Female Luftwaffe Pilot?

[Zemper]

The picture in the link below was taken by my Grandfather in April 1945 at an airfield in Austria. He said several Luftwaffe aircraft had flown in to surrender in the time he was there, but this incident was unusual because a woman had flown in to surrender, thus he took the picture.

The aircraft in the background appears to be a Storch, and the jacket the lady is wearing appears to be a late-war Luftwaffe issue jacket. Does anyone recognize the outfit she is wearing? Is it a uniform, if so, what branch? Any thoughts or comments appreciated.

Thanks - Eric Zemper


http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4531/lwfemalewl2.jpg

[Andy F-P]

Eric,
That is a Luftwaffe flying jacket but she looks like a Luftwaffe female helper to me by the way she is dressed. She may have escaped from surrendering to the Soviets. However, by the look on that GIs face, she may now be having second thoughts!
Regards,
Andy

[Larry deZeng]

E.Z. wrote:

The aircraft in the background appears to be a Storch, and the jacket the lady is wearing appears to be a late-war Luftwaffe issue jacket. Does anyone recognize the outfit she is wearing? Is it a uniform, if so, what branch?

Yes, that's almost certainly an Fi 156. He striped skirt appears to be civilian rather than one from a uniform. I don't recall ever seeing any Luftwaffenhelferinnen in anything but skirts and trousers of a solid color. She may have been a wife or a general's personal secretary or similar. The Luftwaffe only had a few female test pilots (Hanna Reitsch and a couple of others) and no female air crew. Many, many women were evacuated by air from Czechoslovakia to the American side between 5 and 12 May 1945.

--Larry

[Gene]

The GI on the left possibly has appropriated some Luftwaffe goggles too; hers?

[Johnny R]

Woman pilot

Notice she still has her purse! Nice picture, Women were fairly active in TR aviation and flying clubs and Hanna Reitsch sparked a lot of interest. I am sure this event was documented somewhere. I agree she appears to be wearing civilian clothes aside from the jacket.

[101combatvet]

During the Russian advance many German soldiers that surrendered to the Americans had their wifes accompany them. Shocking that she left her husband behind... the power of fraternizaton with the American GIs.

Excellent photograph!

The picture in the link below was taken by my Grandfather in April 1945 at an airfield in Austria. He said several Luftwaffe aircraft had flown in to surrender in the time he was there, but this incident was unusual because a woman had flown in to surrender, thus he took the picture.

The aircraft in the background appears to be a Storch, and the jacket the lady is wearing appears to be a late-war Luftwaffe issue jacket. Does anyone recognize the outfit she is wearing? Is it a uniform, if so, what branch? Any thoughts or comments appreciated.

Thanks - Eric Zemper


http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/4531/lwfemalewl2.jpg

[frank savage]

Hi there!
Very nice photo!
I think that she wasn't a pilot too! Maybe she was only bring with an airplane to the captivity, and she have take a flying jacket from some pilot (or crewmember) guy!
The jacket is a 'wired' type, with sintetic lining inside. You can see the connetor plug on the lower side of the sleeve.
I agree with Gene: the goggle on the GI helmet are probably Auer 'mod 295'...

Cheers, Frank

[Peter J.]

"The Luftwaffe only had a few female test pilots (Hanna Reitsch and a couple of others) and no female air crew."

Stukafliegerin Beate Use was awarded the EK 2

cheers
Peter

[Larry deZeng]

"The Luftwaffe only had a few female test pilots (Hanna Reitsch and a couple of others) and no female air crew."
Stukafliegerin Beate Use was awarded the EK 2
cheers
Peter

Cud bee.........but I hope you are not implying that she was assigned as air crew to an active Sturzkampfverband and flew combat missions!

--Larry

[Peter J.]

Larry, I'm not implying anything. It's a statement from an article by Christian v. Tettinek in IMM Sep. 1991, specifically claiming Beate Use flew combat missions.

cheers
Peter

[VtwinVince]

Beate Uhse was a ferry pilot, and don't forget Melitta Graefin von Stauffenberg. I like the captain on the right of the photo, who appears to be wearing Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses.

[Larry deZeng]

Correct: Beate Uhse was a ferry pilot.
Incorrect: Beate Use flew combat missions.

http://news.independent.co.uk/people...ticle35585.ece

She flew some ferrying and passenger/supply-hauling missions in dangerous skies in the last months of the war, but she did not belong to a Stuka (or Schlacht-) unit and fly any Stuka-type combat missions involving the use or ordnance. But what is really, really interesting is her postwar "career". Google her name and see what she is REALLY famous for!

--Larry

[Peter J.]

I don't dispute this. The word used in the article was "Kampfeinsätze", which I obviously read incorrectly. Her post-war activities are no mysteries to me though

cheers
Peter

[Zemper]

Thanks to everyone for all the comments! Although she was obviously not part of a flight crew or fighter group, my Grandfather is quite sure that she was the one who flew the aircraft in to surrender.

He also mentioned that whenever an aircraft flew in to the air base he was at, the G.I.'s would run up to the pilot(s) and take any badges, jackets, etc... anything they could from them as souvineers. When this plane landed, another group of G.I.'s ran up to it to do the same, but when they saw it was a woman, nobody touched her. It was a far better fate than what may have happened had she landed on the Russian side.

Thanks Again - Eric Zemper

[torstenbel]

Correct: Beate Uhse was a ferry pilot.
Incorrect: Beate Use flew combat missions.

http://news.independent.co.uk/people...ticle35585.ece

She flew some ferrying and passenger/supply-hauling missions in dangerous skies in the last months of the war, but she did not belong to a Stuka (or Schlacht-) unit and fly any Stuka-type combat missions involving the use or ordnance. But what is really, really interesting is her postwar "career". Google her name and see what she is REALLY famous for!

--Larry

Hi Larry, I think that every single person in Germany will know Beate Uhse and her shops, but I had no idea that she had been a pilot during the war ... Cheers, Torsten.