Friedrich Beckh
Encyclopedia
Oberstleutnant
Friedrich Beckh (born 17 January 1908 in Nuremberg
– killed in action
21 June 1942 near Charkow on the Eastern front
) was 48 victory-Luftwaffe flying ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He held the position of Geschwaderkommodore
of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51
and Jagdgeschwader 52
.
, he was a career soldier having joined the cavalry in 1926 as part of the-then 100,000 strong German Army. He joined the Luftwaffe
with the rank of Oberleutnant in 1935 and trained to be a fighter pilot but Beckh had no particular aptitude for flying.
By the time World War II broke out he had already occupied several positions on the General Staff and because of his age did not fly any combat sorties. Instead he was lecturing at the Air War Academy. It was during 1940 as Jägerverbindungsoffizier in the Luftgaukommando Wiesbaden
(fighter communications or liaison officer) that he became close friends with Werner Mölders
, the two men served in Jagdgeschwader 134
Horst Wessel. When Mölders became Geschwaderkommodore
of JG 51 on 27 July 1940 he arranged for Beckh to transfer to his Geschwaderstab, as an officer on secondment from the General Staff.
Beckh was nonetheless an enthusiastic fighter pilot. However there was one further factor in Beckh's make-up that would constitute something of a handicap when flying fighters. He was simply unable to see anything in the air. In fact, Beckh's eyesight had deteriorated considerably since he had first joined the Luftwaffe.
During the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa
Beckh had considerable success, mostly in tandem with his Wingman
Leutnant Bernd Gallowitsch
, who at the time was credited with around twenty victories. The two pilots invariably returned from sorties with a victory each. On 21 July 1941 Beckh was appointed Geschwaderkommodore
of JG 51 in succession to Werner Mölders
and on 8 September while JG 51 supported Guderian's
Panzerarmee in the battles around Kiev
, Beckh claimed the Geschwader's 2000th victory. However on 16 September his luck ran out during a fighter sweep in his Bf 109 F-2
and he was hit by flak, taking an incendiary round through the left foot. Two days after being wounded in action he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
for 27 victories, 23 of them in Russia. He had also claimed around twenty aircraft destroyed on the ground. Initially he insisted on leading the Geschwader from the ground but on 3 October he was eventually admitted to a hospital with the foot infected.
Beckh returned to the Geschwader on 21 December 1941 and he achieved approximately twenty further victories before being transferred back to the Reich Air Ministry
on 9 April 1942. He was then appointed Kommodore of JG 52 barely two months later following the death of Major Wilhelm Lessmann.
On 21 June 1942 Beckh was airborne in his Bf 109 F-4 "weiße 4" W.Nr 13362 with his wingman for a low-level sortie of the type he preferred in the area of Izium
-Kupiansk-Waluiki, east of Charkov. East of Waluiki the duo observed a Russian air base teeming with Russian fighters. Beckh threw his aircraft into combat against a large force of LaGG-3s that appeared in the skies. While shooting down at least two Russian fighters, his wingman observed Beckh's F-4 taking a number of flak hits before it too nosed down and appeared to plunge to the ground.
Oberstleutnant
Oberstleutnant is a German Army and Air Force rank equal to Lieutenant Colonel, above Major, and below Oberst.There are two paygrade associated to the rank of Oberstleutnant...
Friedrich Beckh (born 17 January 1908 in Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
– killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
21 June 1942 near Charkow on the Eastern front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
) was 48 victory-Luftwaffe flying ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He held the position of Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore is a Luftwaffe position , originating during World War II, that is the equivalent of a RAF Group Commander or USAF Wing Commander. A Geschwaderkommodore is usually of Oberstleutnant or Oberst rank...
of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51
Jagdgeschwader 51
Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders was a Luftwaffe fighter wing during World War II, named after the fighter ace Werner Mölders in 1942. JG 51's pilots won more Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes than any other Jagdgeschwader, and flew combat from 1939 in all major theatres of war. Flying Bf 109s and then...
and Jagdgeschwader 52
Jagdgeschwader 52
Jagdgeschwader 52 of the Luftwaffe, was the most successful fighter-wing of all time, with a claimed total of more than 10,000 victories over enemy aircraft during World War II. It was the unit of the top three scoring Fighter aces of all time, Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn and Günther Rall...
.
Biography
Born in 1908 in NurembergNuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, he was a career soldier having joined the cavalry in 1926 as part of the-then 100,000 strong German Army. He joined the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
with the rank of Oberleutnant in 1935 and trained to be a fighter pilot but Beckh had no particular aptitude for flying.
By the time World War II broke out he had already occupied several positions on the General Staff and because of his age did not fly any combat sorties. Instead he was lecturing at the Air War Academy. It was during 1940 as Jägerverbindungsoffizier in the Luftgaukommando Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
(fighter communications or liaison officer) that he became close friends with Werner Mölders
Werner Mölders
Werner Mölders was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. Mölders became the first pilot in aviation history to claim 100 aerial victories—that is, 100 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft, and was...
, the two men served in Jagdgeschwader 134
Jagdgeschwader 134
Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe fighter-wing prior to World War II. JG 134 was formed on 4 January 1936 with III. Gruppe in Döberitz. The Geschwader was given the honorific name Horst Wessel on 24 March 1936. II Gruppe was formed on 15 March 1936 in Werl and was followed by the...
Horst Wessel. When Mölders became Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore is a Luftwaffe position , originating during World War II, that is the equivalent of a RAF Group Commander or USAF Wing Commander. A Geschwaderkommodore is usually of Oberstleutnant or Oberst rank...
of JG 51 on 27 July 1940 he arranged for Beckh to transfer to his Geschwaderstab, as an officer on secondment from the General Staff.
Beckh was nonetheless an enthusiastic fighter pilot. However there was one further factor in Beckh's make-up that would constitute something of a handicap when flying fighters. He was simply unable to see anything in the air. In fact, Beckh's eyesight had deteriorated considerably since he had first joined the Luftwaffe.
During the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
Beckh had considerable success, mostly in tandem with his Wingman
Wingman
A wingman is a pilot who supports another in a potentially dangerous flying environment. Wingman was originally a term referring to the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation....
Leutnant Bernd Gallowitsch
Bernd Gallowitsch
Bernd Gallowitsch was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership...
, who at the time was credited with around twenty victories. The two pilots invariably returned from sorties with a victory each. On 21 July 1941 Beckh was appointed Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore
Geschwaderkommodore is a Luftwaffe position , originating during World War II, that is the equivalent of a RAF Group Commander or USAF Wing Commander. A Geschwaderkommodore is usually of Oberstleutnant or Oberst rank...
of JG 51 in succession to Werner Mölders
Werner Mölders
Werner Mölders was a World War II German Luftwaffe pilot and the leading German fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. Mölders became the first pilot in aviation history to claim 100 aerial victories—that is, 100 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft, and was...
and on 8 September while JG 51 supported Guderian's
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare, and was the leading proponent of tanks and mechanization in the Wehrmacht . Germany's panzer forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces...
Panzerarmee in the battles around Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Beckh claimed the Geschwader's 2000th victory. However on 16 September his luck ran out during a fighter sweep in his Bf 109 F-2
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
and he was hit by flak, taking an incendiary round through the left foot. Two days after being wounded in action he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
for 27 victories, 23 of them in Russia. He had also claimed around twenty aircraft destroyed on the ground. Initially he insisted on leading the Geschwader from the ground but on 3 October he was eventually admitted to a hospital with the foot infected.
Beckh returned to the Geschwader on 21 December 1941 and he achieved approximately twenty further victories before being transferred back to the Reich Air Ministry
Reich Air Ministry
thumb|300px|The Ministry of Aviation, December 1938The Ministry of Aviation was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany...
on 9 April 1942. He was then appointed Kommodore of JG 52 barely two months later following the death of Major Wilhelm Lessmann.
On 21 June 1942 Beckh was airborne in his Bf 109 F-4 "weiße 4" W.Nr 13362 with his wingman for a low-level sortie of the type he preferred in the area of Izium
Izium
Izyum , is a city situated on the Donets River in the Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Iziumsky Raion , the city itself is also designated as a separate raion within the oblast, and is located approximately 75 miles southeast of the oblast capital,...
-Kupiansk-Waluiki, east of Charkov. East of Waluiki the duo observed a Russian air base teeming with Russian fighters. Beckh threw his aircraft into combat against a large force of LaGG-3s that appeared in the skies. While shooting down at least two Russian fighters, his wingman observed Beckh's F-4 taking a number of flak hits before it too nosed down and appeared to plunge to the ground.
Awards
- Iron CrossIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
(1939) 2nd and 1st class - Ehrenpokal der LuftwaffeEhrenpokal der LuftwaffeThe Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe was a Luftwaffe award established on February 27, 1940 by Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the Reich Minister of Aviation and Commander in Chief of the Luftwaffe. It was officially known as the Ehrenpokal "für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg", or Honor Goblet "For...
(11 May 1942) - Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossThe Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was a grade of the 1939 version of the 1813 created Iron Cross . The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was the highest award of Germany to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership during World War II...
on 18 September 1941 as MajorMajor (Germany)Major is a rank of the German military which dates back to the Middle Ages.It equates to Major in the British and US Armies, and is rated OF-3 in NATO.During World War II, the SS equivalent was Sturmbannführer....
and GeschwaderkommodoreGeschwaderkommodoreGeschwaderkommodore is a Luftwaffe position , originating during World War II, that is the equivalent of a RAF Group Commander or USAF Wing Commander. A Geschwaderkommodore is usually of Oberstleutnant or Oberst rank...
of JG 51