53 Facts About Ernst Udet

Ernst Udet was a German pilot during World War I and a Luftwaffe Colonel-General during World War II.

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, Ernst Udet rose to become a squadron commander under Richthofen, and later under Hermann Goring.

Ernst Udet spent the 1920s and early 1930s as a stunt pilot, international barnstormer, light-aircraft manufacturer, and playboy.

Ernst Udet became involved in the early development of the Luftwaffe, 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 Ernst Udet had risen to the post of Chief of Procurement and Supply for the Luftwaffe.

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 Ernst Udet to choose suicide on 17 November 1941 by shooting himself in the head.

Ernst Udet was born on 26 April 1896, in Frankfurt am Main, German Empire.

Ernst Udet grew up in Munich, and was known from his early childhood for his sunny temperament and fascination with aviation.

Later that month, when the Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club appealed for volunteers with motorcycles, Ernst Udet applied and was accepted.

Ernst Udet's father had given him a motorcycle when he had passed his first year examination, and along with four friends, Ernst Udet was posted to the 26.

When Ernst Udet tried to track down the 26th Division, he was unable to find it and decided to serve in the vehicle depot in Namur.

Ernst Udet tried to return to the fighting, but he was unable to get into either the pilot or aircraft mechanic training the army offered.

Ernst Udet received his civilian pilot's license at the end of April 1915 and was immediately accepted by the Imperial German Air Service.

Later, Ernst Udet was court-martialed for losing an aircraft in an incident the flying corps considered a result of bad judgement.

Ernst Udet was placed under arrest in the guardhouse for seven days.

Ernst Udet survived the encounter, but from then on learned to attack aggressively and began scoring victories, downing his first French opponent on 18 March 1916.

Ernst Udet pulled away, leaving the flaming bomber trailing smoke, only to see the observer fall from the rear seat of the stricken craft.

Ernst Udet claimed five more victories, before transferring to Jasta 37 in June 1917.

The bullet-punctured tires on Ernst Udet's Fokker flipped the plane forward onto its top wings and fuselage.

In January 1917, Ernst Udet was commissioned as a Leutnant der Reserve.

Ernst Udet saw Guynemer and they circled each other, looking for an opening and testing each other's turning abilities.

Once Ernst 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.

Ernst Udet spent many hours coaching new fighter pilots, with an emphasis on marksmanship as being essential for success.

Ernst Udet's success attracted attention for his skill, earning him an invitation to join the "Flying Circus", Jagdgeschwader 1, an elite unit of German fighter aces under the command of Manfred von Richthofen, popularly known as the Red Baron.

Richthofen was killed in April 1918 in France, where Ernst 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.

On 29 June 1918, Ernst 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.

Ernst Udet's harness caught on the rudder and he had to break off the rudder tip to escape.

On 28 September 1918, Ernst 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.

Ernst Udet was invited to start the first International Air Service between Germany and Austria, but after the first flight the Entente Commission confiscated his aircraft.

Ernst Udet married Eleanor "Lo" Zink on 25 February 1920, however the marriage lasted less than three years and they were divorced on 16 February 1923.

The marriage is believed to have ended due to Ernst Udet having had many affairs.

Ernst Udet's talents were numerous: among these were juggling, drawing cartoons, and party entertainment.

One stunt only Ernst Udet performed was successive loops with the last complete after turning off the engine mid air and landing the aircraft in a sideways glide.

Ernst Udet was invited to attend the National Air Races at Cleveland, Ohio.

The first aeroplane that Ernst Udet's company produced was the U2.

Ernst Udet took the second model, the U4, to the Wilbur Cup race in Buenos Aires at the expense of Aero Club Aleman.

Ernst Udet was rescued by the Chief of the Argentinian Railways, a man of Swedish descent named Tornquist, who settled the debt.

In 1924, Ernst Udet left Ernst Udet Flugzeugbau when they decided to build a four-engine aircraft, the U11 Kondor which was larger and not for the general population.

The cameraman was another veteran, Schneeberger, whom Ernst Udet called "Flea," and the guide was Siedentopf, a former East African estate owner.

Ernst 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.

Ernst Udet piloted one of them, which survived the war and is on display in the Polish Aviation Museum.

Ernst Udet became a major proponent of the dive bomber, taking credit for having introduced it to the Luftwaffe.

Ernst 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, Ernst Udet visited Italian North Africa, accompanying Maresciallo dellAria Italo Balbo on a flight, because at the time there were distinct signs of German military and diplomatic co-operation with the Italians.

On 1 February 1939 Ernst Udet became Luftwaffe Generalluftzeugmeister, responsible for all aircraft production, armament and supply.

Ernst Udet informed Goring that the Soviet air force and aviation industry were very strong and technically advanced.

Ernst Udet realized that the upcoming war on the Soviet Union might destroy Germany.

Ernst Udet tried to explain this to Hitler but, torn between truth and loyalty, suffered a psychological breakdown.

Ernst Udet's drinking and psychological condition became a problem, and Goring used Ernst Udet's dependency to manipulate him.

Ernst Udet was losing his freedom of action and was clearly being eclipsed.

On 17 November 1941, Ernst Udet shot himself in the head while he was on the phone with his girlfriend, Inge Bleyle.

Ernst 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.

Ernst Udet was buried next to Manfred von Richthofen in the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin.