Johannes Steinhoff

Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff (15 September 1913 – 21 February 1994) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II, German general, and NATO official.

Johannes Steinhoff was born on 15 September 1913 in Bottendorf, Thuringia, the son of an agricultural mill-worker and his traditional housewife.

He had two brothers, Bernd and Wolf, and two sisters, Greta and Charlotte.

His sister Charlotte married Ludwig Hahn, the chief of the Sicherheitspolizei (Security Police) and Sicherheitsdienst (Security Service) in occupied Warsaw, who participated in the evacuation and destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto.

Steinhoff graduated from the Klosterschule Roßleben convent school after having "studied the classics and languages such as French, English, Latin and Greek," and from 1932–1934 he read philology at the University of Jena, where he was a member of the Landsmannschaft Suevia academic fencing society and male fraternity.

Forced to abandon his university studies for lack of funds, Steinhoff enlisted in the Kriegsmarine, where he served for one year alongside his friend Dietrich Hrabak as a naval flying cadet before transferring to the newly reformed Luftwaffe in 1936.

Steinhoff was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 April 1936.

He was one of very few Luftwaffe pilots who survived to fly operationally through the whole of the war period 1939–45 until he was severely burned during a failed take-off.

Steinhoff was also one of the highest-scoring pilots with 176 victories, and one of the first to fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in combat as a member of the Jagdverband 44 squadron led by Adolf Galland.

Steinhoff was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, and later received the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and several foreign awards including the American Legion of Merit and the French Legion of Honour.

He played a role in the so-called Fighter Pilots' Revolt late in the war, when several senior air force officers confronted Hermann Göring.

He married his wife Ursula on 29 April 1939 and they had a son, Wolf and a daughter, Ursula.

Ursula married economics professor and (now-retired) Colorado State Senator Michael Bird.

On 1 January 1939, Steinhoff was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant).

In the early summer of 1939, the Luftwaffe began experimenting with night fighter procedures for single engine aircraft.

Due to a lack of experienced flyers, operations were restricted to evening and early morning hours.

On 1 August, Steinhoff was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 11.

(Nachtjagd) Staffel (squadron) of Lehrgeschwader 2 (JG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing) which was based at Greifswald.

Initially, the squadron was equipped with the Arado Ar 68 fighter before it was reequipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 D-1.

The unit was subordinated to the Stab (headquarters unit) of Kampfgeschwader 2 (JG 2—2nd Bomber Wing).

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

That day, Steinhoff was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing), which had been named after Albert Leo Schlageter on 1 May 1939.

He was appointed Staffelkapitän of a newly created night fighter unit named 10.

(Nacht) Staffel of JG 26 which was based at Bonn-Hangelar, near Sankt Augustin, and equipped with the Bf 109 D. On 12 November, the unit was moved to Jever Airfield.

On 18 December, Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command launched an attack on German warships assumed to be at Wilhelmshaven in what became known as the Battle of the Heligoland Bight.

On 3 February 1940, a new night fighter unit was created by consolidating three independent single engine fighter squadrons at Jever Airfield.

This unit was labelled IV.

(Nacht) Gruppe (4th night group) of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) and placed under the leadership of Hauptmann Albert Blumensaat.

In consequence, 10.

(Nacht) Staffel of JG 26 became the 11.

(Nacht) Staffel of JG 2 which was headed by Steinhoff and was based at Hage.

On 23 April, 11.

(Nacht) and 12.

(Nacht) Staffeln of JG 2 were ordered to Aalborg Airfield in support of Operation Weserübung, the German assault on Denmark and Norway.

The two squadrons returned to Germany on 9 May in preparation for the Battle of France.

At the start of the campaign on 10 May, 11.

(Nacht) Staffel was based at Cologne Butzweilerhof Airfield where it supported Army Group B in the Battle of the Netherlands.

Steinhoff joined the West German government's Rearmament Office as a consultant on military aviation in 1952 and became one of the principal officials tasked with rebuilding the German Air Force through the Cold War.

In retirement, Steinhoff became a widely read author of books on German military aviation during the Second World War and the experiences of the German people at that time.

The RAF attack force was intercepted and Steinhoff was credited with the destruction of two Vickers Wellington bombers from 57th Squadron and Number 3 Group which he claimed to have shot down 25 - 35 km south-southwest of Heligoland.