Werner Baumbach

Infobox Military Person
name=Werner Baumbach
lived=birth date|1916|12|27|df=y — death date and age|1953|10|20|1916|12|27|df=y


caption=Werner Baumbach
placeofbirth=Cloppenburg, Lower Saxony
placeofdeath=La Plata, Argentina
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=Luftwaffe
serviceyears=1936-1945
rank=Oberst
commands=5./KG 30, I./KG 30, KG 200
unit=KG 30, KG 200
battles=World War II
awards=Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
laterwork=test pilot

Werner Baumbach (December 27, 1916 - October 20, 1953) was a bomber pilot in the German Luftwaffe during World War II and commander of the secret bomber wing KG 200.

Born on December 27, 1916, in Cloppenburg, Baumbach entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Junkers Ju 88 bomber and flew various bombing missions with KG 30. In 1942, Baumbach was removed from active pilot duty and started working on new bomber designs; among others, he helped design the composite bomber system "Mistel". In 1944, he was placed in command of the newly-formed KG 200 and was in charge of all Luftwaffe special missions.

After the war, Baumbach spent three years as a prisoner of war before he moved to Argentina where he worked as a test pilot. He died in a plane crash on October 20, 1953.

Baumbach released his memoirs, "Zu spät: Aufstieg und Untergang der deutschen Luftwaffe" (English title: "Broken Swastika"), in the late 1940s. The book demonstrates that even after Germany's defeat, Baumbach still believed to a very large extent in the National Socialist ideology. The fact that Baumbach's time as commander of KG 200 is not mentioned with a single word highlights the extreme secrecy of Germany's special missions program.

Awards

* Narvik Shield
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant "200"
* Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds
* Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe
* Iron Cross 2. and 1. class
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
** Knight's Cross (8 May 1940)
** 20. Oak Leaves (14 July 1941)
** 16. Swords (17 August 1942)
* Mentioned two times in the Wehrmachtbericht

References

*cite web | title=Ritterkreuzträger 1939-1945|work=Werner Baumbach|url= http://www.ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de/Luftwaffe/B/Ba/Baumbach-Werner.htm|accessdate=6 June| accessyear=2007
*cite web | title=Lexikon der Wehrmacht|work=Werner Baumbach|url=http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/B/BaumbachW.htm|accessdate=6 June| accessyear=2007
* Berger, Florian. "Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges". Selbstverlag Florian Berger, 2006. ISBN 3-9501307-0-5.
* Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer. "Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939-1945". Friedburg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas, 2000. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5.

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