Walter Oesau

Infobox Military Person
name=Walter Oesau


caption=Walter Oesau
born=birth date|1913|6|28|df=y
died=death date and age|1944|5|11|1913|6|28|df=y
lived=
placeofbirth=Farnewinkel, Germany.
placeofdeath=St. Vith, Belgium.
placeofburial=
placeofburial_label=
nickname="Gulle"
allegiance=flagicon|Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
branch=
serviceyears=1933-1944
rank=Oberst
unit=Condor Legion, JG 1, JG 2, JG 51, J/88
commands=III./JG 3, III./JG 51, JG 2, Jagdfliegerführer Bretagne, JG 1.
battles=Spanish Civil War
World War II
*Battle of France
*Battle of Britain
*Operation Barbarossa
*Defense of the Reich
awards="Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern und Brillanten"
"Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern"
relations=
laterwork=

Oberstleutnant Walter "Gulle" Oesau (28 June 1913 – 11 May 1944) was a German World War II fighter ace who served in the Luftwaffe from 1934 until his death in 1944. He shot down 127 enemy planes in over 300 combat missions. Of these, 9 were during the Spanish Civil War, 74 on the Western Front and 44 on the Eastern Front. He also rose to command the JG 1 fighter wing, which was named in his honor after his death. He died on 11 May 1944 while facing allied Escort aircrafts over Ardennes. He crashed near St. Vith in Belgium.

Biography

Walter “"Gulle"” Oesau was born in Farnewinkel near Meldorf in Holst on 28 June 1913. He joined the German armyHeer in 1933 and served in an artillery regiment as an enlisted person. After being transferred to a Luftwaffe transport unit, he started undertaking flying training in 1934. He was a Fahnenjunker (cadet) at the "Deutschen Verkehrsfliegerschule" (Luftwaffe academy) in Hanover. Upon completion of his training he was assigned to JG 2 Richthofen as a leutnant.For an explanation of the meaning of "Luftwaffe" unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization] Walter Oesau on Luftwaffe.Cz] John Weal, 1999.] Gordon Williamson, Ramiro Bujeiro, 2004.]

Oesau started his career by joining the Condor Legion. This was the time when he worked with his contemporary Aces such as Werner Mölders and Adolf Galland. He was one of the first to join 3./JG 88 in Spain in April 1938. [Jagdgruppe 88, four squadrons equipped with the Heinkel He 51] The squadron, commanded by Werner Mölders, took part in the Spanish Civil War and Oesau claimed eight victories during the campaign. For this he received the "Spanienkreuz" in Gold with Diamonds. Only 28 people received this honor. For first time he was wounded in action & received the Spanish Wound Badge.Walter Oesau on Luftwaffe.Cz]

On 1 March 1939 Oesau joined the "Stabsschwarm" of I./JG 2. By 15 July 1939 Oesau was promoted to Oberleutnant. He was given the command of 1./JG 20 as a Staffelkapitän. It was later re-designated as 7./JG 51. He was also to serve later as a Gruppekommandeur with JG 51 as well as JG 3. He in fact went on to lead JG 2 after Wilhelm Balthasar crashed during a test flight of early BF 109 F (Friedrich)in France. He also commanded JG 1 from November 1943 till his death in May 1944.

World War II

Based on the Western Front JG 51 saw relatively little action during the phoney war period. Oesau got his first World War II victory during the Battle of France on 13 May 1940 when he shot down a french P-36 Hawk. By the end of hostilities in France, he had got his second "Ace" his WW II tally stood at 5 with a personal total of 13 including the score in Spanish war.

Fighting on during the Battle of Britain Oesau reached 20 victories on 18 August 1940. This earned him Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross("Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes"). On 25 August 1940 Oesau, now a Hauptmann, was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 51. On 11 November 1940 Oesau was appointed "Gruppenkommandeur" of III./JG 3. By 5 February 1941, he added oak leaves "(mit Eichenlaub)" with a score of 40. In early 1941, JG 3 went back to Germany to replace their earlier BF 109s with the F variants ("Friedrich"). They returned back to France in May 1941. Upon his return, Oesau added two more kills on 16 May("Spitfire") and 28 May(Hurricane) respectively. This brought his total to 42. On 30 June 1941 he reached his 50 victory. By the time Operation Barbarosa launched invasion of Russia in June 1941, Oesau's unit was moved to Eastern front. On 10 July 1941, Oesau claimed 5 more aircraft which took his count from 63 to 68. He added two more kills by 11 July 1941. ["Walter "Gulle" Oesau on Luftwaffe.cz"] He kept adding to this tally, which stood at 80 by 15 July 1941. He was the third person to earn "mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern" swords for his Knight's cross with oak leaves.

In late July 1941, he was recalled from the Eastern Front to take up the position as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 2, operating in France. This was following the death of Wilhelm Balthasar in a crash. For the next two years he led JG 2 in a war of attrition waged by RAF. He continued flying offensive operations against the Royal Air Force until he reached his 100^th victory on 26 October 1941. Once again third one to do so. He was then forbidden from flying on operations, as his experience and leadership qualities were regarded as to valuable to risk, although he did fly on occasional sorties. The most famous being shooting down of a Lancaster bomber in April 1942. Oesau claimed it was self defense. It was his 101"st" kill.Eric Mombeek, 2003.] He added 4 more to the tally by mid 1943. He was given a desk posting of "Jafu Bretagne" (Fighter Leader Britanny) in summer of 1943 on 1 July 1943, before being appointed as "Geschwaderkommodore" of JG 1 on 12 November 1943. He was a successor to Oberst Hans Philipp (206 kills) who died on 8 October 1943 in a fight with 56th Fighter Group. The ban on further flying was lifted (or ignored until discovery ?). While being the commander of JG 1, Oesau became an "Exterten"(expert) at shooting down 4 engine bombers. Oesau claimed a further 14 such bomber kills. Those included both B-17 Flying Fortresses as well as B-24 Liberators. Those were notoriously difficult to shoot down given that 3 passes were needed. The fighter pilots usually nicknamed "Viermots". He also added 4 fighters to his score between January and March 1944. Thus his tally stood at 117. On 8 May 1944 he shot down Thunderbolt over Hanover. Incidentally a place where he received his flight training. This was his last kill. John Weal, Bf 109 F/G/K Aces of the Western Front 1999.]

Death

Oesau served in a string of staff appointments, including "Jagdfliegerführer 4", until he returned to combat in November 1943. Now a Oberst, Oesau was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 1 on 12 November 1943. While in this position he frequently received his share of Hermann Göring’s frustration over the failure to beat off the Allied bomber offensive. Göring was very unhappy and questioned the commitment of "Geschwaderkommodores" that were not flying regularly and leading their respective units. There was an automatic ban on further combat flying by Oesau since his 100^th "kill." He tactically ignored the ban and led missions any way. It was probably lifted temporarily or bypassed when he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 1. He added several victories over American heavy bombers in the first 5 months of 1944. Then, on 11 May 1944, when one thousand U.S. heavy bombers from Eighth Air Force attacked railway targets in eastern France & North East Belgium. They were escorted by even more number of P-38 and P-51 fighters. Oesau was in bed with influenza. Upon hearing the news, Göring phoned Oesau's staff

"Göring" - “Is the Kommodore flying?”
"Staff" – “No, he is in bed with fever.”
"Göring" - “Yes, yes, I know that kind”, said Göring scornfully,
"Göring" - “he has also turned tired and coward!”

Angered by this comment, Oberstleutnant Walter Oesau mounted his Bf 109 G-6/AS (Wing Number 20 601) “Green 13” and took off from Paderborn despite high fever. He was leading three aircraft of the Geschwader Stabsschwarm ("Geschwaderstab") to intercept Allied bomber attack. The Stabsschwarm broke formation over Ardennes. as it approached the Allied Bombers. In the dogfight they were scattered. Oesau's wingman reported damage to his machine. He was ordered to break off engagement. Thus left alone, "oesau" faced 4 P-38s and possibly P-51s as well. According to some sources, Major Hartmann Grasser the "Gruppenkommandeur" of III./JG 1 who was on the same mission, recalled that there were five P-38s facing against Walter Oesau.

What soon followed is not clear given multiple claims. There are several versions. In the ensuing dogfight lasting for 20 minutes, "Oesau" is said to have defended with all his skill. At one point he descended from 28,000"ft." to Tree-Top Level. While trying to make an emergency landing, his "Green 13 Gustav" received a final burst of fire in the cockpit area. The aircraft crashed into the ground some 6 miles south west of St. Vith. His body was thrown clear of the aircraft some yards away.

There is some dispute in terms of who exactly shot down his plane. Some sources claim that he was shot during the dogfight. While the aircraft was falling to the ground, he was shot at again.James L. Doyle at Arlington National Cemetery] Other Sources claim, that he was shot down by USAF Pilot "James Leslie Doyle". It is also said that German records of the time indicated that his death was caused by an explosive shell in the cockpit.James L. Doyle at Arlington National Cemetery]

Oesau was aged 30 at the time of his death. He had a total of 127 kills to his name over 300 missions. of these, 27 were spitfires and 14 four engined bombers. The rest were scored on the eastern front and in Spanish civil war. Given his record and his rise to fame, a rare honor was bestowed on him. JG 1 received the title "Oesau" in honor of its fallen "Geschwaderkommodore". Only Werner Mölders had similar honor with JG 51 Mölders, before Walter Oesau.

Aftermath and historical importance

Johannes Steinhoff, the highest ranking Luftwaffe ace (176 Kills) who went on to become the Chief of Staff for Allied Air Forces in Central Europe, once said that Walter "Gulle" Oesau was "the toughest fighter pilot" in the Luftwaffe”.Claes Sundin, Christer Bergström 2002] He was one of the outstanding leaders ever produced by Luftwaffe fighter wings with the likes of Werner Mölders and Adolf Galland. [Weal (1999) p. 70.]

The decision to bring expert aces back to front line battle was an extremely costly. It probably stemmed from acute shortage of well trained pilots. It did result in many of the earlier experts dying in combat. One of the reasons could be that unlike during early years of war, now they were facing a better equipped and well trained enemy. Also unlike earlier years, now they were accompanied by novice trainees that were not efficient wing men. Although other experts would end up dying in combat, nothing would showcase the changing fortunes of Luftwaffe fighter forces than the death of Walter Oesau. [Weal (1999) p. 71.]

Personality and personal life

There is little information available on the personal side of Walter Oesau. However it is claimed that he had good sense of humor and liked to spend time with his friends.

Notes

References

*cite web | title= Luftwaffe.cz| work= Walter Oesau| url=http://www.luftwaffe.cz/oesau.html| accessdate=20 February| accessyear=2007 |ref=Luftwaffecz This also has complete list of his "kills" by dates, target and location.

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*cite web | title= Records of Colonel James Leslie Doyle on Arlington National cemetery | work= Colonel James Leslie Doyle | url=http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jldoyle.htm| accessdate=10 September| accessyear=2008 |ref=Doyle1

ee also

* List of Spanish Civil War air aces
* Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II

External Links

* [http://www.luftwaffe.cz/oesau.html Aces of Luftwaffe - Oberst Walter "Gulle" Oesau]
* [http://www.war44.com/forum/german-medals-awards/566-knight-s-cross-oak-leaves-recipient-walter-oesau.html Interesting Pictures of Walter Oesau.]
* [http://pilotosdelaluftwaffe.tripod.com/f-oesau.htm Experts of Luftwaffe Walter oesau. This link has some additional photos of Oesau.]