Page 11
Info Eduard - August 2010
Info Eduard - August 2010
Most people con-
nect Hannes Trautloft
with his association
with Jagdgeschwader
54 ‘Grünherz’ (‘Green
Heart’), which is under-
standable, since this
was the most important
era of his military career. What is lesser known is that
he had already a distinguished military past behind him
by the time the Second World War began. In the first
year of the war, he performed command duties with
two units that had no connection to JG 54, while JG 54
(with 3 Gruppen) was formed by Hannes Trautloft. A closer
look at this period of his military career is warranted,
as is a more detailed look at the Messerschmitt Bf 109E-1,
which this month appears as a Weekend Edition kit.
SECRET TRAINING IN RUSSIA
AND A LEGIONNAIRE IN SPAIN
Hannes Trautloft was born on March 3 rd, 1912
in Grossobringen at Weimar / Thüringen. This area
is known as the ‘Green Heart of Germany’. As a child,
he felt very much at home in the forest, helped by his
father who performed the function of a gameskeeper
in Thüringen. So, it becomes apparent why Hannes
Trautloft felt comfortable in the hunt, and why his aircraft
were adorned with a green heart. His family was evidently
well situated, as Hannes was accepted for study at
Germany’s school for transport pilots in Schleissheim
after finishing high school in 1931. These were actually
secretive studies for future military fliers.
Secret training in the case of Trautloft led all the way
to Russia. The German leadership at the time signed
a deal with its Soviet counterpart on the training of
German soldiers at Lipetsk. The secret program lasted
from 1925 to 1933, when it was cancelled by the Nazi
government. It included the development of fighter pilots,
as well as other fliers. Trautloft gained four months worth
of experience here from May, 1932. It is interesting to
ponder the possibility that he would fight against Soviet
fliers in two wars.
After his return to Germany, he was attached to Infantry
Regiment No.15 in October, and over the two subsequent
years he underwent officer training at the relevant facility
in Dresden. In October, 1934, he was given the position
Hannes Trautloft
and Wanderzirkus Janke
Jan Bobek
of instructor with the rank of lieutenant at Schleissheim’s
school for fighter pilots.
In April, 1936, he joined III.(schwere)/JG 134
in Cologne (Köln am Rhein) equipped with Heinkel He 51
biplanes. This unit later gave way to heavy fighter Gruppe
I.(Zestörer)/LG 1 with Meserschmitt Bf 110s. Of course,
the peace time service of Trautloft would dramatically
change. In July, 1936, the Spanish Civil War erupted,
and Hitler decided to support Franco’s Nationalists with
materials and combat units. It wasn’t only the Germans
and the Italians that stood with the Nationalists as
foreign volunteers. It is not a well known fact that combat
against the Republicans was also participated in by the
Portuguese, Romanians, French and Irish, with other
nationalities being represented in smaller numbers.
For example, American firms contributed significant
quantities of oil and transport equipment (with American
volunteers fighting on the side of the Republicans).
Among the Legionnaires fighting for Franco was also
Hannes Trautloft. He came to Spain in August, 1937 as
a civilian, although in actual fact he was a member of the
Legion Condor. Along with other pilots and mechanics,
he had to assemble the first six Heinkel He 51s of his
unit. Summers in Spain run hot, and combat missions
were started off by pilots in the cockpits of their aircraft
wearing sporting clothes. Trautloft would start out
wearing his tennis shorts and shirt. Together with Staffel
CO Oblt. Kraft Eberhardt, Trautloft would gain the very
first German fighter kills since the First World War.
On August 25, 1936 they claimed one Bregeut XIX each.
But, on August 30, Trautloft was himself shot down
and had to bail out of his aircraft. He was fortunate to
endure this fate over friendly territory, and even so, the
high flying non-Spanish speaking tennis player was met
with suspicion from Nationalist troops. He was the first
German downed during this conflict!
HISTORY
Page 9
(Hannes Trautloft portrait by Petr Štěpánek; profiles of Bf 109E-1 - Miroslav Horčička)
Bf 109E-1 W.Nr. 4072
Hptm. Hannes Trautloft,
2./JG 77, Juliusburg,
Německo, září 1939