Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

May 31st, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

September 20th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

August 14th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

October 5th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Awarded on:

November 17th, 1942

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Feldwebel (Sergeant)

Awarded on:

January 4th, 1943

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberfeldwebel (Flight Sergeant)

Unit:

2. Staffel, Nahaufklärungsgruppe 12, Luftwaffe

Awarded on:

March 20th, 1944

Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Oberfeldwebel (Flight Sergeant)

Unit:

Flugzeugführer, 2. Staffel, Nahaufklärungsgruppe 12, Luftwaffe

Awarded on:

January 14th, 1945

Pöllath’s Knight’s Cross recommendation reads as follows…

“Oberfeldwebel Pöllath has proven himself to be a consistently outstanding and dutiful pilot over the course of flying 290 sorties. Pöllath has already distinguished himself in Russia, where he flew 156 sorties with either the Hs 126 or the Fw 189. In this time he showed himself to possessed of both excellent tactical judgement and instinct, and because of this he was able to provide valuable support to his observer during the execution of their missions.

However Pöllath has done especially well during missions in the face of strong defenses. His calm and self-confidence have proven to be unwavering when confronted by heavy fire. During the retreat battles in the lower Don and Donez sectors (winter 1942/43) Pöllath’s aircraft was significantly damaged by hits to the motor, tail or undercarriage on 6 separate occasions, however each time he was able to successfully bring it back to base.

In addition to his natural talent for flying, Pöllath has also demonstrated offensive spirit and aggressiveness. These qualities came to particular prominence during all operations in the winter of 1942/43, a period in which poor visibility and cloud bases of 100-200 metres were normal.

The following sorties (flown with either the Hs 126 or Fw 189) are particularly worthy of note:

1.) On the 28.12.1942 Pöllath landed at the airfield in the Millerowo pocket even though the place was under Russian artillery fire.

2.) On the 13.01.1943 Pöllath enabled his observer to acquire a complete overview of the situation within the area east of Kamensk (particularly of hostile armoured forces) despite the fact that one of the engines was knocked out by enemy action. During this sortie the cloud base was just 300 metres, and sometimes only 150 metres.

3.) On the 21.01.1943 Pöllath and his crew were able to obtain a complete overview of the enemy situation in the area from the east of the Kamensk—Millerowo road up to the Kalitwe valley (this included the battle zone in Kamensk). Due to bad weather this sortie was largely flown from an altitude of no more than 150 metres, and the aircraft was under constant harassment from light Flak and MG fire throughout the mission.

4.) On the 27.02.1943 Pöllath was able to completely carry out an important combat reconnaissance sortie for the Heer in the area southeast of Voroshilovgrad. He did this despite his aircraft receiving Flak hits to both the wings and tail assembly.

5.) On the 16.03.1943 one of the engines in Pöllath’s aircraft was set afire, however he was able to fly 15 km over enemy territory at an altitude of just 200 metres (all while under heavy fire from light Flak) before successfully making an emergency landing behind friendly lines.

6.) During numerous artillery missions Pöllath enabled his observer to direct the fire of multiple batteries onto various targets, all while being undeterred by hostile fighters and AA guns. Particularly noteworthy was one such mission carried out on the 21.03.1943 in the area east of Woroschilowsk. On this day they were able to direct effective fire onto enemy field positions (reinforced with heavy weapons) despite the presence of hostile defences consisting of both medium and heavy Flak as well as fighters.

7.) He has destroyed a number of enemy targets during armed reconnaissance missions against vehicle assemblies and columns.

Since being retrained on the Bf 109 Pöllath has continued to demonstrate his excellence over the course of flying 134 sorties (as both a two-plane flyer and leader) in both the Albanian-Croatian area as well as during the defensive combat in Hungary. During operations in the Adriatic area the enemy’s air superiority meant that opposing defenses became more difficult to overcome with each passing day. However Oberfeldwebel Pöllath nonetheless executed his missions with the greatest of diligence and precision, and even in the most difficult of situations he managed to carry out his reconnaissance thanks to no small degree of personal boldness. Pöllath flew 32 long-range reconnaissance sorties in the area along the eastern Italian coastline, of which most were conducted via nap-of-the-earth flight. As these missions involved flying 500+ km over the ocean, they demanded an especially high level of piloting ability.

Pöllath has also successfully carried out several long-range reconnaissance missions against airfields and ports in southern Italy.

However, above all, his most impressive results were delivered during reconnaissance missions against the island of Lissa. Pöllath was able to successfully complete these missions despite coming up against extremely strong defenses by fighters and AA guns.

Pöllath also brought about valuable reconnaissance information for the Heer during operations in the Hungarian area. During these reconnaissance sorties he also executed a number of successful attacks against enemy truck columns and trains.

During the defensive combat in the Hungarian area the following individual sorties are especially worthy of note:

1.) On the 14.09.1944 Pöllath carried out several low-level attacks against columns and trains in the area Arad-Temeschburg-Caransebes. He scored effective hits against several trucks and 2 locomotives.

2.) On the 21.09.1944 Pöllath photographed the Vinerea airfield despite the presence of strong AA defenses, and during the same sortie he shot down a Russian reconnaissance plane (model R-5) east of Caransebes.

3.) On the 06.10.1944 Pöllath managed to photograph the enemy’s forward advance in the Bekescsaba area despite becoming involved in multiple aerial battles with about 25 opposing fighters.

4.) On the 22.11.1944 Pöllath flew an important reconnaissance sortie against the Batina bridgehead. However before the objective was reached the two-plane formation came under attack by enemy fighters, and the formation leader was shot down. However Pöllath nonetheless continued the mission, even though he was temporarily forced back by hostile fighters on two occasions. Undeterred, he managed to overcome the strong fighter/Flak defenses and carry out the mission on his third attempt.

Oberfeldwebel Pöllath appears to be fully worthy of being awarded the Knight’s Cross to the Iron Cross on account of his outstanding feats as both a pilot and a soldier.”

An attachment to Pöllath’s Knight’s Cross recommendation records the following successes achieved after being awarded the German Cross in Gold:

- 1 truck destroyed by on-board weapons.
- 6 trucks effectively shot up.
- 1 locomotive destroyed.
- 3 locomotives effectively shot up.
- 1 R-5 shot down.
- 22 long-range reconnaissance sorties flown off the eastern Italian coastline.
- 54 aerial-photograph sorties flown against heavily defended targets, of which the most prominent were the harbour and airfield at the island fortress of Lissa.