NSFK flight logbook, begun on 17.1.1937, recorded A and B glider pilot tests as well as C sailplane pilot test and pilot's license for sailplane pilots, with photo, last medical examination dated 31.5.1957, issued in Marburg an der Lahn on 19.8.1938, total of 187 flights recorded of which 106 until 1.7.1944 and then resumed from 28.10.1951; pilot's license for sailplane pilots, issued in Wiesbaden on 16.10.1942, with photo; Luftwaffe pilot's license, issued in Stubendorf on 13.12.1941, with photo, promotions up to Feldwebel recorded; Soldbuch issued on 14.2.1945 by 2.Staffel/I./J.G.26, with photo, additional units: 3./Flg.Ausb.Btl.26 Heiligenhafen, Fl.H.Kdtr.Magdeburg, 6./Fl.Ausb.Rgt.31, Schüko/Flugzeugführerschule A/B 110, 2./Jagdfliegerschule, Jagdfliegerschule 4 Fürth, 1./Erg.-Jagdgruppe Süd, 2./I./J.G. Nr.26, 1./Frontflieger-Sammelgruppe; awards: Schützenschnur Grade 1, Pilot's Badge, Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Bronze, Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Silver, Iron Cross 2nd Class, Iron Cross 1st Class, Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Gold, Spanish Pilot's Badge, Wound Badge in Black, Wound Badge in Silver.
- Award certificate for the Schützenschnur Grade 1 in shooting class II for carbine in shooting year 1939/40, as airman of 3./Flg.Ausb.Btl.26, issued in Heiligenhafen on 25.9.1940.
- Award document for the Pilot's Badge, issued on 3.1.1942.
- Service commitment certificate for 12 years of service, as Gefreiter of 2./Jagdflieger-Vorschule 3, issued in Wien-Schwechat on 27.3.1942.
- Award document for the Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Bronze, as Gefreiter of 2./Jagdgeschwader "Schlageter" Nr. 26, issued on 11.3.1943 by Oberstleutnant Hannes Trautloft - Geschwaderkommodore (Knight's Cross on 27.7.1941).
- Award document for the Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Silver, as Unteroffizier of 2./Jagdgeschwader "Schlageter" Nr. 26, issued on 11.3.1943 by Oberstleutnant Hannes Trautloft.
- Award document for the Iron Cross 2nd Class, issued on 30.8.1943 by Oberst Max-Josef Ibel - Höherer Jagdfliegerführer West (Knight's Cross on 22.8.1940).
- Award document for the Iron Cross 1st Class, issued on 15.11.1943 by Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle - Commander of Luftflotte 3 (Knight's Cross on 17.5.1940).
- Award document for the Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Gold, issued on 29.7.1944 by Oberstleutnant Josef Priller - Geschwaderkommodore (Knight's Cross on 19.10.1940, 28th Oak Leaves on 20.7.1941 and 73rd Swords on 2.7.1944).
- Large format award document for the Spanish Pilot's Badge, issued in Madrid on 16.2.1944, with German translation for combat aircraft pilot.
- Letter to the father announcing the promotion of his son to Feldwebel dated 12.11.1944.
- Award certificate for Wound Badge in Black, as Feldwebel of I./J.G."Schlageter" Nr.26, for his wounding on 3.8.1944, issued on 13.2.1945 by Major Karl Borris - Gruppenkommandeur (Knight's Cross on 25.11.1944).
- Award certificate for Wound Badge in Silver, also for his single wounding on 3.8.1944, issued at Res.-Laz. Marburg on 4.3.1945.
- Award document for the Cross of Merit on ribbon of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, as Oberrechnungsrat in Frankfurt am Main, issued in Bonn on 30.11.1978 by Federal President Walter Scheel.
- 3 flight logbooks with total of 1323 flights, begun on 5.4.1941 and concluded on 3.8.1944, including 114 combat missions, starting as observer in a Fw 44 and later as pilot also of Bü 131, Kl 35, Ar 66, Fw 56, He 46, W 33 and from 26.8.1942 also with Bf 109 B and on 12.12.1942 the 1st combat mission over France, 20.1.1943 low-level attack on London, 23.2. low-level attacks on Ilmensee, free hunt over Russia, escort protection Kursk, downing of a Douglas-Boston, downing Boeing B 17, enemy contact with Spitfires and Hurricane over Belgium, from 8.1.1944 active as flight instructor/fighter instructor, 20.7. air combat with Spitfire over France and low-level attacks.
- Flight logbook in hardcover, begun on 5.4.1941 with 1140 recorded flights until 18.3.1954
- 2 photo albums "War Memories" and brown leather-bound with applied squadron badge "S" for Schlageter.
- 1st album begins with his RAD service 1940, Luftwaffe service from 15.7.1940 with recruit training, instruction, from 1941 flight school with pilot training on various aircraft types, from 1942 in Jagdflieger-Vorschule 9, from 19.11.1942 in frontline deployment in the West and East with 2./I./Jagdgeschwader Nr.26 "Schlageter", Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring and Oberst Adolf Galland during front visit, tail unit of Galland's Me109 with 82 victories, Gruppenkommandeur and Knight's Cross recipient Major Johannes Seifert, camouflaged Fw190.
- 2nd album begins in Russia, target practice, his second victory was a twin-engine Russian long-range reconnaissance aircraft, his black "2" at an airfield in Russia, Swords recipient Priller in his aircraft, funeral of a squadron comrade, a shot-down American Flying Fortress type Boeing-Fortress B17 was made airworthy again and demonstrated to all fighter pilots (with German national insignia), Oak Leaves recipient Viktor Bauer as commander of the Ergänzungsjagdgruppe, swearing-in ceremony of Spanish volunteers "Blue Division" who were deployed as independent unit against Russia, the chaplain of the Spanish unit, the last picture in uniform and on the last page 3 photos of the turbojet fighter Messerschmitt Me262 (mistakenly described as 263) with turbines already removed standing in a grove with American occupation soldiers.
Awards:
- Iron Cross 2nd Class, iron core, with ribbon bar and 2 x ribbon for buttonhole
- Iron Cross 1st Class, iron core, maker 65 on pin, in black presentation case with EK imprint
- Wound Badge in Black, blackened iron, maker: 107, on pin
- Wound Badge in Silver, base metal, maker: 127, on pin
- Pilot's Badge, zinc, maker: BSW, on pin
- Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Gold, base metal, on pin, in blue presentation case "Front Flight Clasp for Fighters gold"
- Spanish Pilot's Badge, base metal, overlays riveted, with special closure, complete with blue case of maker J.Saz, with a miniature from the post-war period
- Schützenschnur Grade 1 for riflemen, gray braided with silver pulls, zinc overlay
- Set of collar patches and shoulder straps as well as breast eagle
- Cuff title "Jagdgeschwader Schlageter" for enlisted ranks, machine-embroidered version, 38.5 cm long
- Federal Cross of Merit with buttonhole decoration, in blue presentation case
- 2 miniature medal bars with 5 awards: Front Flight Clasp for Fighters in Gold and Iron Cross 2nd Class, Iron Cross 1st Class, Wound Badge in Silver, Pilot's Badge

The documents as well as most of the awards are in lightly used condition. A magnificent estate which we were able to acquire directly from the family.

368515

Luftwaffe - Large Estate of a Feldwebel in Jagdgeschwader "Schlageter" Nr.26

This exceptional military estate documents the complete career of a fighter pilot from civilian gliding to front-line service with one of the Luftwaffe's most famous fighter wings. The collection includes flight logbooks, identification documents, award certificates, decorations with original cases, uniform insignia, and two photo albums acquired directly from the family.

The career began on 17 January 1937 with the NSFK flight logbook, documenting successful completion of A and B glider pilot examinations and the C sailplane pilot examination. The glider pilot license issued on 19 August 1938 in Marburg an der Lahn records a total of 187 flights, of which 106 occurred through 1 July 1944. After the war, the pilot resumed flying activities, as evidenced by entries from 28 October 1951 through 18 March 1954.

Military service began on 15 July 1940 and progressed through various training units: 3./Flg.Ausb.Btl.26 Heiligenhafen, Fl.H.Kdtr.Magdeburg, 6./Fl.Ausb.Rgt.31, SchÜko/Flugzeugführerschule A/B 110, 2./Jagdfliegerschule, and Jagdfliegerschule 4 Fürth. The three preserved flight logbooks document 1,323 flights from 5 April 1941 to 3 August 1944, including 114 combat sorties. Training began as an observer in a Fw 44 and later encompassed various types including Bü 131, Kl 35, Ar 66, Fw 56, He 46, and W 33. Training on the Bf 109 commenced on 26 August 1942.

The first combat sortie occurred on 12 December 1942 over France. The flight logbooks record remarkable operations: on 20 January 1943 a low-level attack on London, on 23 February low-level attacks on Ilmensee, free hunt over Russia, escort protection at Kursk, the shooting down of a Douglas Boston and a Boeing B-17, and enemy contact with Spitfires and Hurricanes over Belgium. From 8 January 1944, the pilot served as a flight instructor/fighter instructor while continuing operational flights, including on 20 July 1944 an air combat with a Spitfire over France.

Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” was formed on 1 May 1939 and named after Albert Leo Schlageter, a World War I veteran and Freikorps member executed by French forces in 1923 who became a Nazi martyr. The unit fought in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain and remained the sole fighter unit in France and Belgium from 1941 to 1944 against the RAF and USAAF. The Allies knew the unit as the “Abbeville Boys” for their aggressive tactics. The Geschwader was equipped with Bf 109 E/F/G/K and Fw 190 A/D aircraft and typically fielded 90 to 120 fighter aircraft.

The award certificates bear the signatures of prominent Knight's Cross recipients. Oberstleutnant Hannes Trautloft (Knight's Cross 27 July 1941, 58 aerial victories, later Generalleutnant in the Bundesluftwaffe) awarded the Frontflugspange für Jäger in Bronze and Silver on 11 March 1943. Oberst Max-Josef Ibel (Knight's Cross 22 August 1940), as Höherer Jagdfliegerführer West, awarded the Iron Cross Second Class on 30 August 1943. Generalfeldmarschall Hugo Sperrle (Knight's Cross 17 May 1940), chief of Luftflotte 3 and former commander of the Condor Legion, awarded the Iron Cross First Class on 15 November 1943. Oberstleutnant Josef Priller (Knight's Cross 19 October 1940, Oak Leaves 20 July 1941, Swords 2 July 1944, 101 aerial victories) awarded the Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold on 29 July 1944.

The Frontflugspangen were instituted on 30 January 1941 by Hermann Göring: Bronze after 20 operational sorties, Silver after 60, Gold after 110. The Iron Crosses were awarded for combat merit. The Wound Badges in Black and Silver document the wounding on 3 August 1944. The Black Wound Badge certificate was issued on 13 February 1945 by Major Karl Borris (Knight's Cross 25 November 1944, 41 aerial victories) as Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 26.

The Spanish pilot badge issued in Madrid on 16 February 1944 was awarded by Spanish authorities to German personnel who served with or supported Spanish forces. The badge with its distinctive fastening mechanism was manufactured by J.Saz and is preserved in its original blue presentation case.

The cuff title “Jagdgeschwader Schlageter” was authorized on 8 December 1938 and worn on the right lower sleeve to foster unit esprit de corps. The present example in machine-embroidered execution measuring 38.5 cm in length was for enlisted men and non-commissioned officers.

Promotion to Feldwebel occurred in November 1944, as documented by a letter to the father dated 12 November 1944. After the war, the former pilot pursued a career in civil service as Oberrechnungsrat (senior accounting official) in Frankfurt am Main. On 30 November 1978, Federal President Walter Scheel awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. Under German law of 1957, World War II decorations may be worn only without National Socialist emblems.