Ernst Udet

After Manfred von Richthofen, the second greatest German war pilot ace in World War I was Ernst Udet, surviving the war with 62 victories. He was a very early aviator, as he was taught to fly before joining the army by an understanding and rich father. Udet was a good but reckless pilot, and often brought his machine home in very extreme situations. After his plane crashed frequently, he was given a penalty, seven days in prison.

In August 1917, Udet took over the command of Jasta 37. In April 1918, he was hospitalized because he developed ear problems. After his recovery he came back to his fighter squadron just as Richthofen was shot down. The next day Udet was also shot down when he tried to return to his lines. A few days later, Germany was on the ground and the war ended.

After the war Udet became a test pilot, stunt pilot, racer, entrepreneur and actor. In the 1920s he was increasingly successful in various air events at home and abroad. At one of these events he flew a monoplane under the Isar Bridge in München, and did a loop with the engine off, exploiting the speed obtained by the ball swoop. Udet was a rare combination of a superb flier with natural talent and a superb tactician, which surely helped him survive World War I.

During World War II Udet was installed by Hermann Göring as the General Aircraft Master and Chief of Technical Offices of the German Air Force. During this time he was responsible for the introduction and development of the crash warplane Junkers Ju 87 (abbreviation “Stuka” – which also used a siren invented by Udet). However, his armored concept for the use of hunters, hunter dive bombers (Stuka), and light bombers was only successful in the early phase of World War II. For his failure at the Battle of Britain, for which he was blamed by Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, Udet chose to commit suicide in November 1941 by shooting himself into his head.

Udet was never a major military manager, as he was often portrayed. As a dramatic and literary figure German emigrant Carl Zuckmayer wrote his biography in 1946, The Devil’s General, not least because of the circumstances of his death. His suicide was concealed by the Nazi regime to the people, and instead, he received a state funeral. The official version of the Nazi regime was “Generalluftzeugmeister General Udet suffered such a severe accident on Monday, 17 November 1941, when testing a new weapon, that he died from injuries on the scene …” The death of the author of Mein Fliegerleben (My flying life) (Udet‘s entry to the 1936 Berlin Art Competitions in the category Literature), did not help the book’s popularity. His autobiography was published in 1935 and describes in a glorifying manner Udet’s experiences as a pilot in World War I and later in air displays and making movies on several continents, illustrated by numerous photographs.