born March 19, 1912, Westerholt, near Recklinghausen, Ger.
died Feb. 9, 1996, Oberwinter
German fighter ace.
A skillful glider pilot by age 20, he flew hundreds of missions in the Spanish Civil War . In World War II he led a fighter squadron in the Battle of Britain , destroying 100 British planes, and became commander of the Luftwaffe's fighter arm. Blamed by Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring for the collapse of Germany's air defense against Anglo-American bombing raids, he was relieved of his command in 1945. Briefly imprisoned at the war's end, he later became an adviser to the Argentine air force and an aviation consultant in West Germany.