Johann Oekenpöhler
| Johann Oekenpöhler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Johann Peter Oekenpöhler |
| Birth date | 1 September 1917 |
| Place of birth | Hiltrup near Münster, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Death date | 14 August 1980 (aged 62) |
| Place of death | Münster-Hiltrup, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Luftwaffe
|
| Years of service | 1936–1945 |
| Rank | 2nd Lieutenant |
| Unit | KG 27 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Johann "Hansi" Peter Oekenpöhler (sometimes wrongly Oeckenpöhler; 1 September 1917 – 14 August 1980) was a German officer, finally 2nd Lieutenant of the Luftwaffe and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. Bomber pilot Oekenpöhler was credited with 423 combat missions (Feindflüge), was shot down 13 times, bailed out twice, force-landed 11 times and was wounded several times. Among his many successes against the enemy, supporting infantry and Panzer units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS, he destroyed two freighters (each with 2,000 GRT) off the coast of Kerch, two barges on the Volga, two armored oil trains and oil refinery despite heavy anti-aircraft fire.
Life
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Johann Oekenpöhler, called "Hansi" by his friends, attended the Catholic School (Katholische Volksschule) in his hometown of Hiltrup and started his apprenticeship to become a carpenter in 1933. In September of the same year, he joined the Hitler Youth where he discovered his love of flying as a member of the gliding group (Flieger-HJ). He completed his apprenticeship in 1935 and looked for a job as a carpenter, but in vain because the companies didn't have enough orders. He therefore applied for the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was accepted. he earned 360 Reichsmark (RM) annually in the first two years, then 900 Reichsmark (RM) as a pilot and 3,000 Reichsmark (RM) annually as of 1940.
He received basic and extensive flight training[1] and was transferred to the 8th Squadron of the Kampfgeschwader 157 "Boelcke" which was redesignated 8./Kampfgeschwader 27 "Boelcke" on 1 May 1939. He participated in the Poland Campaign (the wing with Heinkel He 111 P was subordinated to the 1. Flieger-Division/Luftflottenkommando 1) and the Battle of France (IV. Fliegerkorps/Luftflottenkommando 2). On 10 May 1940, the first day of the Western Campaign, he and his crew (Feldwebel Erich Schreiber, Unteroffizier Erich Frielinghaus and Unteroffizier Franz Lösecke) became POWs of the British after his He 111 (1G+ES) was forced down 35 km northwest of Arras. The men were freed c. two weeks later near Dunkirk. He participated in the Battle of Britain, combating the Royal Air Force and its ground organizations in day and night operations. He later took part in Operation Barbarossa. On 7 July 1942, he bailed out of his damaged He 111 (1G+NS) over friendly territory.
After receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, he was invited to a large celebration in Hiltrup in September 1943, where he gave a speech describing the situation at the front. After four years of hard trials and wounds at the war front, Oekenpöhler was transferred to the I. Flying Corps as a pilot of the Flugbereitschaft (flight standby). In 1944, he was transferred to the air transport squadron (Luftverkehrsstaffel) at Berlin-Tempelhof and served as a courier and passenger pilot with destinations in Norway, Denmark, Generalgouvernement, Finland, Italy, Balkans, Netherlands, Belgian and Greece. His last assignment in 1945 was that of a pilot with the Flugbereitschaft (flight standby) of the Luftflotte 1 under General der Flieger Curt Pflugbeil in Courland. One source states, he was transferred to III. Group/KG (J) 27 and retrained on Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but Oekenpöhler does not mention such an assignment in his documents.
Post-WWII
It seems, Oekenpöhler was either not a POW or only for a short time. He returned to his family in Hiltrup and worked for the transport company of his brothers (Transportunternehmen Gebrüder Oekenpöhler), but contracts were scarce. In 1946, he moved to Rendsburg and worked as a waiter earning very well. The guests of the restaurant were mainly British officers and Oekenpöhler, as a Luftwaffe pilot with Knight's Cross, was treated like somewhat of a celebrity. In 1947, after almost two years, he returned to Hiltrup and worked with the transport company once again until 1949.
Death
Johann Oekenpöhler died in August 1980. On 23 November 1980, many old comrades from KG 27 arrived in Münster from all over Germany and Austria for a commemoration of death celebration. His comrade Karl-August Petersen died due to a fatal traffic accident on his way home from this event.
Promotions
- 1938 Unteroffizier (NCO)
- 1940 Feldwebel (Sergeant)
- 1941 Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major)
- 1945 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant; War Officer; Kr.O.)
- although many sources, among them Henry L. deZeng IV and Douglas G. Stankey from "Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries" and "The Kracker Luftwaffe Archive",[2] state, Oekenpöhler was commissioned in 1945, Oekenpöhler himself refers to himself as "Oberfeldwebel" in his denazification documents from July 1949.
Awards and decorations
- Pilot's Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen)
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- 2nd Class on 4 September 1939
- 1st Class on 17 July 1940
- Honorary Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg) on 10 May 1941
- Frontflugspange for Bombers (Kampfflieger) in Bronze, Silver and Gold
- Pennant to the Golden Front Flying Clasp (star pennant)
- Wound Badge (1939) in Black, Silver and Gold
- Picture of the Reichsmarschall in a silver frame (Bild des Herrn Reichsmarschall im Silberrahmen) in Summer of 1941
- Crimea Shield (Krimschild)
- Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
- German Cross in Gold on 12 February 1942
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 2 June 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and Pilot in the 8th Squadron/III. Group/Kampfgeschwader 27 "Boelcke"[3]
Gallery
References
- ↑ Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations.
- ↑ Oekenpöhler, Johann Peter 'Hansi'
- ↑ Oekenpöhler, Johann-Peter
