Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

Werner Panitzki (27 May 1911 – 2 June 2000) was a

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

general. He was

Inspector of the Air Force The Inspector of the Air Force () is the commander of the Air Force of the modern-day German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr. The Inspector is responsible for the readiness of personnel and materiel in the German Air Force, in that function reports ...

, the senior air force appointment, from 1962 to 1966. On 25 August 1966, Federal Minister of Defence

Kai-Uwe von Hassel Kai-Uwe von Hassel (21 April 1913 – 8 May 1997) was a German politician from Schleswig-Holstein associated with the Christian Democratic Union (Germany), Christian Democratic Union (CDU). He served as minister-president, Minister President of S ...

dismissed Panitzki, at his own request, because Panitzki in an interview had characterized the procurement of the

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an ...

fighter aircraft as a "purely political decision".

Biography

Second World War

A pilot 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 Panitzki served in ''Kampfgeschwader'' 51 until a plane crash during the Balkans Campaign that caused injuries that resulted in his dismissal as a pilot and reassignment as a staff officer. Taken

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

as the end of the war, Panitzki was released in 1947 and became a businessman in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

Post-war career

In 1952 Panitzki joined Amt Blank the predecessor of the Federal Ministry of Defense which oversaw the early West German Rearmament process. In 1955 Panitzki joined the newly formed

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

with the rank of

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Soon after he was promoted to Brigadier General and in 1957 made the deputy to the

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Josef Kammhuber Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer who served in the Imperial German Army, the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany and the post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night ...

. During this time he also briefly served as the first Chief of Staff of the Command Staff of the Air Force from June 1st to July 14th 1957. After his promotion to major general he was appointed as commander of Luftwaffendivision Nord. In October 1962 Panitzki was promoted to Lieutinant General and made the second

. His tenure as inspector coincided with the high loss of life among German pilots due to accidents while flying the

which earned the craft the nickname Witwenmacher ("widowmaker"). He also advocated for the expansion of the German built and used

Beja Airport Beja Airport is a Portuguese airport that opened doors to civilian flights on 15 April 2011. Location Beja Airport, located northwest of Beja, is away from Lisbon, from Faro and less than from Spain. Beja is a city in the Beja Municipali ...

located in Portugal which he did not think had been fully utilized. On 25 August 1966 Panitzki was dismissed, at his own request, by Federal Minister of Defence

because of comments made by him during an interview about the procurement of the F-104 Starfighter where he said the purchase was a “purely political decision”. After his retirement, Panitzki was awarded the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1967 for his services.

Awards

- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1967)

References

German Air Force - Werner Panitzki
(German) 1911 births 2000 deaths Bundeswehr generals Military personnel from Kiel Lieutenant generals of the German Air Force Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German World War II pilots {{germany-airforce-bio-stub