-Range Flight”), NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlag, Moosburg 2012, p. 255. From January 16, 1960 to February 5, 1965, Cescotti was, initially as a
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 ...
, ’’Geschwaderkommodore’’ of the ‘’Aufklärungsgeschwader 52’’ (“Reconnaissance Squadron 52”). After completing his attaché training from April to September 1969, Cescotti was defense and air force attaché and head of the military attaché headquarters in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
from September 1969 to March 1973. After many air force leadership positions at home and abroad within the western military alliance
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
, etc. and as a military representative at NATO in Washington, Cescotti ended his military career in 1980 as a Major general. In his last assignment, he was commander of the NATO COMAIRBALTAP from 1977 to 1980. The traditional community of the Reconnaissance Wing 52 (“Traditionsgemeinschaft Aufklärungsgeschwader 52’) appointed him an honorary member in 2011. Roderich Cescotti died on March 19, 2015, in
Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...
.


Publications

* Cescotti, Roderich, ''Kampfflugzeuge und Aufklärer'' („Bombing aircraft and reconnaissance aircraft“), Bernard & Graefe 1989, * Cescotti, Roderich, ''Aerospace-Wörterbuch mit Aerospace-Definitionen'' („Aerospace Dictionary with aerospace definitions“), Motorbuch Verlag 2002, * Cescotti, Roderich, ''Aerospace Wörterbuch Englisch-Deutsch.Deutsch-Englisch'' („Aerospace Dictionary English-German.German-English“), Motorbuch Verlag 1994, * Cescotti, Roderich, ''Langstreckenflug'' („Long-Range Flight“), NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlag, Moosburg 2012,


Bibliography

* . * . * .


References


Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cescotti, Roderich 1919 births 2015 deaths Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Gold German Cross German Air Force pilots Bundeswehr generals Articles containing video clips Major generals of the German Air Force NATO Defense College alumni Air attachés for Germany 20th-century German diplomats Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg