Werner Mölders

Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot, wing commander, and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War.

He became the first pilot in aviation history to shoot down 100 enemy aircraft and was highly decorated for his achievements.

Mölders developed fighter tactics that led to the finger-four formation.

He died in a plane crash as a passenger.

Mölders was born on 18 March 1913 in Gelsenkirchen, the son of teacher (Oberlehrer) Victor Mölders and his wife Annemarie Mölders, née Riedel.

He was the third of four children, with an older sister, Annemarie, an older brother, Hans, and a younger brother, Victor.

After his father, a Reserve Leutnant in the King's 145th Infantry Regiment, was killed in action on 2 March 1915 in the Argonne Forest in France, his mother moved the family into her parents' house in Brandenburg an der Havel.

In Brandenburg, Mölders found a benefactor in Father Erich Klawitter, who instilled firm religious beliefs in him.

From 1919 to 1931, Mölders attended, first, the elementary school and then from 1922 the Saldria-Realgymnasium, a secondary school that enjoyed a supraregional reputation.

In school he discovered his love for water sports, especially rowing.

He joined two rowing clubs, first the Saldria-Brandenburg and later the Brandenburger Ruderclub, and enjoyed success at rowing-regattas.

From 1 October 1925, he was also a member of the Bund Neudeutschland in der katholischen Jugendbewegung, a Catholic youth organisation.

Mölders graduated from school in early 1931 with the Abitur (diploma) and expressed a desire to become an officer in the armed forces.

Mölders joined the ''Preußisches Infanterieregiment Nr.

2, an infantry regiment under the command of Oberst'' Siegfried Haenicke and subordinated to the 1st Division of the Reichswehr in Allenstein, East Prussia on 1 April 1931, serving as an officer cadet in the infantry.

He attained the rank of Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter on 1 October 1931, rising to Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier on 1 April 1932.

After completing his basic military training in October 1932, he transferred to the Military School Dresden.

On 1 June 1933, he successfully completed his training in Dresden and was promoted to ensign.

He again was transferred, this time to the 1st Prussian Pioneer Battalion (Infantry Regiment 2) at the Pioneer School in Munich.

During his training years, Mölders made his first attempt to fulfil his dream of flying and volunteered for pilot training, but was declared unfit for flying.

He tried again and was given conditional permission (bedingt tauglich—with constraints) to begin flight training.

Mölders joined the Luftwaffe, the air force of Nazi Germany, in 1934.

After his promotion to Oberfähnrich on 1 February 1934, Mölders began his pilot training at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (German transport flying school) in Cottbus, lasting from 6 February 1934 to 31 December 1934.

On 1 March 1934, he was promoted to Leutnant and assigned to the recently established Luftwaffe.

In the early stages of his pilot training, he suffered continually from nausea and vomiting, but he eventually overcame these problems and finished the course at the top of his class.

The next phase of his military pilot's training was from 1 January 1935 to 30 June 1935 at the combat flying school in Tutow and the Jagdfliegerschule (fighter pilot school) at Schleißheim near Munich.

He received the newly created Pilot's Badge of the Luftwaffe on 21 May 1935.

On 1 July 1935, Leutnant Mölders was posted to Fliegergruppe Schwerin (I./JG 162 "Immelmann").

On 7 March 1936, during the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, Mölders and his squadron (Staffel) were moved to Düsseldorf.

During this period, Mölders met Luise Baldauf, whom he was to marry a few years later, shortly before his death.

In 1938 he volunteered for service in Germany's Condor Legion, then supporting General Francisco Franco's Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War, and shot down 14 aircraft.

Following the start of World War II in 1939, he took part in the "Phoney War" of 1939–1940, the Battle of France of May to June 1940, and the Battle of Britain (July 1940 onwards).

With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of Operation Barbarossa, achieving 101 victories by mid-July 1941.

Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was appointed Inspector of Fighters.

While inspecting the Luftwaffe units in the Crimea he received orders to return to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, a Luftwaffe general and World War I flying ace.

The aircraft in which Mölders was traveling as a passenger to Berlin experienced an engine failure and attempted an emergency landing.

It crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others.

The Luftwaffe and the West German Bundeswehr both honoured Mölders by naming two fighter wings, a destroyer and a barracks after him.

In 1998 the German Parliament decided that members of the Condor Legion such as Mölders should "no longer be honoured".

In 2005 the German Ministry of Defence decided to remove the name "Mölders" from the fighter wing still bearing his name.