Biography of Ernst Udet

Ernst Udet was one of the German flying Aces’ of World War I, unlike many of his contemporaries though he survived the fighting on the Western Front.

Udet was born in Frankfurt am Main on the 26th April 1896. There are conflicting stories about his childhood. Some sources say Udet’s father was violent, especially with his son, who was not the tall strong son he waned. Other sources say his father and mother, Paula, were loving parents providing their son with gifts as he wished for them.

His schooldays were nothing special, and academically he showed that he possessed a quick and agile mind. He did though lack the eye for detail and became frustrated with routine and the discipline of school. It was during this time that he first became fascinated with flying. Firstly he and his friends constructed model planes, but they soon found themselves hanging around at the Otto Flying Machine Works. There they got to talk to pilots and observe as planes were constructed. One of the pilots even allowed him to accompany him on a test flight in 1913.

Generaloberst Ernst Udet - Wikimedia

Any dreams that Udet may have had of being a pilot though were temporarily halted with the outbreak of the First World War. On the 2nd August 1914, at just over 18 years of age, Udet attempted to enlist in the German Army. At 5ft 4in tall (160cm) Udet found that he was too short and was turned away by the recruiters.

Still wishing to do his part Udet immediately turned to the role of dispatch writer. The German Automobile Club were asking volunteers to join up, if they could provide their own motorcycles. Udet was in the lucky position of owning a motorcycle, a gift from his parents following a school examination. Udet was immediately posted to the 26th Wrttembergischen Reserve Division, along with several of his friends. Being a messenger was a dangerous role, often requiring Udet to right up to the front line. Udet was in fact injured when his motorcycle hit a shell hole. Whilst recovering in hospital the army decided to end the volunteer system of dispatch riders, and thus once again Udet was without a role to play in the fighting.

Udet attempted to get into the German Air Force, he was will to take any role, from mechanic, to observer, to pilot. He was though turned down as every application. Though he did discover that if he were already a trained pilot he could immediately become a pilot in the Air Force. Udet returned to the Otto Flying Machine Works; there he paid Gustav Otto, 2,000 marks to teach him how to fly. Udet was a natural pilot an in April 1915 he had obtained his civilian pilot’s license.

Joining the German Air Force, Udet met success and dismal failure. Udet became a pilot in an observation unit, flying with an observer to range in artillery attacks. Early on he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class for returning from a sortie despite losing the use of one wing. Success though was quickly followed by failure, when Udet was court-martialled for losing his aircraft through his bad judgement.

Albatros D.Va of Ernst Udet, Jasta 37 - B. Huber - CC-BY-SA-3.0

The punishment was fairly minor though, as Udet was placed in the guardhouse for seven days. Before he could take his punishment though, he was asked to undertake another flight to observe a bombing raid. His observer made a mistake when throwing a bomb from their plane. The bomb became jammed in the landing gear of their aircraft, and to shift it Udet was forced to perform the aerobatics. This action prevented him going to the guardhouse and also saw him transferred to fighter command.

In 1916 Udet found himself stationed at Habsheim, flying Fokker D-IIIs. Initially he found it difficult to kill the enemy pilots, although this soon changed when he himself was wounded when a bullet grazed his cheek. On the 18th March 1916 Udet scored his first kill’ as he dived a French formation of 22 aircraft alone. Several more kills followed.

In the latter part of 1916, Udet transferred to Jasta 15. Jasta was the equivalent of the allied flying squadrons. During his time as Jasta 15, Udet claimed five more kills. He was though also fortunate. He had a duel at 5,000 metres, with the French ace, Georges Guynemar. Guynemar flew away from the dogfight though when he saw that Udet’s guns had jammed and was unable to return fire. Such was the chivalry found in the war in the sky.

Udet was forced to move from Jasta 15 to Jasta 17 in June 1917 when the war took its toil. Udet found that he and his commander were the only two pilots left from the whole of Jasta 15. By November 1917 Udet was famed as a triple ace, with fifteen confirmed kills, and was promoted to Jastafuhrer (Squadron commander) at Jasta 37.

As a triple ace, Udet came to the attention of the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen who invited him to join his Flying Circus’. Udet was given the command of his own Jasta, Jasta 11. Richthofen demanded total loyalty, and Udet was more than willing to give it. A friendship grew between the two, with Udet holding the Baron in total respect. As a member of the Circus, Udet’s victories continued to rise.

Richthofen died in April 1918, whilst Udet was on sick leave, with an infected ear. Leadership of the Flying Circus eventually fell to Herman Gring, a man who would play a role in the future of Germany and Udet. Whilst on leave he fell in love with an old sweetheart, Eleanor “Lo” Zink, from then on he would fly with LO marked on his plane’s fuselage

Despite not having fully recovered from the ear infection, Udet returned to the front line and took command of Jasta 4 in May 1918. The death of his friend and mentor had a profound effect on Udet and in August 1918 alone, Udet claimed a further 20 kills.

The last few months of the war were not without incident though. In June 1918 Udet survived a crash with a French plane. Forced to bail out Udet would become one of the first pilots to use a parachute successfully. Although it came close to failure when the parachute didn’t open until he was only 250 feet above the ground, the resulting impact also caused him to sprain his ankle. Udet was also wounded in September 1918 when a bullet hit him in the thigh.

Udet survived to the end of the First World War, ending up with a confirmed 62 kills. This made him the second highest German ace of the war, behind Manfred von Richthofen, and also the fourth highest overall.

In post-war Germany, there wasn’t much for a war hero to do. Germany had no airforce so Udet joined a travelling show performing stunts for the viewing public. The show travelled all over the world, and Udet even performed in the United States. His lifestyle though soon saw him pigeonholed as a playboy, a regular on the party scene he would entertain other guests with feats of juggling and other party entertainment.

Udet also flew in movies, even appearing with Leni Riefenstahl in SOS Eisberg’, Die weie Hlle vom Piz Pal’, and Strme ber dem Montblanc’. These appearances proved to be good publicity, and Udet was soon invited to start manufacturing aircraft. Udet was interested in building places for the general public, although this was short-lived as the company moved away to more exclusive airplanes.
Udet was known as a playboy with numerous lovers. This was the primary reason that his 1920 marriage to Eleanor “Lo” Zink lasted only three years.

Udet joined the German Nazi party in 1933. This though was not from any political inclination but because his old commander, Gring, bribed him with the purchase of two Curtiss Export Hawk II. These planes had a profound effect on Udet, and the American designed influenced him to become a major pusher for a German dive bomber, which culminated in the Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka) bombers.
Udet became one of the most important individuals in the development of the Luftwaffe. By 1936 he was in charge of T-Amt’ the development wing of the German Air Ministry, with the rank of colonel. He found though that it was as bad as school had been with a daily routine accompanied by bureaucracy. Udet turned to alcohol, especially cognac and brandy, and amphetamines to break up the daily routine.

German industry was ill-equipped to deal with the demand for aircraft when the Second World War broke out. Production was well below what was needed, mainly caused by a lack of raw materials. Gring first lied about the situation to Hitler, but when Battle of Britain went against the Luftwaffe Gring simply blamed Udet.

Udet committed suicide in Berlin in the 17th November 1941, whilst on the phone to his mistress. Whether this was a forced suicide, arranged by the Nazi hierarchy, or a genuine suicide following depression is unconfirmed. Certainly Udet was being blocked from the developments he wished to make, with such planes as the Focke Wulf FW 190. He was also being blamed for the ineffectiveness of the Luftwaffe in general.

The Nazi regime rather than acknowledge the embarrassment of a suicide from one of their nation’s heroes, claimed that Udet had died a hero’s death whilst testing a new fighter plane. As such Udet was awarded a state funeral and was laid to rest in the Invalidefriedhof cemetery in Berlin, the same graveyard as the Red Baron as well as other national heroes.

There was one last ignominy though as a third of the cemetery was destroyed with the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, resulting in the gradual degradation of the cemetery. It is only since reunification that Udet’s grave and others have been maintained.

Udet was a hero on the losing side of the First World War. Joining the Nazi party has never diminished his hero status, as it was obvious that he was totally uninterested in politics, a nationalist he was purely concerned with the development of the Luftwaffe. His bravery and skills deserve to be recorded and recognised.