HISTORY
Zdroje:
BOBEK J., ŠÍLA M.: Tři Sachsenbergové, HPM 10 a 11/1996
BOBEK J.: "Heino" Sachsenberg, Eduard INFO 11/2010
FRANKS N.: Who Downed the Aces in WWI?
FRANKS N., BAILEY F., GUEST R.: Above the Lines
FRANKS N., BAILEY F., DUIVEN R.: Jasta War Chronology
FRANKS N., BAILEY F., DUIVEN R.: Jasta Pilots
GUTTMAN J.: Naval Aces of World War 1, Part 2
HENSHAW T.: The Sky Their Battlefield II
HILDEBRAND I.: "Sachsenberg", Neue Deutsche Biographie 22
LAMBRECHT E.: Koers Nordzee, Duitse Marinevliegtuigbasissen aan de Belgische Oostkust 1914 - 1918
PIETERS W.: The Belgian Air Service in the First World War
RYHEUL J: KEKs and Fokkerstaffels, The Early German Fighter Units in 1915-1916
RYHEUL J: German Naval Air Service, forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl
TESAŘ, P. A.: Oblt. z. S. Gotthard Sachsenberg, REVI č. 28
ZUERL W.: Pour le Mérite-Flieger
Bundesarchiv: Seefliegerabteilungen und Marine-Landflugabteilungen der Kaiserlichen Marine
1914-1919
Gorrell's History of the American Expeditionary Forces Air Service; Squadron Histories; 16th, 17th, and 19th-21st
Aero Squadrons
www.deutsche-biographie.de
Invaluable assistance in the preparation of this article was provided by Trevor Henshaw, Eddy Lambrecht, Stephen T. Lawson, Jörn
Leckscheid, Bruno Schmäling and Gregory VanWyngarden. My gratitude goes to all of you.
Preserved original entrance to the Sachsenberg shipyards in Rosslau.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
This article concerns itself mainly with the members of the Sachsenberg family that were involved in aviation, rather than emphasizing
on Gotthard Jr. alone. Many members of the family gained success
in the ship industry, and some of them were a thorn in the side of the
National Socialist regime.
Note:
1) An article about both brothers can be found in the November 11th, 2010 Newsletter:
https://www.eduard.com/out/media/InfoEduard/archive/2010/info-eduard-2010-11CZ.pdf
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
as the technical director of Junkers-Fokker-Werke. In 1922, he was named by Junkers to the leadership of Astra Aero, and in 1923, he served
as an advisor to the Hungarian air firm Aero-Express. From 1924, Hans
Sachsenberg served as a member of the supervisory board at Junkers-Luftverkehr AG, and from 1926 to 1931 he worked in Turkey as director at
Junkers-Flugzeugwerke Tomtasch.
With Hans and Gotthard at the helm, after 1934, the family owned business
began to pay more attention to vessels of smaller displacement including
hydrofoils, amphibious vessels and vehicles. The main production facility
was still at Dessau, but branch facilities were established at Hamburg,
Kiel and in the Netherlands.
The beginning of the Second World War meant a change over to wartime
production. Gotthard Sachsenberg received the rank of Kapitänleutnant
and was at the disposal of the Navy, should he be required. The Nazis allocated his company not only forced labor workers but unfortunately also
prisoners from concentration camps. Gotthard also worked in Nikolaev in
the Ukraine as a technical advisor for the repair of damaged vessels. The
end of the war saw him with the rank of Korvettenkapitän.
After the war, he moved to West Germany and, among other things, he
was one of the initiators in the formation of the German Green Cross
(Deutsches Grünes Kreuz e.V) and the pharmaceutical firm of BAG Health
Care GmbH. Gotthard Sachsenberg died on August 23rd, 1961 at the family
chateau in Lich. The manufacturing facility at Dessau found itself in East
Germany and was gradually named VEB Roßlauer Schiffswerft, and from
1970 VEB Elbewerften Boizenburg/Roßlau, Werk Roßlau. After 1990, the
name changed to Roßlauer Schiffswerft GmbH.
Both of Gotthard’s nephews became fighter pilots. The better known of
the two is ‘Heino’, who was awarded the Knight’s Cross and was an ace
with JG 52, and at the end of the war, he commanded a group of ‘Doras’
at Galland’s Jagdverband 44. His older brother Gotthard gained two kills
as a night fighter with II./NJG 3, but on March 8th, 1944, during an daylight
attack on a four-engined bombers, he was shot down by 2/Lt. Tussey of
the 336th FS, 4th FG. The author identified this encounter from Tussey’s
gun camera footage in 2010. 1)
Other members of the extended Sachsenberg family served in German
aviation, including after the war. One of them was Wilhelm Sachsenberg
(1904-1996), a significant figure in sport flying and co-author of the book
‘Unser Ozeanflug’. In the interwar years, he introduced a young lady by
the name of Beate Köstlin to sport flying. Today, this late aviation legend
is known by the name Beate Uhse-Rotermund. During the Second World
War, she served in the Luftwaffe as a ferry pilot and after the war, she
founded the well known adult industry corporation.
After the Second World War, Wilhelm became a member of the leadership
at Deutscher Luftfahrt-Beratungsdienst (DLB, a representative as such
firms as Cessna), was an honorary president of AOPA Germany, and the
German Aeroclub. As with several other members of the family, he was
one of the representatives of the Gotthard Sachsenberg Foundation.
One of the ships made by the Sachsenberg brothers that you can ride today is the paddle wheel steamer Goethe built in 1913.
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INFO Eduard - April 2021