Friedrich Beckh

Friedrich Beckh
Born	17 January 1908 Nuremberg
Died	near Charkow
Allegiance	Weimar Republic (to 1933) Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1926–42
Rank	Oberstleutnant im Generalstab
Commands held	JG 51, JG 52
Battles/wars	World War II Battle of Britain Operation Barbarossa
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Friedrich Beckh (17 January 1908 – 21 June 1942) was 48 victory-Luftwaffe flying ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He held the position of Geschwaderkommodore of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 51 and Jagdgeschwader 52.

Early life and career

Beckh was born on 17 January 1908 in Nuremberg. He was a career soldier having joined the cavalry in 1926 as part of the-then 100,000 strong German Army. He joined the Luftwaffe with the rank of Oberleutnant in 1935 and trained to be a fighter pilot but Beckh had no particular aptitude for flying.

World War II

By the time World War II broke out he had already occupied several positions on the General Staff and because of his age did not fly any combat sorties. Instead, he was lecturing at the Air War Academy. It was during 1940 as Jägerverbindungsoffizier in the Luftgaukommando Wiesbaden (fighter communications or liaison officer) that he became close friends with Werner Mölders, the two men served in Jagdgeschwader 134 Horst Wessel. When Mölders became Geschwaderkommodore of JG 51 on 27 July 1940 he arranged for Beckh to transfer to his Geschwaderstab, as an officer on secondment from the General Staff.

Beckh was nonetheless an enthusiastic fighter pilot. However, there was one further factor in Beckh's make-up that would constitute something of a handicap when flying fighters. He was simply unable to see anything in the air. In fact, Beckh's eyesight had deteriorated considerably since he had first joined the Luftwaffe.

During the opening weeks of Operation Barbarossa Beckh had considerable success, mostly in tandem with his Wingman Leutnant Bernd Gallowitsch, who at the time was credited with around twenty victories. The two pilots invariably returned from sorties with a victory each. On 21 July 1941 Beckh was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 51 in succession to Werner Mölders and on 8 September while JG 51 supported Guderian's Panzerarmee in the battles around Kiev, Beckh claimed the Geschwader's 2000th victory. However on 16 September his luck ran out during a fighter sweep in his Bf 109 F-2 and he was hit by flak, taking an incendiary round through the left foot. Two days after being wounded in action he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 27 victories, 23 of them in Russia. He had also claimed around twenty aircraft destroyed on the ground. Initially he insisted on leading the Geschwader from the ground but on 3 October he was eventually admitted to a hospital with the foot infected.

Beckh returned to the Geschwader on 21 December 1941 and he achieved approximately twenty further victories before being transferred back to the Reich Air Ministry on 9 April 1942. He was then appointed Kommodore of JG 52 barely two months later following the death of Major Wilhelm Lessmann.

On 21 June 1942 Beckh was airborne in his Bf 109 F-4 "weiße 4" W.Nr 13362 with his wingman for a low-level sortie of the type he preferred in the area of Izium-Kupiansk-Waluiki, east of Charkov. East of Waluiki the duo observed a Russian air base teeming with Russian fighters. Beckh threw his aircraft into combat against a large force of LaGG-3s that appeared in the skies. While shooting down at least two Russian fighters, his wingman observed Beckh's F-4 taking a number of flak hits before it too nosed down and appeared to plunge to the ground.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (11 May 1942)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 September 1941 as Major and Geschwaderkommodore of JG 51

References

Bibliography

• MacLean, French L. (2007). Luftwaffe Efficiency & Promotion Reports — For the Knight's Cross Winners. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History. ISBN 978-0-7643-2657-8.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders 21 July 1941 – October 1941	Succeeded by Major Günther Lützow
Preceded by Major Wilhelm Lessmann	Commander of Jagdgeschwader 52 3 June 1942 – 21 June 1942	Succeeded by Major Herbert Ihlefeld