Wolfgang Lührs
| Wolfgang Lührs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth date | 16 September 1921 |
| Place of birth | Gifhorn, Province of Hanover, German Reich |
| Death date | ⚔ 20 April 1945 (aged 23) |
| Place of death | Offenhausen or Nuremberg, Bavaria, German Reich |
| Resting place | German War Cemetery Bensheim; Grave: 236 |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Luftwaffe
|
| Years of service | 1939–1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | KG 53 "Legion Condor" |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Iron Cross Front Flying Clasp German Cross in Gold Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Wolfgang Lührs (16 September 1921 – 20 April 1945) was a German officer, finally Captain of the Luftwaffe and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in World War II. Bomber pilot Lührs was credited with 401 combat missions (Feindflüge), mainly at the Eastern Front.
Life
Wolfgang Lührs was born in Gifhorn in 1921. He spent most of his youth in Großburgwedel and from 1938 he lived in Burgdorf, where his father worked as an official in the land registry office. His father was also deployed for Germany in Norway during the Second World War. A younger brother of the Knight's Cross recipient was in the anti-aircraft artillery (Flak), while his older brother Friedrich-August (b. 26 May 1920 in Gifhorn), who also served in the Luftwaffe as a Feldwebel, died as a pilot or crew member on 19 May 1944.
Chronology
- Easter 1939: Abitur, then completed his six months mandatory Reich Labour Service (Reichsarbeitsdienst; RAD)
- November 1939: Entered the Luftwaffe as an officer candidate, began training with Flieger-Ausbildungs-Regiment 63 in Eger (Egerland)
- 1940: Trained as a pilot with Flugzeugführerschule (pilot school) FFS A/B 63, then FFS A/B 121, then FFS C 1, BFS 1 (blind flight school), and finally Große Kampffliegerschule 4 (bomber school)
- 15 June 1941: Transferred to the 10th Squadron/III. Group/Kampfgeschwader 53 equipped with Heinkel He 111
- On 18 June 1941, the remainder of the bomber wing, which had large casualties during the Battle of Britain, that was still in France was transferred to Poland and placed under the command of the II. Air Corps. From 22 June the entire wing took part in Operation Barbarossa over the central section of the Eastern Front. In the following period, the wing moved further and further east, following the German army. On 9 July, the entire wing was stationed in Minsk-Dubinskaya and on 4 August, it relocated to Orsha. From 1 October 1941, the wing was then assembled in Shatalovka-East. At the beginning of 1942, the headquarters and the II. and III. groups were based in Shatalovka-East and flew missions in the central sector of the Eastern Front.
- 14 February 1942: Transferred to the 1st Squadron/I. Group/Kampfgeschwader 53
- The I. Group had been in Ansbach for a short-term refreshment and had returned to the Eastern Front in January 1942 to fly supply missions from Riga to Kholm, Demyansk and the Volkhov Pocket. In alternation with the I. Group, the III. Group moved to Ansbach in January 1942 for a refreshment and from there moved to Chartres in France in mid-July to fly missions against England from there until it returned to the Eastern Front in mid-August.
- May 1942: Flew his 100th combat mission
- 15 August 1942: Flew his 200th combat mission
- November 1942 to February 1943: Flew supply missions to the Demyansk pocket
- From autumn 1942, the wing supported the German army in its advance towards Stalingrad. In September 1942, the wing staff and the II. Group moved to Korowje-Selo to intervene in the fighting for Demyansk. After the II. Group had suffered heavy losses by December, it was withdrawn from operations and moved to Greifswald for refreshment. In exchange, the I. Group with Lührs moved to Korowje-Selo. The III. Group was based in Dno in the northern sector of the Eastern Front. At the end of the year, both groups flew combat and supply missions in the Velikije Luki area. In July 1942, a 15th (Croatian) squadron of the Kampfgeschwader 53 was formed in Zagreb from the 10th (Croatian) Squadron/Kampfgeschwader 3. The squadron was equipped with the Dornier Do 17 Z and moved to Korowje-Selo in July and to Seshtschinskaya in August 1942. In September 1942 they were transferred to Korovje-Selo and in December 1942 they returned to Agram (Zagreb).
- 24 November 1943 to September 1944: Commander of the 2nd Squadron/I. Group/KG 53
- June 1944: Took part in the Poltava raid
- In July 1944, the wing was relocated home. This was followed by disruptive attacks on troop concentrations, targets near the front and bridges over the Vistula from Jesau, Heiligenbeil and Insterburg. In August 1944, the squadron was relocated to the Verdun-Sedan area in order to fly supply missions to Normandy from there. In August 1944, the wing again relocated to Germany to be trained to drop V-1 flying bombs from aircrafts. On 20 August 1944, the IV. (supplementary) Group in Szolnok was disbanded. On 9 September 1944, the remnants of the III. Group/Kampfgeschwader 3 were incorporated into the I. Group/Kampfgeschwader 53. From October 1944, the wing flew missions with the V-1 flying bomb against London. The squadrons deployed suffered heavy losses.
- 8 August 1944: Flew his 400th mission
- September 1944: Transferred to fighter training
- December 1944 to February 1945: Transferred to II. Group/Jagdgeschwader 108 for conversion
- It is not known, if he flew any combat missions as a fighter pilot. There was a lack of aircraft and fuel, on 4 February 1945, II. Group/JG 108 was disbanded and the men were assigned to the ground combat groups of the Luftwaffe and Volkssturm.
Death
On 20 April 1945 in Offenhausen (c. 30 km east of Nuremberg) or at the Johannisfriedhof (St. John's Cemetery) direct in Nuremberg (the Americans had invaded the city on 16 April, the last resistance was broken in the night of 21 April), location depending on the source, Captain Lührs' Volkssturm demolition battalion was surrounded by the enemy. Lührs intended to negotiate a non-hostile surrender for his men who were still barricaded in the ruins of the houses. The Americans he had spoken to ordered him to hand over all his decorations, but the proud German officer was not prepared to let his Knight's Cross be looted and denied this.[1] He was literally beaten to death, finalized with gun butts smashing his skull. Then he was completely robbed.
Karl Kunze writes in his 1995 book Kriegsende in Franken und der Kampf um Nürnberg im April 1945 ("End of the war in Franconia and the battle for Nuremberg in April 1945") that three more Luftwaffe soldiers laid dead at the western wall of the cemetery on this dark day. Another source reports that a large part of the ground personnel of the Gerolzhofen airfield were shot without reason in the area of the cemetery wall of the town after being captured by the Americans.
In order to cover up this war crime, Lührs was not buried on site; his body was instead transported to Bensheim in Hesse over 200 km to the west. Numerous other fallen soldiers of various nationalities from the battle areas of Würzburg, Nuremberg, Heilbronn and Ludwigshafen were also buried there by the Americans. In 1956/57, the cemetery was expanded by the German War Graves Commission and expanded by reburials.
Promotions
- 1941 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
- 1 June 1943 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
- 1 December 1944 Hauptmann (Captain)
Awards and decorations
- Pilot's Badge (Flugzeugführerabzeichen)
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class
- Honorary Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg) on 29 June 1942
- Front Flying Clasp for Bombers (Kampfflieger) in Bronze, Silver and Gold
- Pennant to the Golden Front Flying Clasp (star pennant) after 300 combat missions
- Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
- Demyansk Shield (Demjanskschild)
- German Cross in Gold on 20 October 1942
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 October 1944 as 1st Lieutenant and Commander of the 2nd Squadron/I. Group/Kampfgeschwader 53 "Legion Condor"[2]
