Werner Mölders

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The way of the future ace

In March 1936 I was called by my commander (Maj. Hans-Hugo Witt, who was present at the tragedy of the "Hindenburg") who ordered to me to fly towards Lippstadt with seven Arados for an exercise, I told him that the weather was really bad he said to me: orders are orders and there flew the seven planes to Lippstadt, even though the flight was anything but beautiful. Upon landing in the city we saw great movement and all the staff with steel helmets, we asked ourselves if we have to go to war (it was indeed the re-occupation of the Rhineland).

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The way of the future ace.

While we were flying over the fields and cities that day, the Führer had spoken and since dawn of March 7, 1936, the German armed forces marched into the demilitarized zone (three battalions of the German Army marched to Aachen, Trier and Saarbrucken). We formed two squadrons and the first flew to Cologne and the second to Düsseldorf. I flew with the squadron to Düsseldorf.

The flight took place on the Rhine and then on the Ruhr. Flying over Düsseldorf I could not believe my eyes, the airfield was covered with people; we landed. But where we can roll? In front of the hangars a man waving a flag signalled to us, we rolled in that direction and the SS-Obergruppenführer Weitzel gave us a warm welcome on behalf of the city of Düsseldorf.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The way of the future ace.

We, the Airmen, were lined on the right of the Honors Parade in the hangar and then the flag of the Lufthansa was removed and replaced for the German war's flag, then all people sang the national anthem.

Later in Düsseldorf I became a fighter pilot and then with that unit I moved to Werl in Westfalen, under command of the pilot decorated with the Pour le Mérite, Theo Osterkamp. In Werl we were instructed in the Fighting School and I was part of the 1. squadron of the school. Other pilots there were Oesau, Lippert, Liesse, Hahn, Bertram.

In 1937 I took command of a squadron in a new fighter wing (Jagdgeschwader) in Wiesbaden. Then in April 1938 came the news that I would go to serve in Spain.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

In Spain I was Oberleutnant Galland's successor as Leader of the 3. Squadron, which was equipped with planes type He-51, whose main task was to support the actions of the National Infantry. On May 24, 1938 I took over command of the 3. Squadron. Yesterday we flew twice to attack the red positions between Castel Franco and Aresberg.

On May 28, 1938 we support the advancement of 4 Division towards Picano. One kette of my squadron bombed and strafed one own column. On May 29, 1938 successfully attacked a farm near Bienatal. At night took place the farewell to Oberleutnant Galland. On May 30, 1938 our goal was again Aresberg pursuing the retreating enemy, notable success, almost 150 killed were reported.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

On May 31, 1938 the squadron attacked by surprise the position of an artillery battery and received 20 mm anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft of Leutnant Losigkeit was hit, leaving behind a trail of smoke. The pilot jumped with his parachute and fell in no man's land. We kept the enemy under attack in the drop zone but could not see the pilot. The next day we returned to the scene but could not locate the Losigkeit parachute. So far we have no news about him.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

Early in the morning on June 2, 1938 our airfield was attacked by bombers Martin and the air raid was repulsed, one of them was shot down by our flak and another five for the warning sections of the 2. Squadron; it was a real Canas for the attackers. At 15:00 hours during the bombardment of enemy positions, the third machine behind me, caught fire and fell down; Leutnant Haupt, Martin tried yet to jump with his parachute, but fell just behind his plane with the parachute half open before the own lines. Came news about Leutnant Losigkeit, after descending by parachute he was taken prisoner.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; just to shed light on something...........

Aircraft He-51 which equipped the 3. / J 88 till mid 1938.

As someone pointed me out, in fact it was a CR. 32 "Chirri". See below a He-51 with the Micky mouse emblem. Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

On June 10, 1938 there were no attacks. Practice bombing and aerial combat. The 2. Squadron attacked a formation of rats and shot two of them. Leutnant Martin (Lutz?) Shot down a Martin bomber and I found completely in order that Martin to specialize in Martin bombers. The anti-aircraft artillery also had its day shooting down two bombers.

On June 12, 1838 there were no actions, then with several officers and two noncommissioned officers I made ​​a trip to the front. Three kilometers short from Puebla we reached the forefront. In late June we received the news that our old He-51 would be replaced by the Bf-109 and the subunit would become a fighter squadron. Since early June already an advance squad under the command of Leutnant Goy worked on it.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

On July 15, 1938 I went into combat with a formation of six Bf-109 and NW of Lifea I came across a group of about 30-40 Curtiss machines (actually Polikarpov I-15) but with the emotion of the moment I shot very early and attacked very fast so that my opponent was able to escape with a stylish twist. Soon joined the 1. and 2. Squadrons and in that swarm is was not possible to achieve any goal. I flew away and went on to play the role of holzauge (wooden eyes), in the jargon of the fighter pilots those planes flying on the left and right ends of the formation and should be alert to the flanks. This worked because shortly after I got my first victory while pursuing two rats that were heading towards the sea, one of them opened up and let that would be my only goal. I attacked my target from above and behind and my four machine guns shot beautifully and with thick columns of smoke the enemy came down. In the same match also managed kills Leutnant Besant and Leutnant Lippert. A very good start for the squadron.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[John Hilly]

This worked because shortly after I got my first victory while pursuing two rats that were heading towards the sea,

Not rats, but Soviet "Ratas", meaning I-16s.

Cheers
Juha-Pekka

[tigre]

Hola Juha ; si "Ratas" in spanish . Thanks. Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

On July 17, 1938 I won the second victory on a flight escorting a formation of bombers and we found two squadrons of Curtiss towards Valencia. I rushed to the attack with my squadron and soon Uffz. Bauer shot down his first Curtiss and the pilot had to be a rookie because he parachuted at the first burst. Shortly after I knocked down the second Curtiss, the plane caught fire and lost the right wing, the rest fell down; the pilot did not jump, should be dead.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

On July 19, 1938 again we escorted our bombers and shortly after returning I detected hostile activity with Martin bombers escorted by three squadrons of "Ratas" on the Italian front. Leutnant Ebbinghaus shot down one on the first passing and in the second, Leutnant Tietze and I got one victory each; it was the birthday of Tietze that day. Obergefr. Hien also shot down his first opponent and was their first engagement.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

July 23, 1938 a full day of glory. Again escort of six bombers. At the end of the flight and to the north I saw the 2. Squadron in combat with Curtiss and "Ratas". There were at least forty. With my squadron I rushed over there with a roar. But now the Curtiss had learned the lesson and performing stunts they went down and disappeared. We were full in action when it appeared the 1. Squadron and made a huge mess to our attack. When the situation was clear, the Messerschmitts were above and the "Ratas" below. The Messerschmitts gathered again but at a great distance for my taste. Suddenly I saw a lone Curtiss, I jumped on the prowl and I got a good distance for a shooting, when suddenly from my oblique and below a "Rata" flew in front of my guns. I pressed the trigger but did not fire any shots. Without getting any success and with tremendous rage I flew back to home.

Six Messerchmitts pilots got victories in that air combat, including from my squadron Leutnant Lippert and Leutnant Boer, but unfortunately they had no evidence and the confirmation was difficult. Boer performed a happy dance moving around the airstrip but unfortunately his plane had crash landed and was unusable because it had impacts on the wings and chassis.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .

[tigre]

Hello to all ; more follows.....................

Werner Mölders tells about his life.

The Condor Legion.

On July 25, 1938 there was a new situation, the enemy launched a general offensive across the Ebro River and gained ground there. The whole of the Condor Legion was engaged in the fight. The Stukas dropped their little eggs. The Messerschmitts flew free hunting missions but no red machine was seen into combat. The Stuka bombers along with Italian and Spanish airplanes, dropped their bombs on the area of penetration, where five divisions, including Moroccan Army Corps, went on the counteroffensive.

Sources: Der Adler. 15 Oct 1940.
Der Adler. 29 Oct 1940.
Mölders und seine Männer . Fritz von Forell.
Der Adler 1939 – Heft 08.

Cheers. Raúl M .