Lange, Heinz Rolf Martin (Oral history)

German officer served as pilot with I Group, 21st Fighter Wing, German Air Force in Poland and during Battle of France, 1939-1940; served with III Group, 54th Fighter Wing, German Air Force during Battle of Britain, Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, 1940-1942; served with III/Jagdgeswader 51, German Air Force in Soviet Union and Poland, 1942-1944; commanded IV/Jagdgeswader 51, German Air Force in Germany, 1944-1945

REEL 1 Background in Cologne, Germany, 1917-1936: family; education. Aspects of period with as officer with German Air Force in Germany, 1936-1939: joining German Air Force, 12/1936; pattern of flying training; preference to become fighter pilot; flying Henschel He 123 and Messerschmitt Bf 109D with IV Group, 132nd Fighter Wing, German Air Force. Recollections of operations as pilot with I Group, 21st Fighter Wing, German Air Force in Poland and during Battle of France, 9/1939-6/1940: operating from East Prussia; accidental firing on fighters by German bombers over Poland; reaction to declaration of Second World War; move to western front, 1939-1940; success against Bristol Blenheim over Ems Valley, Germany; flying Messerschmitt Bf 109D over Belgium; operations over Arras and Dunkirk, France, 5/1940. REEL 2 Continues: escorting bombers during Operation Paula over Paris, France, 3/6/1940; move to Ghent, Belgium. Aspects of operations as pilot with III Group, 54th Fighter Wing, German Air Force during Battle of Britain, 1940: background to posting to unit; conduct of operations; use of long range tanks and their unpopularity; carrying bombs on aircraft and their unpopularity, 10/1940; lack of communication between bombers and fighter pilots; fatigue during battle; opinion of Royal Air Force pilots; unit losses; relaxation in Lille, France; quiet period after battle during winter 1940-1941. REEL 3 Continues: Recollections of operations as pilot with III Group, 54th Fighter Wing, German Air Force in Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, 1941-1942: participation in campaign in Yugoslavia; Yugoslavian attack on airfield at Pécs, Hungary, 4/1941; operations during invasion of Soviet Union, 22/6/1941; problems of shooting down Soviet aircraft; attitude to Germany attacking Soviet Union; character of airfield used near Leningrad, Soviet Union; presence of Soviet workers on airfield; Soviet Air Force pilot who defected to Germans; winter conditions, 1941-1942; cold start method of starting aircraft engines; accident on airfield; encounters with Allied aircraft used by Soviet Air Force. Aspects of operations with III Group, 51st Fighter Wing, German Air Force in Soviet Union and Poland, 1942-1944: transfer to squadron in Central Sector in Orel area, Soviet Union, 10/1942; effect of arrival of modern Soviet fighter aircraft; preference for Focke-Wulf Fw 190 over Messerschmitt Bf 109; hits on his aircraft over Kiev; quiet period in Modlin, Poland, early 1944. REEL 4 Continues: Aspects of operations commanding IV Group, 51st Fighter Wing, German Air Force in Germany, 1944-1945: Soviet Air Force attacks over Danzig, early 1945; problems with cannon shells jamming in Messerschmitt Bf 109; successes against Soviet Air Force; orders to reorganise German Air Force in East Prussia, 4/1945; escape aboard minesweeper from East Prussia, 4/1945; surrender to Royal Canadian Air Force at Flensburg, Germany, 5/1945; participation in voluntary disarmament work under Royal Air Force supervision in Germany, 1945-1946; relations with Royal Air Force personnel after Second World War.