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Winterfeldt, von, Alexander (Alex)

Date of birth:
December 11th, 1898 (Berlin/Brandenburg, Germany)
Date of death:
May 16th, 1942 (Vienna-Schwechat, Austria)
Buried on:
Invalidenfriedhof
Nationality:
German

Biography

Alexander von Winterfeld was killed on 16th May 1942 at Vienna-Schwechat as Kommandeur Jagdflieger-Vorschule 4. He was posthumously promoted to Oberstleutnant der Reserve. Total of 9 aerial victories and 15 ground targets destroyed.

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Period:
Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:
Major der Reserve (Squadron Leader of Reserves)
Unit:
Kommandeur III. / Jagdgeschwader 77
Awarded on:
July 5th, 1941
The following newspaper excerpt (dated 30.07.1941) describes why Winterfeldt received the Knight’s Cross…

“Major Alexander von Winterfeldt was born in Berlin on the 11.12.1898. By now he has flown a total of over 170 combat sorties, and during the fighting in the Southeastern Theatre he could always be found flying at the head of his subordinated Gruppe despite being almost 43 years old himself. In this way he and his pilots were able to achieve outstanding successes during bold bombing and interdiction attacks. He personally succeeded in shooting down 6 enemy aircraft and destroying a further 15 on the ground.”
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

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