Emil Clade

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Emil Josef Clade
Born(1916-02-26)26 February 1916
Hambach,
Mediterranean Theatre
Operation Bodenplatte

Emil Josef Clade (26 February 1916 – May 2010)

Lieutenant General William Gott, the newly appointed Commander of the British 8th Army
.

Early life

Clade was born in Hambach, now part of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in Rheinland-Pfalz. After completing his schooling, he originally trained to become a merchant. However, he became interested in aviation in 1934, and became a glider pilot, participating in the German national civilian aviator's competition.

Military career

Joining the Luftwaffe in April 1937, Clade was initially certified to fly the Junkers Ju 52. However, he quickly moved to become a fighter pilot.

World War II

Clade served with 1./

LeO 451 twin-engine bomber of GB I/12 or GB II/12, also in the Maastricht area. Victories over an RAF Spitfire and Morane MS.406 followed in May and June 1940. Encountering Supermarine Spitfires for the first time over Dunkirk, Clade was impressed saying that the British fighters were almost the Germans' equals. During the Battle of Britain, Clade flew approximately 80 combat missions over Britain.[4]

In March 1941, Clade was made an instructor attached to

Jagdgeschwader 27
into which 1./JG 1 had been merged, and stayed with this fighter unit for essentially all his remaining wartime career.

By now an oberfeldwebel, Clade was assigned to the Mediterranean theatre with 5./JG 27, operating from bases in North Africa alongside legendary "Star of Africa"

Lieutenant General William Gott, the newly appointed Commander of the British 8th Army, to a staff meeting in Cairo. The plane was also carrying a number of wounded British soldiers. Clade's attack forced the transport to crash land and the subsequent strafing run by fellow JG 27 pilot Bernd Schneider killed Gott and most other British troops inside the wreckage on the ground.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

While still flying in Egypt, having been promoted to Leutnant, Clade recorded his 10th air claim on 5 July 1942 when he shot down an RAF Spitfire fighter near El-Daba.[13] With 17 air victories to his credit, Clade was appointed Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 27 on 23 May 1943.

By January 1945, Clade was acting

Douglas Dakota was destroyed.[20] The pilots of JG 27 and 54 claimed 85 victories and 40 damaged. German reconnaissance was able to confirm 49. JG 27 suffered unacceptable losses; 17 Bf 109s, 11 pilots killed, one wounded and three captured. IV./JG 54 lost two killed and one captured. Three Fw 190s were lost and one damaged.[21][22][23][24]

Clade and his fellow Gruppenkommandeur Peter Werfft disbanded the remainder of their unit near Saalbach between 3 May and 8 May 1945 and became prisoners of war.[11] Clade finished the war as with the rank of Hauptmann, and was credited with 27 victories, including two four-engine bombers. Nine claims were made over the Western Front, with the remainder being in North Africa.

Clade was himself shot down six times, including in aerial combat on 5 October 1943 (during a mission resulting in his 18th victory), on 26 November 1944 and on 25 February 1945 (immediately after his 27th and last air kill). He also sustained severe injuries in a Resistance attack on 16 February 1944 when he was serving in France near Avignon.[25]

Postwar career

Clade survived in various minor jobs after his release from a prisoner of war camp. He applied to become a civilian pilot with the newly formed Lufthansa in 1956 but was turned down because he exceeded the age limit by two years. However, he continued as a private aviator, was successful in various German competitions, and helped setting up local aviation associations.[26]

In 1996 he published his memoirs of his service in the war.[25]

He died in 2010, at the age of 94.[1]

Awards

  • German Cross in Gold
  • Iron Cross 1st Class

References

  1. ^ a b "Emil Clade - Pilot Profile - Emil Clade". 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  2. ^ The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille, the Rogue Luftwaffe Ace Who Dominated the WWII Skies, Colin D. Heaton & Anne-Marie Lewis, page 201
  3. ^ The Silent Attack: The Taking of the Bridges at Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Hanne 1940, By Oscar Gonzalez, Thomas Steinke, Ian Tannahill, page 288
  4. ^ Alarmstart: The German Fighter Pilot's Experience in the Second World War, Patrick G. Eriksson
  5. ^ The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille, the Rogue Luftwaffe Ace Who Dominated the WWII Skies, Colin D. Heaton & Anne-Marie Lewis, page 51, 57, 135-136
  6. ^ Fighters over the desert: the air battles in the Western Desert, June 1940 to December 1942, Hans Ring, 1969, pages 78, 242
  7. ^ Squadron Leader Hugh James: Pilot whose plane was shot down carrying ‘Strafer’ Gott, leading to Montgomery’s hour of glory, Independent, 5 April 2015
  8. ^ Strafer Desert General: The Life and Killing of Lieutenant General William Gott, N.S. Nash, pages 111, 211-216, 222
  9. ^ Aces of the Luftwaffe: The Jagdflieger in the Second World War, Peter Jacobs
  10. ^ Monty and Rommel: Parallel Lives, Peter Caddick-Adams
  11. ^ a b Jagdgeschwader 27 ‘Afrika’, John Weal
  12. ^ El Alamein: The Battle that Turned the Tide of the Second World War, Bryn Hammond
  13. ^ The Star of Africa: The Story of Hans Marseille, the Rogue Luftwaffe Ace Who Dominated the WWII Skies, Colin D. Heaton & Anne-Marie Lewis, page 132
  14. ^ The Battle of the Airfields: 1st January 1945, Norman L. R. Franks, 1982, page 125
  15. ^ The Ardennes, 1944-1945, Christer Bergstrom, page 328
  16. ^ "140 Squadron RAF, May 1941 – May 1945" (PDF). J F Seward, J Shaw. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  17. ^ Manrho & Pütz 2004, p. 217.
  18. ^ Weal 2003, p. 117.
  19. ^ Franks 2000, p. 134.
  20. ^ "CL 2934". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  21. ^ Manrho & Pütz 2004, p. 219.
  22. ^ Franks 1994, p. 117.
  23. ^ Bodenplatte: The Luftwaffe's Last Hope, John Manrho and Ron Putz, pages 345-349, 369, 467]
  24. ^ The Cruel Slaughter of Adolf Hitler II, karsten friedrich
  25. ^ a b Clade, Emil. Glück gehabt. Ein deutscher Jagdflieger berichtet. Self-published, ca. 1996. 124 p., in German
  26. ^ "Name". Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.