Karl Rammelt

North Africa

II. Gruppe had been withdrawn from the Eastern Front in early October 1942 and sent to Jesau in East Prussia, present day Yushny, Bagrationovsky District, for conversion to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Conversion training began on 7 October and on 4 November, the unit received the order to convert back to the Bf 109 and to transfer to the Mediterranean theatre. Via various stopovers, II. Gruppe moved to Sidi Ahmed airfield, arriving on 14 November. There, the unit was subordinated to Fliegerführer Tunis (Flying Leader Tunis).^[7] On 27 November, Rammelt claimed his first aerial victory in North Africa. The Gruppe had encountered squadrons of the Royal Air Force (RAF) No. 324 Wing from Souk-el-Arba Airfield. In the encounter, Rammelt claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) southwest of Béja.^[8]

On 4 February 1943, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 97th Bombardment Group sent 18 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers against an airfield west of Gabès. Defending against this attack, Rammelt claimed one of the B-17 bombers shot down, which was not confirmed.^[9] On 17 March, Rammelt was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 4. Staffel of JG 51, succeeding Oberleutnant Georg Seelmann.^[10] On 18 April, II. Gruppe received orders to exchange their newer Bf 109 G-4 and G-6 aircraft with older Bf 109 G-2 trop aircraft of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and retreat from Africa to Bari, Italy.^[11] On 20 March, II. Gruppe engaged in combat with fighters of the USAAF 31st Fighter Group. In this engagement, Rammelt claimed a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter shot down 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of Maknassy.^[12] On 29 March, he claimed another P-40 fighter shot down in an area 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) northeast of Skhira.^[13]

On 7 June, Rammelt was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of JG 51. Rammelt had unofficially led the Gruppe since his predecessor, Hauptmann Hartmann Grasser, had left in April.^[14] In consequence, command of 4. Staffel was given to Oberleutnant Horst Walther.^[10]

Defense of the Reich

On 18 August, II. Gruppe relocated to Neubiberg Airfield near Munich for combat in defense of the Reich mission where they received factory new Bf 109 G-6 aircraft.^[15] On 28 December, Rammelt claimed a Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber of the USAAF Fifteenth Air Force shot down south of Padua.^[16] Hit by the defensive fire, he was then wounded when he bailed out of his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 160717) south of Rovigo.^[17] During his convalescence until March 1944, Rammelt was replaced by Hauptmann Günther Rübell.^[18] On 24 October 1944, Rammelt was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 40 aerial victories claimed.^[19][20] On 23 December, Rammelt was again wounded when he bailed out of his Bf 109 G-14 (Werknummer 780887) in a location 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Esztergom. Due to his injuries sustained, command of II. Gruppe was passed to Oberleutnant Otto Schultz.^[21][22]

Aerial victory claims

According to Obermaier, Rammelt was credited with 46 aerial victories victories claimed in 450 combat missions, among them many ground support missions. This figure includes 20 claims on the Eastern Front and 26 over the Western Allies, including 11 four-engine heavy bombers. Further 12 claims on the Eastern Front and two B-17 bombers on the Western Front were not confirmed.^[1] Aders and Held also list him with 46 aerial victories of which 27 were claimed over the Western Allies.^[26] Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 41 aerial victory claims, plus 16 further unconfirmed claims. Of his 41 confirmed aerial victories, 19 were claimed on the Eastern Front and 22 on the Western Front, including eight heavy bombers.^[27]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 04 Ost 90761". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[28]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[3]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 25 June 1943 as Oberleutnant and pilot^[48]
• German Cross in Gold on 16 January 1944 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51^[49]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 October 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"^{[50][Note 11]}