29 replies to this topic

[Vitesse2]

There has been discussion of Burgaller's death before, but the thread in which most of it took place is now locked. Thanks to Doug , I've just purchased a copy of "Das Autobuch" by Burggaller and Hans Stuck. A previous owner had taken a few press cuttings and placed them in it, mainly obituaries. One is a piece, annotated "Februar 1940" in ink:

Den heldentod für Führer und Reich starb Ernst Günther Burggaller, Major einer Jagdgruppe. Burggaller, der im 44. Lebensjahr stand, war früher einer der erfolgreichen Motorrad- und Autofahrer, der schon den Weltkrieg beim Jagdgeschwader Richthofen als Offizier mitgemacht hat.

The death in action, for Führer and Reich, is announced of Ernst Günther Burggaller, Major of a Fighter Group. Burggaller, in the 44th year of his life, was formerly one of the most successful motorcycle and motor racers and during the war has been an officer in the Richthofen Fighter Wing.

Some previous discussions:

Originally posted by Leif Snellman
I wonder if any of you could find out what Jagdgruppe Major Ernst Günther Burggaller was leading when he died on 2 Feb 1940. His death was one of the first mysteries Hans and I tried to solve together as his source said he was shot down over England. I found it remarkable that a German fighter should have reached England in February 1940.

Originally posted by Doug Nye
Leif - this is strange. According to the RAF overview for Friday, February 2, 1940, virtually the entire UK was cloaked in snow that day. Road conditions had improved slightly but movement nationally was difficult. More to the point 'No enemy activity has been reported during this period' - i.e. the 24-hours of February 2, 1940, over the home territory of the United Kingdom.

Burgaller would have been old for a fighter pilot, too... Are you certain he was not on bombers, or something else? I seem to remember once seeing a reference to him having been engaged in some kind of media reportage or perhaps filming role with a kriegsberichter - war photographer????? when he died.... Interesting....

Originally posted by Leif Snellman
Hans,
Can you give the source that said that Burggaller was the leader of a Jagdgruppe? The German "Gruppe" was something between a Staffel (Squadron) and Geschwader (Wing).

Originally posted by Hans Etzrodt
AUTOMOBIL-REVUE, Bern, No. 7, p. 3,(February ?, 1940)
"As Major of the Luftwaffe and Commander of a Jagdstaffel, the former German automobile racing driver Ernst Günther Burggaller has found the Fliegertod................"

MOTOR und SPORT, Pössneck, No. 7, p. 4, February 14, 1940
"On February 2, 1940, Ernst Günther Burggaller, Major of the Luftwaffe and and Commander of a Jagdstaffel, suffered the Fliegertod for Führer und Reich. ........... He was put to eternal rest at the Waldfriedhof in Berlin-Dahlem next to his great comrades Bernd Rosemeyer and Ernst von Delius. ............................
"............. and in 1938 returned to the Luftwaffe as lieutenant. In 1939, Burggaller was promoted to Major and Commander of a Jagdgruppe ........."

Originally posted by Vitesse2
"Another German driver, according to news from another neutral source, was not so lucky [as Lang, rumoured at the time to have died from his injuries sustained in Belgrade] and met his death whilst leading a German squadron in an attack on the English coast. This was Ernst Burggaller (spelt "Burccaller" in the dailies, but no doubt the same man)."

Light Car, Feb 24th 1940 p370

So, plenty of evidence that he was a fighter man .... but where and how?

[Vitesse2]

Thanks to a very fast answer from a poster at the Axis History Forum, I now have a place of death for Burggaller.

Immenstadt.

Immenstadt is in the Allgau area of southern Germany, near the Alpensee and close to the Swiss border.

However, a word of warning - there are two Immenstedts in northern Germany, up near the Danish border and close to the Kiel Canal. Just in case ....

[ensign14]

So perhaps a test pilot? Or in a training flight? The story that he crashed off the British coast may be an exaggeration.

[robert dick]

Ernst-Günther Burgaller is quoted as Gruppenkommandeur of the "II. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 51 Mölders" (based at Fürstenfeldbruck near Munich, then from 15 November 1939 at Eutingen) between 26 October 1939 and 2 February 1940 :

http://www.lexikon-d...ader/JG51-R.htm
and
http://www.feldgrau.com/JG51.htm

[Vitesse2]

Found a bit more: Burggaller's squadron was one of a number which were retained for home defence in the event of Polish counter-attacks by air in September 1939:

http://balsi.de/Verl...rlpolen1939.htm

da man in den ersten Kriegstagen mit der Möglichkeit polnischer Luftangriffe auf Berlin, Breslau, Königsberg und andere grenznahe Städte rechnen musste, wurden im Bereich der Luftgaue I, III, IV und VIII 24 Jagdstaffeln als Sicherheit zurückbehalten, die in der sogenannten Heimatluftverteidigung zusammengefasst waren, dazu gehörten:
Stab JG 2 Oberstlt. v. Massow, Einsatzhafen: Döberitz
I./JG 2 Major Viek, Einsatzhafen: Döberitz
I./JG 20 Hauptmann Lützow, Einsatzhafen: Sprottau, Straußberg, Döberitz
10./JG 2 Hauptm. Blumensaat, Einsatzhafen: Fürstenwalde
4./JG 2 Major Burggaller, Einsatzhafen: Döberitz
Stab JG 3 Oberstlt. Ibel, Einsatzhafen: Bernburg
I./JG 3 ?, Einsatzhafen: Brandis
I./JG 76 Hauptmann v. Müller-Rienzburg, Einsatzhafen: Stubendorf
I./JG 77 Hauptmann Janke, Einsatzhafen: Oelz
Jagdfliegerschule 1 Oberst Osterkamp, Einsatzhafen: Werneuchen

[Vitesse2]

Strange: according to the sites Robert pointed out, there was apparently no fourth Staffel in JG2 at that time! OTOH, it might have been a very short-lived unit if he was in JG51 six weeks later.

[Vitesse2]

Well, geographically, Immenstadt would seem to fit. It's only about eighty miles from JG51's base at Eutingen. Both are close not only to Switzerland, but also to France, so I suppose he might have been on a combat patrol over the Maginot Line.

I wonder where the English reference fits in? Shot down by a British plane? Hit by ground fire or AA from the BEF?

I haven't found a unit history for JG51 but I have found what is probably a modelling book on JG2, in English and Polish, published in Poland.

"JG 2 »Richthofen« 1936-1941" by Krzysztof Janowicz. ISBN 83-89088-08-8

[Vitesse2]

Looks like the information above is incomplete. It appears Burggaller joined II./JG51 when they moved to a base called Mannheim-Sandhofen, having spent a month at Speyer:

http://forum.valka.cz/ftopic330.html

Základny:

1.5.39 - 26.8.39 Bad Aibling Bf 109E
26.8.39 - 23.9.39 Eutingen Bf 109E
23.9.39 - 26.10.39 Speyer Bf 109E
26.10.39 - 22.3.40 Mannheim-Sandhofen Bf 109E
22.3.40 - 13.5.40 Krefeld Bf 109E

Sandhofen is a suburb of Mannheim, which is further north than Eutingen, but still quite close to the French border, while Speyer is a town a little to the south of Mannheim, and very near the Hockenheimring.

[Leif Snellman]

Finally! I searched the Net a few years ago but found nothing then. Great stuff! It confirms my suspicions about this "lost over Britain" rumour.

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Strange: according to the sites Robert pointed out, there was apparently no fourth Staffel in JG2 at that time!

Vitesse,
Look again at http://www.feldgrau.com/JG2.htm and you will see that there indeed was a 4th Staffel even before 1943. Staffel 1-3 in 1st Gruppe, Staffel 4-6 in the 2nd Gruppe and Staffel 7-9 in 3rd Gruppe.

[m.tanney]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
The death in action, for Führer and Reich, is announced of Ernst Günther Burggaller, Major of a Fighter Group. Burggaller, in the 44th year of his life, was formerly one of the most successful motorcycle and motor racers and during the war has been an officer in the Richthofen Fighter Wing.

  I suspect that the mention of the Jagdgeschwader Richthofen is in reference not to the Luftwaffe's JG2, but to Burgaller's service in the original Richthofen wing of the First World War. According to Nowarra and Brown's Von Richthofen and the Flying Circus (Harleyford,1968), a Vfw. Burggaller joined Jasta 10 of the Richthofen Jagdgeschwader on Sept. 10, 1917, coming over from Jastaschule 1. He was with the squadron until January, 1918 when he transferred to something called Park 2.

[Vitesse2]

Yes, you're right there, Mike. It was the same Burggaller - in Das Autobuch he tells us that he joined up on August 4th 1914. He was initially with the artillery on the Eastern front, where he was wounded. Then he joined the Fliegerei and after flying training, joined the Jagdgeschwader Richthofen and was promoted out of the ranks to Offizier. He doesn't say what rank, but presumably he was only a Leutnant at best.

But he was, as we have seen, also in the later JG2 Richthofen - presumably his previous service and celebrity gave him a bit of "pull" regarding his posting.

I should have picked up the Weltkrieg reference in the press cutting, I suppose - the press wouldn't have been calling the conflict that in 1940!

[Wolf]

well, one thing puzzles me... could it be that his unit was flying Fw 190s? The reason I ask is that I have a book on Me Bf 109 aces, and not only he doesn't get a mention in there, but is not even included in the list of aces that flew in them. And it strikes me as odd to have 'non-ace' Gruppenkommandeur, in an airforce that had over 3000 aces...

[Vitesse2]

Er, the Luftwaffe didn't have many aces in November 1939, as the only pilots with anything like extensive combat experience had fought in Spain and/or Poland or World War I: Burggaller probably had more flying time and he would certainly have seen more action than most of his squadron.

[David J Jones]

Can confirm the date of cessation at JG51 as 2/2/40

He was GruppenKommandeur of 11 Gruppe

Will look into it more - doubt if there was allied involvement but will keep an open mind

[Vitesse2]

Originally posted by m.tanney


  I suspect that the mention of the Jagdgeschwader Richthofen is in reference not to the Luftwaffe's JG2, but to Burgaller's service in the original Richthofen wing of the First World War. According to Nowarra and Brown's Von Richthofen and the Flying Circus (Harleyford,1968), a Vfw. Burggaller joined Jasta 10 of the Richthofen Jagdgeschwader on Sept. 10, 1917, coming over from Jastaschule 1. He was with the squadron until January, 1918 when he transferred to something called Park 2.

So, going slightly OT, his commander for his first two weeks at Jasta 10 was the great German ace Werner Voss.

http://www.frontflieger.de/2-j10.html

[David Birchall]

While I acknowlege I am completely out of my depth here ( and was impressed with the depth to which your research has gone) I have just gone through my late father's rather good aeronautical book collection and could find no mention of Burggaller in WW11. I especially checked under FW190 and in anything written by Jablonski. Also "Fighter Aces of The Luftwaffe" by Col. R. Toliver and other books. He is mentioned in the book on von Richthofen as noted above in WW1.

[Vitesse2]

I don't think that's surprising, David. Burggaller had rejoined the Luftwaffe in 1938, when he was already 42 years old - presumably the idea was that he could perform some sort of training role: the German pilots in the Battle of Britain were about the same age as the British, so Burggaller was theoretically old enough to be their father! Neither of the squadrons he was involved with seem to have seen much front line service - his JG2 Staffel was tasked with home defence against what turned out to be a non-existent threat from the Polish Air Force, while his time with JG51 was in winter, in the depths of the Phoney War, so probably not a lot of flying, let alone action! I think the winter of 1939/40 was pretty severe.

And as far as Wolf's theory about the FW190 is concerned, I think I just need to point out that production models didn't start reaching squadron service until late 1940 ....

http://www.aviation-...wulf/fw190.html

[number36]

Everything comes to those who patiently wait.

I have just received my copy of Jagdgeschwader 51 Molders by John Weal - Osprey publiications.

At last the full circumstances are now available. II/JG51 was commanded by Major Burgaller and during the phoney war period was based at Eutingen / Friedrichsafen on the shores of Lake Constance.

The unit saw little or no action and only suffered one casualty while there - Major Burggaller being killed as a result of contact with the ground during a low level flight on 2/2/40.

About a week later the unit moved to the southern sector of Germany,s French front.

This publication is the first English history of the fighter unit which mainly fought on the Eastern Front - perhaps explaining how difficult it has proved to obtain full detail on the circumstances of the death of Ernst Burgaller.


David J Jones

[Vitesse2]

Case closed ....

[ReWind]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
Case closed

Hmmm, maybe it's just that I'm less smart than you.;)
Do we now know WHERE he died?
Does David's post imply that he was not killed in action but on a training flight near Eutingen or Friedrichshafen on the German side of Bodensee (= Lake of Constance)?
If the Weal book contains the "full circumstances" there should be more details concerning the location, shouldn't it?

[Vitesse2]

My original source, from the Volksbund website:

Nachname: Burggaller
Vorname: Ernst Günther
Dienstgrad:
Geburtsdatum: 21.03.1896
Geburtsort: Tillendorf
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 02.02.1940
Todesort: Immenstadt

Of course that doesn't tell us exactly where he crashed, but it does show where he died (or at least where his death was registered).

[ReWind]

@Richard: Is "21.03.1896" a typing error?
I have 12 March 1896 as his birth day.

[Vitesse2]

No, it's not a typo.

Source: Burggaller's introduction to "Das Autobuch".

Am 21 März 1896 erblichte ich das Licht dieser ach so düsteren Welt.

[Vitesse2]

Oh, and AFAIK, that was copied direct from the Volksbund records, so presumably that's the birthdate on his Luftwaffe records as well.

[ReWind]

Originally posted by Vitesse2
My original source, from the Volksbund website:

Nachname: Burggaller
Vorname: Ernst Günther
Dienstgrad:
Geburtsdatum: 21.03.1896
Geburtsort: Tillendorf
Todes-/Vermisstendatum: 02.02.1940
Todesort: Immenstadt

Of course that doesn't tell us exactly where he crashed, but it does show where he died (or at least where his death was registered).

Is this Immenstadt, a town appr. 40 km east of Lindau, between Kempten and Oberstdorf, or Immenstaad, a town directly on the northern shores of the Bodensee, just west of Friedrichshafen?

And we will have to tell Leif that Burggaller's birthday on his website is wrong.

[Vitesse2]

Well, geographically, Immenstaad would certainly seem to make more sense ;)

Local press reports would seem unlikely, so I guess the only way to answer this would be his death certificate (or whatever the German equivalent is)? Or maybe it's worth contacting the Immenstaad Heimatmuseum?

EDIT: Found it! On that Czech forum I referenced above.

http://forum.valka.c...7e3ad5cb1815283

II./JG 51
Maj. ? Kramer, ?
Maj. Ernst-Günther Burgaller, KIFA, Immenstaad
Hptm. Günther Matthes, Letecká válečná akademie
Hptm. Josef Fözö, Zraněn, po vyléčení se stal Kdr. I./JG 51
Hptm. Hartmann Grasser, Štáb stíhacího veliteství Paříž
Maj. Karl Rammelt, Zraněn
Hptm. Otto Schultz, Zrušena

[Vitesse2]

Two pictures of an off-duty Major Burggaller:





Source: http://falkeeins.blo...-51-and-jg.html

[ReWind]

What's your problem?



Note: I only copied the address of the image, not the image itself. So it will vanish as soon as the eBay seller removes it.

Edited by ReWind, 08 January 2012 - 20:16.

[Arjan de Roos]

Vitesse, you may have a different Burggaller?

http://fr.wikipedia...._Burggaller.jpg

http://www.ssplprint...car-berlin-1933

http://www.sciencean...s...p=1&itemx=1

[ReWind]

25 seconds, I reckon...