Karl-August Petersen

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Karl August Petersen
Karl-August Petersen III.jpg
Birth date 26 May 1912(1912-05-26)
Place of birth Neukirchen, Amtsbezirk Neukirchen, Kreis Tondern, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date 23 November 1980 (aged 68)
Place of death Bodenteich, Landkreis Uelzen, Lower Saxony, West Germany
Allegiance  Weimar Republic
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr
Luftwaffe eagle.jpg Luftwaffe
Years of service 1934–1945
Rank Major
Unit Condor Legion
KG 27
Battles/wars World War II
Awards German Cross in Gold
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Karl-August Petersen (originally written Carl-August; Petersen signed post-war Karl A. without a hyphen; 26 May 1912 – 23 November 1980) was a German officer, finally Major of the Luftwaffe and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. It can be assumed that he was related to Generalmajor Jens Peter Petersen.

Life

From left: Hauptmann Karl-August Petersen, Hauptmann Horst Quednau and Hauptmann der Reserve Herbert Kuntz with their esteemed orderly.
Karl-August Petersen.jpg
From left Feldwebel Konrad Rieder, Oberfeldwebel Walter Schalles, Hauptmann Carl-August Petersen, Feldwebel Hans Timmermann.jpg

Petersen joined the Reichswehr on 1 April 1934 as an officer candidate, was extensively trained to be an officer and a pilot (the air force had not yet been exposed) and officially transferred to the Luftwaffe in November 1935.[1] On 15 March 1936, 2nd Lieutenant Petersen was transferred to the Kampfgeschwader 154 "Boelcke". On 1 April 1937, the bomber wing was renamed in Kampfgeschwader 157 "Boelcke" and on 1 May 1939 in Kampfgeschwader 27 "Boelcke".

In 1938, Petersen volunteered for the Condor Legion, was accepted and transferred to the 2nd Squadron of the Kampfgruppe 88 (K/88) in Spain (possibly until June 1939). He completed 131 combat missions (Feindflüge), mainly as an observer/navigator. He participated in the Poland Campaign (the wing with Heinkel He 111 P was subordinated to the 1. Flieger-Division/Luftflottenkommando 1), the Battle of France (IV. Fliegerkorps/Luftflottenkommando 2), the Battle of Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain, combating the Royal Air Force and its ground organizations in day and night operations.

In January 1941, 1st Lieutenant Petersen was appointed leader (officially commander as of 2 February 1941) of the 9th Squadron/Kampfgeschwader 27 "Boelcke". In spring/summer 1941, he was promoted to Hauptmann (Captain) and took part in Operation Barbarossa. On 16 January 1942, he crash-landed his He 111 (1G+AT) vic Feodosia but was not hurt. On 1 August 1942, he was transferred to the Ministry of Aviation (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) in Berlin and was appointed Head of Department Ia op 1 Attack: Leadership and deployment of the air assault forces, operational readiness of the air assault forces and Flight operations.

On 5 January 1943, he returned to his wing and was appointed provisional then permanent commander of the 2nd Wing Group/Kampfgeschwader 27 "Boelcke" (to 14 December 1943) equipped with Heinkel He 111 H-16. As such, he took part in the Battle of Kursk subordinated to the Luftflotte 4: Melitopol (until 3.7.1943), Charkow-Woitschenko (until 17.7.1943), Seschtschinskaja (until 20.7.1943), Schatalowka (until 9.8.1943) and Mirgorod. On 1 September 1943, he was promoted to Major. From 29 September to 4 November 1943, he was not only group commander but also deputy commodore of the wing. With the KG 27, which he left on 15 March 1944, he was credited with over 250 combat missions.

After a number of administrative higher staff positions, Major Petersen served at the end of the war as a ground organization official in charge in the areas of Luftgau-Kommando XI in Denmark.[2] It is not known, how long he was a POW before being able to return home.

Knight's Cross

The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded in recognition for Captain Petersen's successes as a bomber pilot and squadron leader on the Eastern Front and over the Crimean peninsula where he relieved the pressure on the German defensive front through personally ruthless low-flying attacks on enemy supply columns and supply routes. During an armed reconnaissance by three He 111 over the Caucasian coast led by Petersen, the German bombers spotted Soviet shipping in the Black Sea port of Tuapse.

He ordered the attack without explicit orders and at 500 m height. They sunk a destroyer and an 8000 GRT merchant ship, and damaged two additional destroyers. They also destroyed a heavily guarded oil facility. The attack was mentioned in the OKW report on 24 December 1941. On another occasion, Petersen and his 9th Squadron attacked a Red Army brigade near Simferopol at only 5 m height (!) and forced it to withdraw. Petersen would be recognized appropriately for these and other successes.

Death

After a commemoration of death celebration for Johann Oekenpöhler on 23 November 1980 in the company of many old comrades from KG 27, Petersen began the return journey. Almost home, his fatal traffic accident happened: a milk truck ignored the right of way, struck the retired officer's vehicle and Petersen died.

Promotions

  • 1 April 1934 Offizieranwärter (Officer Candidate)
  • 1 April 1936 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • 1 November 1938 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
  • 1 June or 1 July 1941 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 1 September 1943 Major with rank seniority (RDA) from 1 November 1942 (8a)

Awards and decorations

WWII

Gallery

  • Karl-August Petersen IV.jpg
  • Ritterkreuz für Carl-August Petersen.jpg
  • Petersen, Karl-August (Kampfgeschwader 27).jpg
  • Carl-August Petersen III.png

References

  1. ↑ Walter Waiss: Chronik Kampfgeschwader Nr. 27 Boelcke, 7 Volumes, 1997–2010
  2. ↑ Georg Brütting: Das waren die deutschen Kampfflieger-Asse 1939–1945, Stuttgart 1974, p. 235 f.
  3. ↑ Petersen, Karl-August (Kampfgeschwader 27)
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