Otto Hans "Hannes" Trautloft (3 March 1912 – 12 January 1995) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and general in the postwar German Air Force. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 58 enemy aircraft shot down, including 5 in Spain, 8 on the Western Front and 45 on the Eastern Front of World War II.
Born in Großobringen, Trautloft volunteered for military service in the Reichsheer of the Weimar Republic in 1931. In parallel, he was accepted for flight training with the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule, a covert military-training organization, and at the Lipetsk fighter-pilot school. Following flight training, he served with Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel" (JG 134—134th Fighter Wing) and was one of the first German volunteers to fight in the Spanish Civil War. From August to December 1936, he claimed five aerial victories. For his service in Spain he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords.
Following his service in Spain, Trautloft held various command positions, and at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, he was the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). He claimed his first aerial victory during the Invasion of Poland and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 20 which later became III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). In August 1940, during the Battle of Britain, Trautloft was given command of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing). He led JG 54 in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. There, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 27 July 1941. Trautloft continued to lead JG 54 on the Eastern Front until July 1943 when he was called to the staff of the General der Jagdflieger (General of Fighters), assisting in the readiness, training and tactics of the Luftwaffe fighter force.
After the war, Trautloft joined the new German Air Force of West Germany in 1957. Serving as deputy Inspector of the Air Force and commander of (Air Force Group South), Trautloft retired in 1970 holding the rank of Generalleutnant (lieutenant general). He died on 12 January 1995 in Bad Wiessee.
Early life Trautloft was born on 3 March 1912 in Großobringen near Weimar in Thüringen to Elsa (née Hilpert) and Otto Trautloft. He had a sister, Gretel.
Early military career On 7 April 1931, he began his pilot training at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (German Air Transport School) at Schleißheim. The course he and 29 other trainees attended was called Kameradschaft 31, abbreviated "K 31". Among the members of "K 31" were future Luftwaffe staff officers Bernd von Brauchitsch, Wolfgang Falck, Günther Lützow, Günther Radusch and Ralph von Rettberg. Trautloft graduated from the Deutsche Verkehrfliegerschule 19 February 1932. From "K 31" Trautloft and 9 others were recommended for Sonderausbildung (special training) at the Lipetsk fighter-pilot school. These 10 men were the privileged few and were allowed to attend fighter pilot training. Following four months of training in the Soviet Union, he returned to Germany and joined the military service of the Reichswehr and attended the Kriegsschule (war school) in Dresden. on 1 May 1934, In October 1934, Trautloft was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule at Schleißheim.
On 1 May 1936, Trautloft was posted to Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel" (JG 134—134th Fighter Wing), named after the Nazi martyr Horst Wessel. At the time of the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Trautloft was serving in the 9. Staffel (9th squadron) of JG 134.For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II. This squadron was subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 134 and was commanded by Major Oskar Dinort. The Gruppe had been moved to an airfield at Cologne-Butzweilerhof on 9 March 1936 following the Remilitarization of the Rhineland. There on 28 July, Dinort called Trautloft and informed him of the unfolding events in Spain and Trautloft proactively volunteered for service in Spain.
Spanish Civil War Sworn to secrecy, Trautloft was instructed to immediately travel to Dortmund where he received further instructions from Kurt-Bertram von Döring, and then to the assembly location at Döberitz. There, 25 officers and 66 non-commissioned officers, soldiers and civilian technicians gathered, including six pilots of which Trautloft was one. This detachment was then placed under the overall command of Oberst (Colonel) Alexander von Scheele. The volunteers were then discharged from the Wehrmacht and dressed in civilian clothes. As tourists of the Reisegesellschaft Union (Union Travel Association), the volunteers travelled aboard the SS Usaramo, a passenger ship of the Woermann-Linie from Hamburg to Cádiz on 31 July. The Usaramo also transported the equipment and weapons, including six disassembled and boxed Heinkel He 51 biplane fighter aircraft.
The ship arrived in Cádiz on 7 August 1936 and the men then travelled by train to Seville. At Tablada airfield, the pilots assisted in reassembling the He-51 fighters, the first of which becoming operational on 10 August. On 25 August, during the Nationalist advance on Madrid, Trautloft and two other German pilots flew their first combat mission in Spain. In the vicinity of Madrid, the Germans spotted a flight of three Republican Bréguet 19 light bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Trautloft attacked one of the Republican aircraft, shooting it down near the village of Colmenar Viejo. This claim may have been the first aerial victory by a German pilot in Spain. Five days later, shortly after claiming a Potez 540 aircraft, Trautloft was himself shot down by a Dewoitine D.372, forcing him to bail out over Nationalist-held territory.
Following German recognition of Francisco Franco's government on 30 September, German efforts in Spain were reorganized and expanded, and the contingent of German forces was named Condor Legion by Hermann Göring. By October, the Condor Legion was augmented, receiving more equipment and men. This made it possible to split the fighter force in two, with Trautloft leading the detachment sent to Léon airfield. As the war escalated, the Soviet Union sent better planes to aid the Republicans. Among these were the Polikarpov I-15 and Polikarpov I-16 fighter aircraft, outclassing the German He-51s. By mid-November, the fighter force had increased and the Jagdgruppe 88 was created. In December, Versuchsjagdstaffel 88 (VJ/88), an experimental fighter squadron for testing new aircraft under operational conditions was created at Tablada. Trautloft was chosen as one of the pilots to test the then new Messerschmitt Bf 109. Trautloft had this aircraft personalized with the "Green Heart" of Thuringia. He wrote several recommendations on how to improve the design and combat operations of the Bf 109. On 2 March 1937, Trautloft who had claimed five aerial victories, left Spain and returned to Germany.
In 1937, Trautloft participated in the 4th international flight meeting held at the Dübendorf military airfield, Switzerland from 23 July to 1 August. Trautloft, Hauptmann Werner Restemeier and Oberleutnant Fritz Schleif, flying a flight of three BF 109 B-1s and B-2 took first place in the category Alpine flight.
On 15 March 1937, Trautloft was transferred and appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 135 (JG 135—135th Fighter Wing). This squadron was subordinated to I. Gruppe of JG 135 which had just been created on 15 March and was commanded by Major Max Ibel. Trautloft served in this capacity until 1 July 1938 when he was transferred to command the newly created 12. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 132 (JG 132—132nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of IV. Gruppe headed by Oberstleutnant Theo Osterkamp. This Staffel was reassigned to 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 331 (JG 331—331st Fighter Wing) on 3 November. With this unit, Trautloft participated in the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. On 1 May, the squadron was again renamed, becoming 2. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing). In 1939, Trautloft published his Spanish War diaries named [As a Fighter Pilot in Spain] with a foreword by Ernst Udet.
World War II World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In preparation for the invasion in end-August 1939, I. Gruppe of JG 77, to which the 2. Staffel was subordinated, had been moved from Breslau-Schöngarten to an airfield at Juliusburg, present-day Dobroszyce. The Gruppe operated over the left flank of Army Group South, supporting the 8th Army advance into Poland. Its main task was flying combat air patrols but had relatively little enemy contact, claiming three aerial victories, including one by Trautloft. On 5 September, Trautloft was credited with the destruction of a PZL.23 Karaś bomber near Warta, northwest of Sieradz.
On 20 September, Trautloft was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 20 (JG 20—20th Fighter Wing) on 23 September. At the time of his posting to JG 20, the Gruppe had already been withdrawn from Poland and was based at Brandenburg-Briest. Subordinated to the Stab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), I./JG 20 flew fighter protection over central Germany. On 6 November, the Gruppe was moved to Döberitz where it remained until 21 February 1940. That day, I./JG 20 was ordered to Bönninghardt and placed under the control of the Stab of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing). There, the Gruppe patrolled Germany's western border during the "Phoney War" period of World War II.
Battle of France Trautloft led I. Gruppe of JG 20 during the Battle of France which began on 10 May 1940. At the beginning of the campaign, I. Gruppe was still based at Bönninghardt and subordinated to JG 51. The Gruppes area of operation was the Netherlands and northeastern Belgium, flying fighter escort missions for the bombers. On 16 May, the Gruppe was ordered to move to Eindhoven airfield where it remained until 20 May when it relocated to an airfield at Hoogerheide. From Hoogerheide, I. Gruppe initially flew missions to Bruges and on 24 May, the area of operations shifted towards Dunkirk and Calais. On the morning of 29 May, I./JG 20 moved further west to an airfield at Sint-Denijs-Westrem. That evening, Trautloft claimed a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire shot down southeast of Dunkirk. Two days later, Trautloft claimed another Spitfire during the Battle of Dunkirk. In preparation for Operation Paula on 3 June, I./JG 20 was ordered to Vitry-En-Artois and flew escort missions in the afternoon. It was then ordered back to Sint-Denijs-Westrem before moving to Saint-Omer to support Fall Rot, the second phase of the conquest of France.
Supporting Army Group B, the Gruppe advanced to Estrées-lès-Crécy on 8 June and claimed its last aerial victory of the Battle of France on 13 June. The next day, I./JG 20 moved to an airfield southeast of Rouen and to Vouziers on 20 June. On 22 June, I./JG 20 returned to Saint-Omer where it patrolled the French coast on the English Channel. In total, I. Gruppe of JG 20 under Trautloft's command claimed 35 aerial victories during the Battle of France, losing five pilots killed in action, two were taken prisoner of war and three were wounded. In addition, ten Bf 109s were lost in combat. Following the armistice of 22 June 1940, the Battle of France ended on 25 June. By this date, the official allotted strength of I./JG 20 had been reduced to 60%.
Battle of Britain and Balkans campaign