Johannes steinhoff biography

Aircraft flown in combat I flew the Messerschmitt from the outbreak of war until Octoberwhen I converted to the Me The Me was an excellent fighter, although during its long period of service it had many ups and downs. As the war drew on, it became increasingly unreliable, mainly due to the shortage of quality materials available. The Me jet fighter was by far the best wartime aircraft I flew.

After the piston- engined machines, it was a revalation. It had a self-starting unit, a small auxiliary power unit in front of the main engines, a nose wheel brake, and a working IFF system. But most remarkable was its armament: With four 30mm cannons the firepower was devastating. Its main drawback was the poor reliability of the power plants.

Following the exchange with Steinhoff at the "Areopag", Galland appointed Steinhoff as its first Geschwaderkommodore.

Johannes steinhoff biography: Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff (15 September –

Steinhoff initially acted as a de facto recruiting officer, persuading a number of veteran Luftwaffe aces to join the unit, some coming out of the Fighter Pilots' Rest Home at Bad Wiessee to do so. Steinhoff scored six confirmed kills with the unit. To defend against this attack, JV 44 prepared six Me fighters, half of them equipped with the R4M unguided air-to-air rockets.

The six Me fighters were grouped in two flights of three aircraft each, referred to as a Kette Vic formation by the Luftwaffe. Galland took off first, with Stigler next followed by Neumann. During acceleration, Steinhoff's left wheel struck debris, causing his Me to break out to left, nearly causing a collision with Krupinski who managed to lift off just in time.

Steinhoff's Me however ran off the runway and exploded in flames. Steinhoff spent two years in hospital, and years of reconstructive surgerywith his eyelids being rebuilt by British surgeon George Henry Morley at the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Hospital Halton after the war, his 69th surgery. He also flew operational sorties. Steinhoff was shot down 12 times but bailed out only once.

Explaining his preference to remain with his damaged aircraft, Steinhoff admitted, "I bailed out only once. I never trusted the parachutes. I always landed my damaged planes, hoping not to get bounced on the way down when I lost power". He then worked in ceramic painting and for a marketing firm in Munich before he became a member of the German delegation working on the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community.

He was among the first three Bundesluftwaffe pilots to receive jet aircraft training. This group also included Dietrich Hrabak and Kurt Kuhlmey. In this capacity he was promoted to Generalmajor major general on 1 February Luftwaffendivision 4th Air Force Division in Aurichserving in this role until 14 April when command was transferred to Generalmajor Herbert Wehnelt.

One of Steinhoff's contributions was dealing with the high accident rate the air force was having with its F Starfighters. Upon researching the issue, Steinhoff, who had always been a good teacher, deduced that the problem was not the aircraft but poor training for pilots on that particular aircraft. He addressed the problem with an intensive training regime and the accident rate dropped dramatically.

Galland was a very energetic man, a strong leader and great fighter, successful, loyal to his men and a most honorable and honest gentleman. Honesty in Berlin was not always fashionable. Tell about the occasions on which you met Hitler—what was your impression of him? He asked those of us present about the war, which we were supposed to be winning, and what we thought about the new territory being incorporated into the Reich in the east.

When he asked me to clarify my statement, I simply told him that since the United States had entered the war, and they, along with Britain, were supplying Russia, and we had no method of attacking their industry beyond the Urals, I did not think we would keep making great gains. They johannes steinhoff biography see that supporting Bolshevism is not to their benefit.

I met with him again outside Stalingrad a few weeks later when he toured the front. I am going to penetrate the River Volga; then after that the rest of Russia will be mine. That was a week after the bomb plot to kill him, and he was not the same man, perhaps more withdrawn and living in a fantasy where the war was concerned. All I wanted was to get my medals and get the hell out of there.

I could not stand him. He was pacing back and forth, mumbling about the weapons we had, how we would show the Allies a thing or two, and so on. It was very depressing to know that our country was in the hands of this madman and the lunatics around him. You know, after the July 20 plot to kill him, we were never allowed in his presence with our sidearms, which was a part of our service uniform.

He trusted no one. Do you feel that Hitler was indifferent to the plight of his people, the soldiers and the johannes steinhoff biography he created for himself? Yes, as you said, the situation he created for himself. He could have cared less about anyone else. But it was our fate to pay for his crimes, and Germany will never live that down. For instance, General Hasso von Manteuffel stated many times that his panzer troops could have gained nothing if not for the Luftwaffe and that, without the industry to produce aircraft and the schools and leaders to train new pilots, the war was lost.

Albert Speer also agreed. What is your opinion? He made all of the grand promises, and he boasted to Hitler that his men could accomplish anything at any time. Unfortunately, he did not consult us before he made these grand overtures. What, if any, changes did you see after the United States entered the war, and what was your opinion about it?

When this happened we were in the middle of the first Russian winter, and we were too busy to think about it. I was just south of Moscow when I heard the news. However, it later penetrated my mind that this was a decisive step. The Americans had tremendous willpower and an unmatched industrial capacity for building big bombers, fighters, ships and so on.

It was more or less the end of the war—only time determined how long we would survive. You transferred to the Western Front after a couple of years in Russia and the Mediterranean. How was fighting in the West then different from your experiences in ? Well, I can tell you, as soon as I took over command of JG. I also realized, as my plane tumbled out of control and I took to my parachute for the first and last time, just how much I had forgotten.

It was different fighting the Soviets as opposed to the combined British and American forces, even though the Soviets outnumbered us even more.

Johannes steinhoff biography: Johannes Steinhoff - Biography.

The Western Allies had improved their already first-rate equipment. I had also forgotten how flexible they were and how they could alter their tactics to fit the situation and orchestrate brilliant attacks. Why did the high command not consult the Kommodores and fighter leadership, who had the knowledge and experience, before implementing these absurd orders and recommendations?

That is a question you historians will continue to ask long after we are all dead. I think that the mentality in Berlin was one of pride and ego. But at that time it was too late anyway. From your wide experience, which aircraft was the most difficult to attack? The B Flying Fortress without a doubt. They flew in defensive boxes, a heavy defensive formation, and with all of their heavy.

We finally adopted the head-on attack pioneered by Egon Mayer and Georg Peter Eder, but only a few experts could do this successfully, and it took nerves of steel. Then you also had the long-range fighter escorts, which made life difficult, until we flew the Me jets armed with four 30mm cannon and 24 R4M rockets. Then we could blast huge holes in even the tightest formation from outside the range of their defensive fire, inflict damage, then come around and finish off the cripples with cannon fire.

This is a good story. I was test-flying an Me with my aide near our base at Foggia. Well, we were attacked at low level by a flight of P Lightnings, about American fighters in all, but the two of us figured, why not attack? We turned into them, and I flew through their formation going in the opposite direction, getting good strikes on a couple of them.

I poured a good burst into this P and the pilot rolled over, and I saw him bail out. I had this on gun camera also.

Johannes steinhoff biography: Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff was a Luftwaffe

Well, he was picked up and made a POW, and I invited him to my tent for a drink and dinner, as well as to spend the night. We drank some of the local wine… and drank and drank. Besides, you got me too drunk. So you subdued your opponent with alcohol? He was a very likable man, and I was very pleased to have the victory, but as I told him, I was even more pleased to see him uninjured and safe.

Of all the Allied johanneses steinhoff biography you encountered, which was the most difficult to handle with a good pilot at the controls? The Lightning. It was fast, low profiled and a fantastic fighter, and a real danger when it was above you. It was only vulnerable if you were behind it, a little below and closing fast, or turning into it, but on the attack it was a tremendous aircraft.

One shot me down from long range in That would be the one, although the P [Mustang] was deadly because of the long range, and it could cover any air base in Europe. This made things difficult, especially later when flying the jets. How did you get stuck as the recruiting officer for JV44? Galland gave me full authorization to scrounge and recruit the best pilots possible.

I went to every bar and recreation hall, even a few hospitals and forward units, until I had about 17 or so volunteers, with more on the way. The list was impressive, and among this group were two or three inexperienced jet pilots, but they showed promise. So the Squadron of Experts was just that? Steinhoff remained with JG 52 until Marchwhen he took over Jagdgeschwader 77 as Geschwaderkommodore, then operating over the Mediterranean.

Only a short time after taking command Steinhoff was shot down by Spitfires and had to crash land his damaged aircraft. He was shot down only once earlier, during the Battle of Britain. He ended the war as a jet pilot, first being posted to Kommando Nowotny in Octoberand then, with the rank of Oberst, as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 7 in December.

Steinhoff was relieved of his command. Steinhoff initially acted as recruiting officer for the unit, persuading a number of the best Luftwaffe pilots around to join the unit. On 18 Aprilafter achieving six kills with the unit, Steinhoff's Me suffered a tyre blow-out, crashing on take-off.