Carl Maier (1890)

Carl Maier
Birth name	Carl Johannes Maier
Birth date	31 January 1890(1890-01-31)
Place of birth	Mittelhaslach near Sachsenheim, Oberamt Vaihingen, Neckarkreis, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire
Allegiance	German Empire National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Imperial German Army Luftwaffe
Rank	2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves Lieutenant Colonel (of the Reserves)
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross House Order of Hohenzollern

Carl Johannes Maier (also Karl; b. 31 January 1890) was a German officer of the Imperial German Army and the Wehrmacht, finally Lieutenant Colonel in World War II.

Life

Maier, the son of a Hauptlehrer (head of a primary school) in Weiler zum Stein, began his studies after achieving his Abitur and presumably completed his mandatory military service as a one-year volunteer (Einjährig-Freiwilliger). At the beginning of WWI, he joined his (presumably artillery) regiment, was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of the Reserves (Leutnant d. R.) and transferred to the Fliegertruppe c. end-1916 where he was trained as an flying observer. He served with the Fliegerabteilung 277 (Artillerie; FAA 277) under Captain Pfähler, was wounded in June 1918 and hospitalized in Silesia. After the war, he lived in Lorch and Stuttgart. It is not known, if he joined the Luftwaffe as a supplemental officer (Ergänzungsoffizier) in 1935, but considerung, he was a Major in 1939, this can be assumed.

WWII

Major Maier served with the staff of Air Fleet 1 and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (presumably of the Reserves) on 1 July 1942. On 4 December 1942, he was transferred to the Flieger-Waffentechnische Schule 2 in Merseburg, officially serving as of 5 December 1942. On 24 April 1943, he was serving with the Koflug 2/VI (Airport Area Command/Luftgau Command VI) Cagliari. Cagliari was not only an airfield but also a station for Luftwaffe units stationed in and around this principal city in south Sardinia.

Awards and decorations (excerpt)

• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
  • 2nd Class on 30 June 1915
  • 1st Class on 25 February 1918
• Military Merit Medal (Württemberg) for Bravery in Silver (WMVM2/WsM) on 10 October 1915
• German Army Observer’s Badge (Abzeichen für Beobachtungsoffiziere aus Flugzeugen) on 1 July 1917
• Friedrichs-Orden, Knight's Cross 2nd Class with Swords (WF3b⚔) on 18 June 1918
• Wound Badge (1918) in Black on 23 August 1918
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3⚔) on 16 July 1918
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords