Bernhard Woldenga

Bernhard Woldenga (4 December 1901 – 19 January 1999) was a German pilot during World War II. He served in the Luftwaffe, commanding the JG 27 and JG 77 fighter wings. Woldenga was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany.

Bernhard Woldenga
Born	(1901-12-04)4 December 1901
Died	19 January 1999(1999-01-19) (aged 97)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Rank	Oberst
Commands held	I./JG 1, JG 27, JG 77
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Career

Woldenga's career started as a captain in the merchant marine. He started his flight training in 1928 and worked as chief pilot for the FVK Warnemünde. He transferred to the newly emerging Luftwaffe, taking command as Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 131 (JG 131) — later renamed to I./Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1) — on 1 April 1937. With this unit he participated in the invasion of Poland in 1939. He surrender command of the Gruppe on 1 February 1940 and was transferred to the Reichsluftfahrtministerium. He briefly led Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27) on the Channel Front from 11 October to 22 October 1940 before he was made Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77). Under this command, JG 77 participated in the Balkans Campaign and invasion of Crete. JG 77 claimed 50 aerial victories. Woldenga received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He commanded of JG 27 on 21 June 1941 during the invasion of the Soviet Union and claimed 4 aerial victories. He relocated the Geschwaderstab to North Africa in December 1941. He was appointed Fliegerführer Balkan on 10 June 1942. His last service position of the war was commander of the Luftkriegschule 10 in Fürstenwalde near Berlin.[1] He is credited with three aerial victories of which two were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Awards

• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 July 1941 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77[2]

References

1. Obermaier 1989, p. 226.
2. Fellgiebel 2000, p. 451.

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.

Military offices
Preceded by Oberstleutnant Max Ibel	Acting Commander of Jagdgeschwader 27 Afrika October 11, 1940 – October 22, 1940	Succeeded by Major Wolfgang Schellmann
Preceded by Major Wolfgang Schellmann	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 27 Afrika June 21, 1941 – April 10, 1942	Succeeded by Oberstleutnant Eduard Neumann
Preceded by Oberstleutnant Eitel Roediger von Manteuffel	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As December 22, 1940 – June 23, 1941	Succeeded by Major Gotthard Handrick
Preceded by none	Commander of Jagdfliegerführer Rumänien July, 1943 – June, 1944	Succeeded by Hauptmann Wolfgang Falck