Kurt Kuhlmey

Kurt Kuhlmey
Birth date	19 November 1913(1913-11-19)
Place of birth	Insterburg, Province of East Prussia, German Empire
Death date	30 April 1993 (aged 79)
Place of death	Bonn, Germany
Allegiance	National Socialist Germany West Germany
Service/branch	Reichswehr Luftwaffe Bundeswehr (Luftwaffe)
Years of service	1934–1935 1935–1945 1956–1971
Rank	Generalmajor (two-star general officer)
Commands held	SG 3, SG 2 5. Luftwaffen-Division
Battles/wars	World War II Poland Campaign Battle of France Battle of Norway Battle of Britain Battle of Malta Battle of Tali-Ihantala Tartu Offensive
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Kurt Kuhlmey (1913 – 1993) was a German officer candidate of the Reichswehr as well as officer of the Wehrmacht as Stuka pilot (Sturzkampfflieger) of the Luftwaffe with over 500 missions (Feindflüge) and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. After his time as an US-American POW, he became a Generalmajor of the Deutsche Luftwaffe of the new Bundeswehr.

Life

Kurt Kuhlmey was born and brought up in Insterburg, East Prussia.

Kurt Kuhlmey was one of the most famous Stuka pilots of World War II. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in July 1942. Kuhlmey began his pilot career at the age of 15, when he began flying gliders [presumably as a member of the Hitler Youth]. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1934 [still secret and a part of the Reichswehr], where he was trained as a combat pilot. He was transferred in 1936 to the 162th dive bomber division in Schwer, where he began flying Stukas. He participated in the campaigns in Poland, Norway, France, Great Britain (Unternehmen Adlerangriff), Malta (including the 10 January 1941 attack on Illustrious), Soviet Union, and Finland, where he and his division arrived on 12 June 1944. Detachment Kuhlmey's actions in Finland was of great importance for the outcome of the Continuation War. The unit played an instrumental role in the halting of the Soviet fourth strategic offensive at the battles at Tali and Ihantala. The unit's merits were not recognized for a long time in Finland, due to the difficult position Finland was in during and after the war. At the end of the war he held the rank of Oberst.

Detachment Kuhlmey's actions in Finland during 16 June and 21 July 1944 was hugely influential in the final outcome of the offensive and of the Continuation War. Together Finnish Air Force units and Detachment Kuhlmey made 1,020 bombing sorties against the Soviet troops and armour. The Soviets lost some 300 tanks, 120-280 aircraft and over 20,000 troops. As a result, the Soviet advance stalled, and ensuing peace talks led to a cease-fire between the Soviet Union and Finland on 4 September. Leaving SG 3 in December 1944, by March 1945 Oberst Kuhlmey was Geschwaderkommodore of SG 2 “Immelmann”, and in the last weeks of the war was on the staff of the General der Schlachtflieger.

After being released from American captivity in July 1945, he rejoined the military in November 1955, as a Colonel. Attending courses at Williams and Luke Air Force Base in the USA, he received flying training on the F-104 "Starfighter". On 11 September 1959 he was promoted to Brigadier General and retired a Major General. In 1990, Kuhlmey was honored at the Air Command and Staff College's Gathering of Eagles at Maxwell Air Base, Montgomery, Alabama, USA. This program encourages the study of airpower history by emphasizing the contributions of air and space pioneers.

Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries

KUHLMEY, Kurt. (DOB: 19.11.13 in Insterburg/Ostpreussen). (R, DKG). 04.34 entered the Luftwaffe. 01.07.36 Lt., assigned to a Stuka unit at Schwerin on completion of training. (n.d.) with II./St.G. 162. 01.04.37 Ofhr., II./St.G. 162, promo to Lt.(RDA 01.04.36). (n.d.) in St.G. 168. 01.08.38 promo to Oblt. 09.39 Oblt. and Staka 1./St.G. 1. 01.04.41 promo to Hptm., Staka in I./St.G. 1. 05.11.41 Hptm., awarded DKiG, 1./St.G. 1. 13.01.42 Hptm., appt Kdr. II./St.G. 3 (to 07.42). 15.07.42 Hptm., awarded Ritterkreuz, Kdr. II./St.G. 3. 01.01.43 promo to Maj. 01.04.43 Maj., appt Kommodore St.G. 3 (to 18.10.43). 18.10.43 Maj., appt Kommodore SG 3 (to 15.12.44). 01.05.44 promo to Obstlt. (RDA 01.11.43). 06.44 Obstlt. and Kommodore SG 3, appt Kdr. Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey for operations in South Finland. 01.11.44 promo to Oberst. 12.44 trf to Stab/General der Schlachtflieger. 14.03.45 Oberst, appt acting Kommodore SG 2 (to 20.04.45). 07.45 released from captivity. 11.55 joined the Bundeswehr as an Oberst. 11.09.59 promo to Brigadegeneral. 31.03.71 retired as a Gen.Maj. †30.04.93 in Bonn. Credited with 500 missions, shot down twice.

Death

Generalmajor a. D. Kuhlmey died on 30 April 1993. He was survibed by his wife Christine "Christel", geb. Schumacher and his daughter Anne Teresa with her family.

Awards and decorations

• Pilot Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen)
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th Class
• Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
• Order of the Cross of Liberty (de), 2nd Class (Finland)
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for bomber and Stuka pilots in Gold
• German Cross in Gold on 5 November 1941 as Hauptmann in the 1./Sturzkampfgeschwader 1
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 15 July 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II. Gruppe/Sturzkampfgeschwader 3

Gallery

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Further reading

• Patzwall, Klaus D. / Scherzer, Veit (2001): Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber, Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8
• 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 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2