Major (LW) Walter Krauß

[StefanK.]

Hello Gents!


Does anybody have information about Major Walter Krauß? He was a observer/ Stuka-Flieger and earned the Ritterkreuz 1940.


Any information (books, papers,..) , pictures or whereabouts of his medals/documents... warmly appreciated.

So far i found something about him in:

"Das waren die deutschen Stuka Asse"
"On the field of honour"
"Landser magazine"

http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_...rchword=krauß

Thanks! Stefan

[Gerdan]

http://www.ritterkreuztraeger.info/r...363Krau%DF.pdf


Gerdan

[StefanK.]

Danke für die Hilfe!

[harmel]

Krauss

1934-Joined the Military,first as an infantryman,then in 1937 joined
the Luftwaffe.
Lt in 1938-was a pilot cum Observer Training with Army Recce flyers,served
in France with the 2.(H)21 and shot down 3 times,becoming the first Recce
Pilot to be awarded the KC.
Was known for his low-diving technique,had about 500 missions,about
190 of them as a Recce pilot.
Regards Harmel

[StefanK.]

Thanks Heinz

[Ed Taylor]

Hauptmann Walter Krauss was killed during the night of July 17, 1943, by Soviet bombs during a surprise raid at Orel-East airfield towards the close of Operation Citadel. He had just arrived from the Karkov area to help block Soviet tank incursions to the north of Orel. He was killed by a fragmentation bomb dropped by a Soviet Polikarpov Po-2.

[Gerdan]

So he is listed in the Volksbund list:

Nachname: Krauss
Vorname: Walter
Dienstgrad: Major
Geburtsdatum: 11.03.1917
Geburtsort: Erlangen
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 17.07.1943
Todes-/Vermisstenort: Flugplatz Orel Ost

Walter Krauss wurde noch nicht auf einen vom Volksbund errichteten Soldatenfriedhof überführt oder konnte im Rahmen unserer Umbettungsarbeiten nicht geborgen werden. Nach den uns vorliegenden Informationen befindet sich sein Grab derzeit noch an folgendem Ort:
Orel - Rußland


Gerdan

[StefanK.]

Danke Gerdan für die Info!



@ Ed: Where do you have the information from?




Many thanks,
Stefan

[Gerdan]

The information I received from the Volksbund Kriegsgräberfürsorge Kassel home page

Gerdan

[Ed Taylor]

Stefan:

The information I have is from a biography that I am writing on Oberst Dr Ernst Kupfer. Kupfer was the Kommodore of St.G.2 and Karuss was Kommandeur of III./St.G.2. There were several other Ritterkreuztraeger from Kupfer's St.G.2 that were lost during the Kursk offensive and the following air battles near Orel. ObLt Egbert Jaeckel was killed the same day as Krauss (July 17). Hpt Bernhard Wutka was killed July 8; ObLt Gunther Schmid on July 14; and ObLt Willi Hoerner on July 21. Both Rudel in his boork Stuka Pilot and Obermaier mention that Krauss was killed in a night bombing raid on Orel-East airfield. Rudel incorrectly says he was killed on Sept 17. I will go back over my notes and find where I got the additional information about Krauss and let you know.

Ed

[Ed Taylor]

I got the information about the Polikarpov Po-2 (U-2) from Bruttings "Das Waren die deutschen Stuka-Asses". Not sure where I found the information on the fragmentation bombs, but I'll keep looking.

Ed

[StefanK.]

Hello Ed!!

Thanks a lot! I own the book you mention but didnt find the info yet. I wish you all the best with your work on Dr. Kupfer and woul be interesting in purchasing a copy when it is finished!

Stefan

[Ed Taylor]

Stefan:

In Brutting's book the reference to the U2 (Polikarpov Po2) bomber and the incident is on p.157 about 2/3 of the way down the page in the 1979 edition.

Thanks for your interest in the Kupfer biography. I have finished about 170 pages and have over 110 photos so far. I still have some key information to obtain. I need to make a visit to the archives at Maxwell Air Force base in Alabama this fall and in the spring I am planning a visit to the Bundesarchiv in Freiburg and the museum of the 17th Bavarian Cavalry Regiment in Bamberg to obtain additional material.

My main focus is an attempt to locate any surviving relatives of his. Both of his parents died shortly after the war and his only brother was reported missing in action at Stalingrad and probably died. He was divorced and had a son Ernstel. His wife remaried a man named Reisinger and moved to Dresden in 1942. Her father had a factory outside Dresden. The neighborhood where she lived in the city was totally destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in 45. I don't know if they survived or not. Anything in the home would have been destroyed. Since Kupfer usually traveled in full uniform I assume that when he died in November 1943 as a passanger in a He-111 returning to Berlin from an inspection tour of Stuka units in Greece that they were all lost. I asssume that some of his medals along with his award documents were either with his parents or his son in Dresden and may also have been destroyed. I have not heard that they survived, but if they did I would love to have photos for the book if they exist.

I don't expect the book will be published before next summer, but will keep you posted.

Ed

[StefanK.]

Very interestig investigations, Ed!

Could you also find some pictures of Krauß? I remeber the picture of Kupfer talking to his group and wing commanders such as Rudel, Krauß and so on. think on the picture you can see 7 soldiers, all decorated with the RK (or higher) and DKiG. From these 7, only Rudel survived...... The picture is published in Brüttings book you already mentioned.


I hope you can find anything more about Kupfer. Maybe you can find Kupfers nephew, Ernst Reisinger.

many greetings,

Stefan

[Ed Taylor]

I wasn't very clear. Ernst Reisinger, or possibly Ernst Kupfer if he kept his father's name, was Ernst's son not his nephew. I don't believe his brother Hans was married or had any children. I located 6 Ernst Kupfer's in the German phone books and wrote to them (in English and German). 3 responded and indicated they were not related to Oberst Kupfer. Not heard from the others.

I have also written to several surviving RK members of St.G.2 but have only heard back from Hans Krohn. If anyone knows any survivors of St.G.2 and their addresses I would like to write to them to get their impressions of Kupfer and any stories they might remember. They don't need to be RK holders.