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Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 – 22 November 1941) 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 highly decorated for his achievements. He was instrumental in the development of new fighter tactics that led to the finger-four formation. He died in an air crash in which he was a passenger. Mölders joined the ''Luftwaffe'' in 1934 at the age of 21. In 1938, he volunteered for service in the ''Condor Legion'', which supported General Francisco Franco's Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War, and shot down 15 aircraft.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, p. 34.〕 In World War II, he lost two wingmen in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, but shot down 53 enemy aircraft. With his tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, the ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51), were transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 for the opening of ''Operation Barbarossa''. By the end of 22 June 1941, the first day of ''Barbarossa'', he had added another four victories to his tally and a week later, Mölders surpassed Manfred von Richthofen's 1918 record of 80 victories. By mid-July, he had 100 World War II victories. Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was promoted to ''Oberst'', and appointed Inspector General of Fighters. He was inspecting the ''Luftwaffe'' units in the Crimea when he was ordered to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet, the World War I flying ace. On the flight to Berlin, the Heinkel He 111 in which he was traveling as a passenger encountered a heavy thunderstorm during which one of the aircraft's engines failed. While attempting to land, the Heinkel crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others. The German ''Wehrmacht'' of the Third Reich and the ''Bundeswehr'' of the Federal Republic of Germany both honoured him by naming two fighter wings, a destroyer and barracks after him. However, in 1998, the German Parliament decided that members of the Condor Legion such as Mölders, should "no longer be honoured". Therefore, in 2005, the German Ministry of Defence decided to remove the name "Mölders" from the fighter wing still bearing his name. ==Childhood, education and early career== Mölders was born on 18 March 1913 in Gelsenkirchen, the son of teacher Viktor Mölders and his wife Annemarie, née Riedel. He was the third of four children, with an older sister, Annemarie, an older brother, Hans, and a younger brother, Victor.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, p. 44.〕 After his father, a Reserve ''Leutnant'' in the King's 145th Infantry Regiment, was killed in action on 2 March 1915 in the Argonne Forest in France, his mother moved the family into her parents' house in Brandenburg an der Havel.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, p. 31.〕 In Brandenburg, Mölders found a father figure in Chaplain Erich Klawitter, who instilled firm religious beliefs in him.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, p. 10.〕 From 1919 to 1931, Mölders attended, first, the elementary school and then the Saldria-Gymnasium, or secondary school. At school he discovered his love for water sports, especially rowing. He joined two rowing clubs, first the ''Saldria-Brandenburg'' and later the ''Brandenburger Ruderclub'', and enjoyed success at rowing-regattas. He was also a member of the ''Bund Neudeutschland in der katholischen Jugendbewegung'', a Catholic youth organisation.〔 Mölders graduated from school in early 1931 with the ''Abitur'' (diploma) and expressed a desire to become an officer in the armed forces.〔 Mölders joined the II./2 infantry regiment of the Reichswehr in Allenstein, East Prussia on 1 April 1931, serving as an officer cadet in the infantry. He attained the rank of ''Fahnenjunker''-''Gefreiter'' on 1 October 1931, rising to ''Fahnenjunker''-''Unteroffizier'' on 1 April 1932.〔 After completing his basic military training in October 1932, he transferred to the Military School Dresden. On 1 June 1933, he successfully completed his training in Dresden and was promoted to ensign.〔 He again was transferred, this time to the 1st Prussian Pioneer Battalion (Infantry Regiment 2) at the Pioneer School in Munich. During his training years, Mölders made his first attempt to fulfil his dream of flying and volunteered for pilot training, but was declared unfit for flying. He tried again and was given conditional permission (''bedingt tauglich''—with constraints) to begin flight training.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, p. 11.〕 After his promotion to ''Oberfähnrich'' on 1 February 1934, Mölders began his pilot training at the ''Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule'' (German transport flying school) in Cottbus, lasting from 6 February 1934 to 31 December 1934.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, pp. 11, 32.〕 On 1 March 1934, he was promoted to ''Leutnant'' and assigned to the recently established Luftwaffe. In the early stages of his pilot training, he suffered continually from nausea and vomiting, but he eventually overcame these problems and finished the course at the top of his class. The next phase of his military pilot's training was from 1 January 1935 to 30 June 1935 at the combat flying school in Tutow and the ''Jagdfliegerschule'' (fighter pilot school) at Schleißheim near Munich. He received the newly created Pilot's Badge of the Luftwaffe on 21 May 1935.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, pp. 11, 32, 66.〕 On 1 July 1935, ''Leutnant'' Mölders was posted to ''Fliegergruppe Schwerin'' (I./JG 162 "Immelmann"). On 7 March 1936, during the remilitarisation of the Rhineland, Mölders and his squadron (''Staffel'') flew from Lippstadt across the Ruhr region; his unit was the first to arrive in Düsseldorf. During this period, Mölders met Luise Baldauf, whom he was to marry a few years later, shortly before his death. On 20 April 1936, Adolf Hitler's birthday, numerous promotions were handed out, and Mölders advanced to ''Oberleutnant'', effective as of 1 April 1936. At the same time, he became leader of the fighter training squadron of the 2nd Group of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 134 "Horst Wessel". This group was under the command of ''Major'' Theo Osterkamp, who became another of Mölders' early mentors. Mölders was appointed squadron leader (''Staffelkapitän'') of the 1st squadron of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 334 on 15 March 1937 and served as an instructor in Wiesbaden.〔Obermaier & Held 1996, pp. 11–12, 32.〕 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「Werner Mölders」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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