Alfred Druschel

Alfred Druschel

Alfred Druschel
Born (1917-02-04)4 February 1917
Bindsachsen, District Büdingen
Died 1 January 1945(1945-01-01) (aged 27)
near Aachen
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch  Luftwaffe
Years of service 1936–45
Rank Oberst
Unit LG 2, SG 1, SG 4
Commands held 2.(S)/LG 2, I./SG 1
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Alfred Druschel (4 February 1917 – 1 January 1945) was a German Luftwaffe combat pilot during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords of Nazi Germany.

Military career

He joined the Luftwaffe on 1 April 1936; he trained as pilot, observer and then as a staff officer with a Luftflotte (Air Fleet). In 1938, Druschel was posted to Fliegergruppe 20, which was renamed II.(S)/Lehrgeschwader 2 (LG 2—2nd Demonstration Wing) in November 1938. He served with 4./LG 2 during the invasion of Poland and the battle of France, flying the Henschel Hs 123 biplane. Druschel became Staffelkapitän of 4.(S)/LG 2 in September 1940, leading the unit on fighter-bomber missions against targets in England and on shipping in the Channel.

In April 1941, 4.(S)/LG 2 operated over southern Yugoslavia and Greece and took part during the invasion of the Soviet Union. He operated over the Eastern Front until October 1943 with 4.(Schl)/LG 2 and from autumn 1941 as Staffelkapitän, 2./SG 1. In early 1942 he became Gruppenkommandeur of I./Schlachtgeschwader 1 (SG 1) and by October 1943 was Geschwaderkommodore of SG 1. Hauptmann Druschel was awarded the Oakleaves in September 1942 for 600 combat missions and the Swords in February 1943 for over 700 combat missions. He was appointed commander of SG 4 based in the west in December 1944.

On 1 January 1945, Druschel participated in Unternehmen Bodenplatte, the attack on the Allied airfields in the Netherlands and Belgium. Accompanied by JG 2, SG 4, Druschel led an attack on St Trond in Belgium. He became separated from his formation following a heavy flak attack and remains missing to this day in the area south of Aachen.

Alfred Druschel was officially credited with seven aerial victories claimed in over 800 combat missions, he mainly flew ground support missions in Henschel Hs 123, Bf 109 and Fw 190 fighter-bombers.[Note 1]

Awards

Notes

  1. ↑ For a list of Luftwaffe ground attack aces see List of German World War II Ground Attack aces
  2. ↑ According to Thomas on 17 September 1939.[3]
  3. ↑ According to Thomas on 20 May 1940.[3]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Berger 1999, p. 64.
  2. 1 2 MacLean 2007, p. 112.
  3. 1 2 Thomas 1997, p. 134.
  4. 1 2 3 Scherzer 2007, p. 282

Bibliography

  • Berger, Florian (1999). Mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern. Die höchstdekorierten Soldaten des Zweiten Weltkrieges [With Oak Leaves and Swords. The Highest Decorated Soldiers of the Second World War] (in German). Vienna, Austria: Selbstverlag Florian Berger. ISBN 978-3-9501307-0-6. 
  • MacLean, French L (2007). Luftwaffe Efficiency & Promotion Reports: For the Knight's Cross Winners. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History. ISBN 978-0-7643-2657-8. 
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1976). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe 1939–1945 Band II Stuka- und Schlachtflieger [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe 1939–1945 Volume II Dive Bomber and Attack Aircraft] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-021-3. 
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. 
  • Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Oberstleutnant Hubertus Hitschhold		 Commander of Schlachtgeschwader 1
June 1943 – 18 October 1943 		Succeeded by
none
Preceded by
Major Ewald Janssen		 Commander of Schlachtgeschwader 4
28 December 1944 – 1 January 1945 		Succeeded by
Major Werner Dörnbrack
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