Heinrich Paepcke

Heinrich Paepcke
Born	11 December 1910 Wattenscheid
Died	17 October 1942(1942-10-17) (aged 31) over Malta
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1935–42
Rank	Major (Posthumously)
Unit	KG 30 KG 77
Commands held	III. KG 30 II. KG 77
Battles/wars	World War II Invasion of Norway Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa Siege of Leningrad Siege of Malta †
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Heinrich Paepcke (11 December 1910 – 17 October 1942) was a highly decorated Major in the Luftwaffe during World War II, and one of only 882 recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Heinrich Paepcke was killed on 17 October 1942 over the island of Malta, he was posthumously awarded the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross on 19 December 1942 and was promoted to Major.

Awards and decorations

• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (21 September 1942)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 5 September 1940 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 7./Kampfgeschwader 30
  • 154th Oak Leaves on 19 December 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Kampfgeschwader 30

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9. CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• World War 2 Awards.com
• Lexikon der Wehrmacht