Major Wilhelm-Otto Lessmann-JG52

[MauserKar98k]

Achtung Kameraden!

If anyone has some spare time, I would appreciate any help to find out more information about Luftwaffe Major Wilhelm-Otto Lessmann, who I think might be a distant relative of mine.

All I know right now:

Commander of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 143 Schwere from 1 November 1938 to 1 January 1939.
On 20 September 1939, he shot down a Fairley Battle with Stab/JGr. 152 west of Saarbrücken.
Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of ZG143 from 1 January 1939.
Commander of Erprobungsgruppe 210 from 29 (or 20) October 1940 to April of 1941.
Gruppenkommandeure of Ergänzungs-Zerstörergruppe of ZG76 from 4 July (or May) 1941 to 15 September 1941.
On 15 October 1941, he became Kommodore of the most successful fighter wing in history: Jagergeschwader 52. He was commander of JG52 for only 8 months before being killed on the Russian Front on 2 June 1942, apparently by a direct Flak hit.

Any further information about Major Lessmann (especially date and place of birth, number of kills, decorations, or a even a service picture) would be greatly appreciated.

[Larry deZeng]

LESSMANN, Wilhelm-Otto. 15.03.37 appt Staka 1./JG 131. 01.08.38 appt Kdr. I./ZG 143. 01.05.39 Maj., appt Kdr. I./ZG 52 (to 06.40). 1940 Maj., appt Kdr. II./Zerstörerschule 1? (to 1940). 28.08.40 appt Kdr. II./ZG 2 (to 10.40). c.31.10.40 Maj., appt Kdr. Erprobungsgruppe 210 (to 24.04.41). appt Kdr. Erg.Zerst.Gr. (to 15.09.41). 00.41 Maj., appt Kdr. II./Zerstörerschule 2 (to 14.10.41). 11.10.41 Maj., appt Kommodore JG 52 (to 02.06.42). 02.42 appt acting Kommodore JG 77 (to 04.42). 02.06.42 Kommodore JG 52 KIA – shot down vicinity of Brigadirovka. Credited with c.20 victories prior to his death.


Brigadirovka/9.6 km NE of Izyum
Brigadirovka/40.2 km NNW of Izyum
Brigadirovka/37.4 km NNE of Poltava

Someone will need to pull his Karteikarten and Personalakten at BA-MA Freiburg for the missing information, such as his DOB/POB and where he took his flight and fighter training.

The author of the book on Erprobungsgruppe 210, (Vasco, John J. Bombsights Over England: The History of Erprobungsgruppe 210 Luftwaffe Fighter- Bomber Unit in the Battle of Britain (Norwich (Norfolk), 1990), visits the 12 O'Clock High Luftwaffe discussion site daily and he may have a file on Lessmann with more information.

http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/

[Seiler]

Larry,
Do you have contact addresses,e-mail etc for the Freiburg Archiv pls.?
Seiler

[Larry deZeng]

Here is a good place to start:

Using the Wehrmacht personnel cards and records in the reading or researcher’s room at BA-MA Freiburg:
As of November 2007 this was still not permitted. But to be sure, you made e-mail the person in charge of the reading room.

Ask her if she can help you obtain copies of his records or give you the e-mail address of someone who can. Be sure and tell her that you are a relative. Whatever you do, do NOT even mention the word C O L L E C T O R!! That would absolutely guarantee that you would receive NO help or cooperation from BA-MA. To the Bundesarchiv, TR collectors are Nazi fascist hero-worshipers and they have written articles about this subject and published them in German language professional journals.

[Seiler]

Thank you Larry.I will be discrete I have done research in Berlin on SS/NSDAP
Boy that is tough.Will let you know how things go
Seiler

[Larry deZeng]

Best wishes and good luck! Let me know if you find out the details we don't know yet, i.e., POB/DOB, training, etc.

Larry

[MauserKar98k]

Best wishes and good luck! Let me know if you find out the details we don't know yet, i.e., POB/DOB, training, etc.

Larry

Thank you very much for your quick and helpful reply. The additional information is a big help. Lessmann seems like the forgotten Kommodore of JG52 since he was overshadowed by the 4 Ritterkreutztragers that eventally took his place after he was killed in action. It looks like I have some more work to do. I'll be sure to post what I find.

[MauserKar98k]

UPDATE:
One of the members of the 12 O'Clock High Forum provided me with this picture of Major Lessmann's plane, taken on the same day he was killed in action. His total number of kills when he died was 24.

[Larry deZeng]

MK98k - Thanks for the update!
Let's hope you are able to find more and more information as your contact base widens.

Larry

[typhoon boy]

Lessmann

Hi
thought you might be interested in the following. Galerie d'histoire are selling an item signed by Lessmann. www.huesken.com then search for "Lessmann".

[Larry deZeng]

€ 125,00 for his signature on a recommendation dated 11.1.1941.

[MauserKar98k]

Thanks for pointing that out. So far, I haven't been able to find any more information about Lessmann. Could someone do a search for him on the Volksbund if they get a chance?

[Larry deZeng]

The Volksbund has no listing for Lessmann:

Die Recherche war leider erfolglos. Dies kann folgende Gründe haben:


Die Todes-, Grab- oder Vermisstenmeldung liegt dem Volksbund noch nicht vor. (ca. 800.000 Meldungen zu Kriegstoten/Vermissten aus dem 2. Weltkrieg werden im Laufe der nächsten Jahre dem Volksbund von der Deutschen Dienststelle bzw. dem Suchdienst des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes übermittelt.)

Ihre Suchangaben stimmen nicht mit den Angaben in der Datenbank überein. (z.B. falsches Geburtsdatum, falscher Vorname etc.)

[MauserKar98k]

I guess that makes sense. If he was killed by a direct flak hit; he was probably spread all over the Ukrainian countryside. No grave for the Volksbund to keep track of. Thanks for searching anyway Larry. I'll have to consult the other sources that you mentioned earlier.