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Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German Reich pilot during World War I and a Luftwaffe Colonel-General ( Generaloberst) during World War II.
Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service in April 1915 at the age of 19, and eventually became a notable flying ace of World War I, scoring 62 confirmed victories. The highest scoring German fighter pilot to survive that war, and the second-highest scoring after Manfred von Richthofen, his commander in the Flying Circus, Udet rose to become a squadron commander under Richthofen, and later under Hermann Göring. Udet spent the 1920s and early 1930s as a stunt pilot, international Barnstorming, light-aircraft manufacturer, and playboy.
On 1 May 1933 Udet joined the Nazi Party. He became involved in the early development of the Luftwaffe (officially founded on 15 May 1933), where he was appointed director of research and development. Influential in the adoption of dive-bombing techniques as well as of the Stuka dive bomber, by 1939 Udet had risen to the post of Chief of Procurement and Supply for the Luftwaffe. The stress of the position and his distaste for administrative duties led to Udet developing alcoholism.
The launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, combined with issues with the Luftwaffe's needs for equipment outstripping Germany's production capacity and increasingly poor relations with the Nazi Party, caused Udet to choose suicide on 17 November 1941 by shooting himself in the head.
Udet tried to return to the fighting, but he was unable to get into either the pilot or aircraft mechanic training the army offered. However, he learned that if he were a trained pilot, he would be immediately accepted into army aviation. Through a family friend, Gustav Otto, owner of the aircraft factory he had hung out around in his youth, Udet received private flight training. This cost him 2,000 (about $400 in 1915 U.S. dollars) and new bathroom equipment from his father's firm. Udet received his civilian pilot's license at the end of April 1915 and was immediately accepted by the Imperial German Air Service.
Later, Udet was court-martialed for losing an aircraft in an incident the flying corps considered a result of bad judgement. Overloaded with fuel and bombs, the aircraft stalled after a sharp bank and plunged to the ground. Miraculously, both Udet and Justinius survived with only minor injuries. Udet was placed under arrest in the guardhouse for seven days. On his way out of the guardhouse, he was asked to fly Lieutenant Hartmann to observe a bombing raid on Belfort. A bomb thrown by hand by the leutnant became stuck in the landing gear, but Udet performed aerobatics and managed to shake it loose. As soon as the Air Staff Officer heard about Udet's performance during the incident, he ordered Udet transferred to the fighter command.
That year, FFA 68 was renamed Kampfeinsitzer Kommando Habsheim before becoming Jagdstaffel 15 on 28 September 1916. Udet claimed five more victories, before transferring to Jasta 37 in June 1917. In the first of his victories on 12 October 1916, Udet forced a French Breguet Aviation to land safely in German territory, then landed nearby to prevent its destruction by its crew. The bullet-punctured tires on Udet's Fokker flipped the plane forward onto its top wings and fuselage. Udet and the French pilot eventually shook hands next to the Frenchman's aircraft. In January 1917, Udet was commissioned as a Leutnant der Reserve (lieutenant of reserves). The same month, Jasta 15 re-equipped with the Albatros D.III, a new fighter with twin synchronized Maschinengewehr 08 machine guns. On 15 August 1917 he shot down his 8th victory-a Sopwith Strutter 1/2 of 43d Squadron RFC.
During his service with Jasta 15, Udet later wrote he had encountered Georges Guynemer, a notable French ace, in single combat at . Guynemer, who preferred to hunt enemy planes alone, by this time was the leading French ace with more than 30 victories. Udet saw Guynemer and they circled each other, looking for an opening and testing each other's turning abilities. They were close enough for Udet to read the " Vieux" of " Vieux Charles" written on Guynemer's Spad S.VII. The opponents tried every aerobatic trick they knew and Guynemer fired a burst through Udet's upper wing, however maneuvered for advantage. Once Udet had Guynemer in his sights, his machine guns jammed and while pretending to dogfight he pounded on them with his fists, desperate to unjam them. Guynemer realized his predicament and instead of taking advantage of it, simply waved a farewell and flew away. Udet wrote of the fight, "For seconds, I forgot that the man across from me was Guynemer, my enemy. It seems as though I were sparring with an older comrade over our own airfield." Udet felt that Guynemer had spared him because he wanted a fair fight, while others have suggested that Guynemer had a gun jam himself, feared that Udet would ram him in desperation, or the French ace was so impressed with Udet's skills that he hoped they might meet again on equal terms.
Eventually, every pilot in Jasta 15 was killed except Udet and his commander, Heinrich Gontermann, who said to Udet: "The bullets fall from the hand of God ... Sooner or later they will hit us." Udet applied for a transfer to Jasta 37, and Gontermann was killed three months later when the upper wing of his new Fokker Dr. 1 tore off as he was flying it for the first time. Gontermann lingered for twenty four hours without awakening and Udet later remarked, "It was a good death." By late November, Udet was a triple ace and Jastaführer, modelling his attacks after those of Guynemer, coming in high out of the sun to pick off the rear aircraft in a squadron before the others knew what was happening. Having witnessed one of these attacks, his commander in Jasta 37 Kurt Grasshoff, on being transferred, selected Udet for command over more senior men. Udet's ascension to command on 7 November 1917, was followed six days later by award of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. Despite his seemingly frivolous nature, drinking late into the night, and womanizing lifestyle, Udet proved an excellent squadron commander. He spent many hours coaching new fighter pilots, with an emphasis on marksmanship as being essential for success.
Richthofen was killed in April 1918 in France, where Udet was not at the front as he had been sent on leave due to a painful ear infection which he avoided having treated as long as he could. Udet said about Richthofen: "He was the least complicated man I ever knew. Entirely Prussian and the greatest of soldiers." before returning to JG 1 against the doctor's advice and remained there to the end of the war, commanding Jasta 4. While at home, Udet had reacquainted himself with his childhood sweetheart, Eleanor "Lo" Zink. Notified that he had received the Pour le Mérite, he had one made up in advance so that he could impress her, and painted her name on the side of his Albatros fighters and Fokker D VII. Also on the tail of his Fokker D VII was the message " Du doch nicht" - "Definitely not you."This account and translation from Stanley M. Ulanoff, the editor of Ace of the Iron Cross, An Ace Book, 1970 - the English translation of Mein Fliegerleben by Udet. Udet does not mention the dare. Udet scored 20 victories in August 1918 alone, mainly against British aircraft and became a national hero with 62 confirmed victories to his credit.
On 29 June 1918, Udet was one of the early fliers to be saved by parachuting from a disabled aircraft, when he jumped after a clash with a French Breguet Aviation. His harness caught on the rudder and he had to break off the rudder tip to escape. His parachute did not open until he was 75 m (250 ft) from the ground, causing him to sprain his ankle on landing. On 28 September 1918, Udet was wounded in the thigh, from which he was still recovering on Armistice Day, 11 November 1918, when the war ended in Germany's defeat.
These efforts were good publicity for Udet. An American, William Pohl of Milwaukee, telephoned him with an offer to back an aircraft manufacturing company. Udet Flugzeugbau was born in a shed in Milbertshofen. Its intent was to build small aircraft that the general public could fly. It soon ran into trouble with the Entente Commission and transferred its operations to a beehive and chicken coop factory.
The first aeroplane that Udet's company produced was the U2. Udet took the second model, the U4, to the Wilbur Cup race in Buenos Aires at the expense of Aero Club Aleman. It was outclassed, and the club wanted him to do cigarette commercials to reimburse them for the expense, but he refused. He was rescued by the Chief of the Argentinian Railways, a man of Swedish descent named Tornquist, who settled the debt.
In 1924, Udet left Udet Flugzeugbau when they decided to build a four-engine aircraft, the U11 Kondor which was larger and not for the general population. He and another friend from the war, Angermund, started an exhibition flying enterprise in Germany, which was also successful, but Udet remarked, "In time this too begins to get tiresome. ... We stand in the present, fighting for a living. It isn't always easy. ... But the thoughts wander back to the times when it was worthwhile to fight for your life."
Udet and another wartime comrade—Suchocky—became pilots to an African filming expedition. The cameraman was another veteran, Schneeberger, whom Udet called "Flea," and the guide was Siedentopf, a former East African estate owner. Udet described one incident in Africa in which lions jumped up to claw at the low-flying aircraft, one of them removing a strip of Suchocky's wing surface. Udet engaged in hunting while in Africa.
[[Image:Udet Board Bar.JPG|thumb|left|Udets's board bar from his [[Siebel Fh 104|Siebel Fh 104 A-0]] on display in the ''Deutsches Technikmuseum'' Berlin.]]
After the trials of the Ju 87, a confidential directive issued on 9 June 1936 by Wolfram von Richthofen called for the cessation of all further Ju 87 development, although the Ju 87 had been awarded top marks and was about to be accepted. However, Udet immediately rejected von Richthofen's instructions and Ju 87 development continued. Udet became a major proponent of the dive bomber, taking credit for having introduced it to the Luftwaffe. On 9 June 1936 he had, through his political connections, been named Chief of the Technical Office, T-Amt, (the development wing of the Reich Ministry of Aviation). Udet had no real interest in this job nor a particular aptitude for it, especially the bureaucracy of it, and the pressure led to him developing an addiction to alcohol, drinking large amounts of brandy and cognac.
In January 1939, Udet visited Italian North Africa ( Africa Settentrionale Italiana, or ASI), accompanying Maresciallo dellAria (Marshal of the Air Force) Italo Balbo on a flight, because at the time there were distinct signs of German military and diplomatic co-operation with the Italians.Kelly, Saul, The Lost Oasis, p. 130 On 1 February 1939 Udet became Luftwaffe Generalluftzeugmeister (Chief of Procurement and Supply), responsible for all aircraft production, armament and supply. This was a massive organization supervising over 26 departments and, again, requiring organizational qualities for which Udet was not best equipped.
When World War II began, his internal conflicts grew more intense as aircraft production requirements were much more than the German industry could supply, given limited access to raw materials such as aluminium. Göring responded to this problem by simply lying about it to Adolf Hitler, and after the Luftwaffes defeat in the Battle of Britain, Göring tried to deflect Hitler's ire by blaming Udet. On 22 June 1941, the launch of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, drove Udet further into despair. In April and May 1941, Udet had led a German delegation inspecting the Soviet aviation industry in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Udet informed Göring that the Soviet air force and aviation industry were very strong and technically advanced. Göring decided not to report this to Hitler, hoping that a surprise attack would quickly destroy the Soviet Union.«Боевые операции люфтваффе», Москва 2008 г., изд. Яуза-пресс, по «Rise and fall of the German Air Force», Лондон 1948 г., пер. П.Смирнов, Udet realized that the upcoming war on the Soviet Union might destroy Germany. He tried to explain this to Hitler but, torn between truth and loyalty, suffered a psychological breakdown. Göring kept Udet under control by giving him drugs at drinking parties and hunting trips. Udet's drinking and psychological condition became a problem, and Göring used Udet's dependency to manipulate him.Who is who in the Third Reich (Кто был кто в Третьем рейхе. Биографический энциклопедический словарь. М., 2003)
On 17 November 1941, Udet shot himself in the head while he was on the phone with his girlfriend, Inge Bleyle. Udet's suicide was concealed from the public, and at his funeral, he was lauded as a hero who had died in flight while he was testing a new weapon. On their way to attend Udet's funeral, the World War II fighter ace Werner Mölders died in a plane crash in Breslau, and the high Luftwaffe executive General der Flieger Helmuth Wilberg died in another plane crash near Dresden. Udet was buried next to Manfred von Richthofen in the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin. Mölders was buried next to Udet.
According to Udet's biography, The Fall of an Eagle, he wrote a suicide note in red pencil that included: "Ingelein, why have you left me?" and "Iron One, you are responsible for my death". "Ingelein" referred to his girlfriend, Inge Bleyle, and "Iron One" to Hermann Göring. The book The Luftwaffe War Diaries similarly states that Udet wrote " Reichsmarschall, why have you deserted me?" in red on the headboard of his bed. Evidence indicates that Udet's unhappy relationship with Göring, Erhard Milch and the Nazi Party in general was the cause of a mental breakdown.
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