Wilhelm Süssmann (16 September 1891 – 20 May 1941) was a German general 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 ...

(Air Force) 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 ...

who was killed in action during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (, ), codenamed Operation Mercury (), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May ...

. Süssmann was the first commander of the 55th Bomber Wing, from its formation on 1 May 1939 to 6 March 1940. He commanded the 2nd ''Fallschirmjäger'' Regiment and later the 7th Flieger Division during the

during which he was killed in action when the DFS 230 glider carrying him and his staff crashed on the island of

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

.Mrazek, p. 56. A Ju 52 aircraft was towing the glider when a sudden maneuver generated a

slipstream A slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid (typically air or water) is moving at velocities comparable to that of the moving object, relative to the ambient fluid through which the object is moving. The term slips ...

, sending the glider into an uncontrolled dive.

References

* de Zeng, H.L; Stankey, D.G; Creek, E.J. ''Bomber Units of the Luftwaffe 1933–1945; A Reference Source, Volume 1''. Ian Allan Publishing, 2007. * Shores, Christopher, Brian Cull and Maria Malizia. ''Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete: 1940–41''. London: Grub Street, 1992. . * Mrazek, James E
''Airborne Combat: The Glider War/Fighting Gliders of WWII''
Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sussman, Wilhelm 1891 births 1941 deaths Luftwaffe World War II generals Lieutenant generals of the Luftwaffe Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II People from Greifswald Military personnel from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania German Army personnel of World War I Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Greece Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1941