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Dietrich Peltz (9 June 1914 – 10 August 2001) was a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' bomber pilot and youngest general of the Wehrmacht. As a pilot he flew approximately 320 combat missions, including roughly 130 as a bomber pilot on the Eastern Front, 90 as a bomber pilot on the Western Front, and 102 as a dive bomber pilot during the Invasion of Poland and Battle of France.〔 Born in Gera, Peltz joined the military service in the Reichswehr, later renamed Wehrmacht, of the Third Reich in 1934. Initially serving in the ''Heer'' (Army), he transferred to the ''Luftwaffe'' (Air Force) in 1935. He flew combat missions over Poland and France as a dive bomber pilot. He then converted to the Junkers Ju 88 bomber and was assigned to ''Kampfgeschwader'' 77 (KG 77—77th Bomber Wing). With this unit he flew further combat missions in the Battle of Britain. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 October 1940. During Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Peltz was instrumental in developing bombing techniques which allowed precision bombing attacks. This achievement earned him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 31 December 1941. He was then posted to a bomber unit leader's school before he was tasked to form a unit, I. ''Gruppe'' (1st group) of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 60 (KG 60—60th Bomber Wing), specialized on the use of precision-guided munition against Allied shipping. In early 1943 Peltz was appointed Inspector of Combat Flight, a role in which he oversaw the strategic development of the German bomber arm. As of August 1943, he was appointed commanding general of the IX. ''Fliegerkorps'' (9th Air Corps) and was tasked with reviving the German bomber offensive as ''Angriffsführer England'' (attack leader England) against Britain and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 23 July 1943 for his leadership. This initiative lead to a night-time strategic bombing campaign against southern England code-named Operation Steinbock, which ended in heavy losses for German bombers in early 1944. Although a bomber expert, he was appointed commanding general of the II. ''Jagdkorps'' (2nd Fighter Corps) and was responsible for the planning of the unsuccessful Operation Bodenplatte, the attack of German fighters on Allied air bases in Belgium and the Netherlands. He was tasked with the entire aerial Defense of the Reich in March 1945 and advocated the idea of "ramming" to halt the air campaign against Germany even at the risk of sustaining high losses. His last service position was commanding general of I. ''Fliegerkorps'' (1st Air Corps). After the war he worked for Krupp and Telefunken and died on 10 August 2001 in Munich. ==Early life and career== Peltz was born on 9 June 1914 in Gera-Reuß, in Thuringia, at the time a Principality of Reuss-Gera. He was the son of a factory director. Aged 18 he had received a pilot license and graduated in 1933 with his ''Abitur'' (diploma) from the Hermann Lietz country boarding school in Spiekeroog.〔Stockert 1996, p. 247.〕 After his graduation Peltz did an internship at Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim in the years 1933–34. He joined the military service of the Reichswehr as an officer candidate with the 1st company of the ''Kraftfahr-Abteilung'' 5 (5th Motor Vehicle Department) in Stuttgart-Cannstatt on 4 April 1934. Here he served as a ''Kradschütze'' (motorcycle infantry) and was promoted to ''Fahnenjunker''-''Unteroffizier'' (cadet-corporal) on 1 December 1934.〔 While attending the ''Kriegsschule'' (war school) of the ''Heer'' (Army) in Munich he was promoted to ''Fähnrich'' (ensign) on 1 June 1935. He was promoted to ''Oberfähnrich'' (senior ensign) on 1 October 1935 and transferred to the Air War School Klotzsche in Dresden. He then received further training at the flight school in Salzwedel which he completed on 31 March 1936. One day later, on 1 April, he was promoted to ''Leutnant'' (second lieutenant) and on 20 April officially transferred to ''Jagdgeschwader'' "Immelmann", named after the World War I fighter pilot Max Immelmann, at Lübeck-Blankensee. During this assignment he was posted to the blind-flying school at Wesendorf-Neuburg an der Donau.〔 ''Jagdgeschwader'' "Immelmann" was renamed to ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 162 (StG 162—162nd Dive Bomber Wing) and equipped with Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber.〔For an explanation of ''Luftwaffe'' unit designations, see Organisation of the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II.〕 In 1937 Peltz was appointed adjutant of the I. ''Gruppe'' (group) which was renamed to I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 168 (StG 168—168th Dive Bomber Wing) on 1 April 1938. Following the ''Anschluss'', the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, this unit was moved to Graz and was referred to as II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 2 (StG 2—2nd Dive Bomber Wing). On 1 March 1939 Peltz was promoted to ''Oberleutnant'' (first lieutenant). Two months later, on 1 May 1939, the ''Gruppe'' was again renamed and was known as I. ''Gruppe'' of ''Sturzkampfgeschwader'' 76 (StG 76—76th Dive Bomber Wing), sometimes referred to as ''Grazer Gruppe''. On this day, Peltz was appointed ''Staffelkapitän'' (squadron leader) of the 1. ''Staffel'' (1st squadron).〔 Peltz lead 1. ''Staffel'' in the Ju 87 dive bombing demonstration at Neuhammer, present-day Świętoszów, Poland, on 15 August 1939. Observing the demonstration were the senior Luftwaffe commanders, including Generals Hugo Sperrle, Bruno Loerzer, and Wolfram von Richthofen. The lower cloud layer, which was believed to be at , was only . During the demonstration, 13 Ju 87 crews crashed to their death as they misjudged the cloud layer and failed to pull up in time. The event became known as the "Neuhammer Stuka Disaster" (''Neuhammer Stuka-Unglück'').〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dietrich Peltz」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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