Julius Meimberg

Julius Meimberg (11 January 1917 – 17 January 2012) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 53 aerial victories—that is, 53 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 250 combat missions.

Meimberg was born on 11 January 1917 in Münster in the Province of Westphalia, a province of the Kingdom of Prussia.

He was the sixth and youngest child of a textile merchant, owner of a company founded by his grandfather.

Meimberg volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe.

Following acceptance, his military training began on 1 November 1937 at the Luftkriegsschule 2 (LKS 2—2nd air war school) in Berlin–Gatow.

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

On 6 December 1939, Meimberg was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), named after World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, which at the time was based at Zerbst.

At Zerbst, Hauptmann Wolfgang Schellmann was tasked with the creation of the new II.

Staffel of JG 2 on 15 April 1941.

He replaced Oberleutnant Hermann Hollweg who was transferred.

On 4 August 1942, Meimberg succeeded Oberleutnant Rudolf Pflanz as Staffelkapitän of 11.

Staffel of JG 2.

Pflanz had been killed in action on 31 July.

On 4 November 1942, Meimberg and his 11.

Staffel received orders to immediately transfer to Sicily.

That same day, 30 men and their equipment were flown in three Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft from the airfield Poix-Nord at Poix-de-Picardie in France to Coleman Army Airfield, refueling at Reims.

On 8 November, the Staffel arrived in Trapani, located in the northwest of Sicily, and then moved to Comiso which is in southeastern part of Sicily.

On 15 November, Meimberg received orders to move his Staffel to Tunisia in North Africa where they were based at the Bizerte Airfield where they fought in the Tunisian campaign.

That day, the Oberbefehlshaber Süd (Commander in Chief South), Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, ordered 11.

Staffel disbanded, and its pilots and equipment assigned to II.

Following a brief honeymoon which the couple spent in Würzburg, Meimberg returned to his unit on 20 January 1943, which at the time was based at El Aouina, a municipality of Tunis, Tunisia.

Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-4 trop (Werknummer 16025—factory number) on 1 February 1943, Meimberg was wounded in aerial combat with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers near Pont du Fahs.

The severe burns he sustained necessitated a lengthy stay in a hospital in Munich.

During his convalescence, Meimberg was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) on 1 March, and awarded the Wound Badge in Silver (Verwundetenabzeichen in Silber) in May.

He returned to JG 53 on 19 August and was assigned to the Geschwaderstab.

The marriage produced a son, Gerrit, born 15 February 1946, and another son, Helmut, born 11 August 1948, and their daughter Dorothee, born 19 October 1950.

Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing).

Due to Meimberg's intervention, Oberstleutnant Günther Freiherr von Maltzahn, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 53, decided to retain 11.

Staffel as its own entity and subordinated the Staffel to the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of JG 53 while for the higher Luftwaffe authorities the Staffel was merged with 6.

Staffel of JG 53.

On 17 December, Meimberg was given home-leave.

During this vacation on 29 December, he married his fiancée Margret in Münster.

The two had known each other since school.

In the 1960s, he invented an open-end spinning device and received patents in the US and Germany for it.

In 1970, Meimberg founded the travel agency "Meimberg" and in 2001, he received the Rudolf-Diesel-Medaille for his achievements as an inventor.

Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 2 on 15 December.

The Gruppe was staffed by personnel from I. Gruppe of JG 2, I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), and newly trained fighter pilots from the fighter pilot schools.

There, Meimberg was assigned to 4.

Staffel (4th squadron), headed by Oberleutnant Hans Hahn.

Meimberg was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3.