Alfred Teumer

Alfred Teumer (11 February 1918 – 4 October 1944) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 76 aerial victories claimed in over 300 combat missions. This figure includes 66 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and further ten claims over the Western Allies.
Born in Neustadt am Rübenberge, Teumer grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. In December 1941, he was posted to "Jagdgeschwader" 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was fighting on the Eastern Front. Flying with this wing, Teumer claimed his first aerial victory on 28 December 1941 during the Siege of Leningrad. Teumer was appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 5. "Staffel" (5th squadron) of JG 54 in April 1943. He then commanded the newly created 10. "Staffel" of JG 54 before he was wounded in combat on 3 September 1943. Following his recovery, he was given command of 2. "Staffel" of JG 54 in December 1943. In April 1944, Teumer was transferred to 7. "Staffel" of JG 54 which was fighting in Defense of the Reich on the Western Front. On 19 August 1944, Teumer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 76 aerial victories claimed. He was then transferred to "Kommando" Nowotny, an experimental unit flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Teumer was killed in a flying accident on 4 October 1944 at Hesepe airfield when his Me 262 suffered engine failure during the landing approach.
Career.
Teumer was posted to 3. "Staffel" (3rd squadron) of "Jagdgeschwader" 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) on 2 December 1941 during the final days of Operation Barbarossa holding the rank of "Leutnant". At the time, 3. "Staffel" was temporarily commanded by "Oberleutnant" Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, who was substituting for "Oberleutnant" Hans Schmoller-Haldy. The "Staffel" was subordinated to "Gruppe" (1st group) of JG 54 headed by "Hauptmann" Erich von Selle and was based at Krasnogvardeysk, present-day Gatchina. The "Gruppe" fought in the northern sector of the Eastern Front in the aerial battles of the Siege of Leningrad.
War against the Soviet Union.
On 28 December 1941, I. "Gruppe" flew combat air patrols along the Volkhov where German ground forces were retreating fighting against the Volkhov Front. During these missions, Teumer claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber. On 5 January 1942, command of I. "Gruppe" was given to "Hauptmann" Franz Eckerle when Selle was transferred. Teumer claimed his second aerial victory on 9 January over a I-26 fighter, an early war German designation for the Yakovlev Yak-1. That day, the "Gruppe" again flew missions in support of the "Heer" (army) along the Volkhov in the combat area southeast of Leningrad near Tosno. Two days later, flying over the same combat area, Teumer was credited with two I-18 fighters shot down, a reference to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter aircraft. The fighting along the Volkhov continued in the second half of January, predominately in the area between Leningrad and Shlisselburg. On 26 January, Teumer claimed his fifth aerial victory when he shot down a Pe-2 bomber. Then on 30 January, Teumer made an emergency landing in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 ("Werknummer" 9685—factory number) at Chudovo, damaging the aircraft to 40%. On 14 February, Eckerle was killed in action and command of I. "Gruppe" went to "Hauptmann" Hans Philipp. In early March, the "Gruppe" supported the German 18th Army which was fighting in the Battle of Lyuban. In these battles, Teumer claimed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter on 5 March. The next day, he was credited with another P-40 fighter and an I-18 fighter shot down.
Teumer was appointed "Staffelkapitän" (squadron leader) of 5. "Staffel" of JG 54 in April 1943. He replaced "Hauptmann" Paul Steindl who was transferred. On 20 June, the creation of a newly formed IV. "Gruppe" (4th group) of JG 54 was ordered. Its first commander was "Hauptmann" Erich Rudorffer. Teumer was tasked with the creation of 10. "Staffel" in July, a squadron of IV. "Gruppe". On 3 September, he was wounded in aerial combat flying a Bf 109 G-6 northwest of Gatchina. He was replaced "Oberleutnant" Robert Weiß as commander of 10. "Staffel". During his convalescence, Teumer was awarded the German Cross in Gold () on 17 October. After his recovery, he took command of 2. "Staffel" of JG 54 from "Oberleutnant" Otto Vinzent in December 1943.
Western Front.
In April 1944, Teumer was transferred to 7. "Staffel" of JG 54. He took command of the "Staffel" from "Oberleutnant" Rudolf Klemm who had been wounded in aerial combat on 9 April. The "Staffel" was subordinated to III. "Gruppe" led by "Major" Werner Schröer. At the time, the "Gruppe" was based at Lüneburg Airfield and subordinated to 2. "Jagd-Division" (2nd Fighter Division) fighting in Defence of the Reich. On 20 April, III. "Gruppe" relocated to Landau an der Isar for conversion training to the Focke Wulf Fw 190. In consequence of this relocation, the "Gruppe" came under the control of 7. "Jagd-Division" (7th Fighter Division). Conversion training was relatively short and the "Gruppe" flew its first mission on the Fw 190 against attacking United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) heavy bombers on 19 May. That day, Teumer was credited with an "Herausschuss" (separation shot)—a severely damaged heavy bomber forced to separate from its combat box which was counted as an aerial victory—over a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber. The "Gruppe" flew further missions on 22, 24, 25, 27, 28 and 29 May. On 24 May, Teumer was credited with shooting down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber followed by another "Herausschuss" over a B-17 bomber on 27 May.
When Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied Western Europe on 6 June, III. "Gruppe" was immediately ordered to relocate to Villacoublay Airfield. That day, the "Gruppe" reached Nancy, arriving in Villacoublay the following day where it was subordinated to II. "Fliegerkorps" (2nd Air Corps). Its primary objective was to fly fighter-bomber missions in support of the German ground forces. The "Gruppe" flew its first missions on 7 June to the combat area east of Caen and the Orne estuary. Teumer claimed his first aerial victory in this combat area on 8 June when he shot down a USAAF North American P-51 Mustang fighter. Two days later, he was shot down in aerial combat near the Orne estuary. He managed to bail out of his Fw 190 A-8 ZY ("Werknummer" 730384) but was wounded in the encounter. In July, the "Gruppe" supported the German forces fighting in the Battle of Saint-Lô and the combat area near Paris predominantly under the control of "Jagdgeschwader" 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing). In these battles, Teumer claimed a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter on 26 July. In early August, combat shifted to Avranches, Mortain and Falaise. On 8 and 9 August, Teumer was credited with two further P-38 fighters shot down, one on each of these dates.
On 16 August, III. "Gruppe" was withdrawn from the front and sent to München Gladbach, present-day Mönchengladbach, for a period of rest and replenishment. There, Teumer was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 19 August 1944 for 76 aerial victories claimed. During this period, Teumer served as acting "Gruppenkommandeur" (group commander) of III. "Gruppe" until 17 September. Teumer, who was childhood friend of Martin Drewes, took command of 2. "Staffel" of "Kommando" Nowotny, flying the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. The unit was named after "Major" Walter Nowotny and was tasked with testing the Me 262 under operational conditions. Teumer, who had received some training on the Me 262 at Rechlin, was killed in a flying accident on 4 October 1944 at Hesepe airfield. His Me 262 A-1a ("Werknummer" 170044) had suffered engine failure during the landing approach.
Summary of career.
Aerial victory claims.
According to Spick, Teumer was credited with 76 aerial victories, 66 of which on the Eastern Front and ten on the Western Front, claimed in over 300 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of "Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims", researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 74 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 67 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and seven over the Western Allies, including three four-engined bombers.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = "Planquadrat"), for example "PQ 00283". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.