Type,
class: Guided Missile Destroyer / DDG; Lütjens
(modified US Charles F. Adams) class
Builder: Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, USA
STATUS:
Laid
down: April 12, 1966
Launched: April 13, 1967
Commissioned: February 23, 1969
Decommissioned: May 28, 2003
Fate: Museum ship at Marinearsenal
Wilhelmshaven, Germany
Namesake:
Colonel Werner Mölders (1913-1941)
Ships
Motto:
Technical Data: see
INFO >
Lütjens class Guided Missile Destroyer / DDG |
Colonel Werner Mölders
(1913 - 1941):
Werner Mölders (18 March 1913 - 22 November 1941) was a
World War II German Luftwaffe pilot and the leading German
fighter ace in the Spanish Civil War. Mölders became the
first pilot in aviation history to claim 100 aerial
victories - that is, 100 aerial combat encounters resulting
in the destruction of the enemy aircraft, and was highly
decorated for his achievements. He was instrumental in the
development of new fighter tactics which led to the
finger-four formation. He died in an air crash in which he
was a passenger.
Mölders joined the Luftwaffe in 1934 at the age of 21. In
1938, he volunteered for service in the Condor Legion, which
supported General Francisco Franco's Nationalist side in the
Spanish Civil War, and shot down 15 aircraft. In World War
II, he lost two wingmen in the Battle of France and the
Battle of Britain, but shot down 53 enemy aircraft. With his
tally standing at 68 victories, Mölders and his unit, the
Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51), were transferred to the Eastern
Front in June 1941 for the opening of Operation Barbarossa.
By the end of 22 June 1941, the first day of Barbarossa, he
had added another four victories to his tally and a week
later, Mölders surpassed Manfred von Richthofen's 1918
record of 80 victories. By mid-July, he had 100.
Prevented from flying further combat missions for propaganda
reasons, at the age of 28 Mölders was promoted to Oberst,
and appointed Inspector General of Fighters. He was
inspecting the Luftwaffe units in the Crimea when he was
ordered to Berlin to attend the state funeral of Ernst Udet,
the World War I flying ace. On the flight to Berlin, the
Heinkel He 111 in which he was travelling as a passenger
encountered a heavy thunderstorm during which one of the
aircraft's engines failed. While attempting to land, the
Heinkel crashed at Breslau, killing Mölders and two others.
The German Wehrmacht of the Third Reich and the Bundeswehr
of the Federal Republic of Germany both honoured him by
naming two fighter wings, a destroyer and barracks after
him. However, in 1998, the German Parliament decided that
members of the Condor Legion such as Mölders, should "no
longer be honoured". Therefore, in 2005, the German Ministry
of Defence decided to remove the name "Mölders" from the
fighter wing still bearing his name.
Promotions:
1 October 1931: Fahnenjunker-Gefreiter
1 April 1932: Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier
1 June 1933: Fähnrich
1 February 1934: Oberfähnrich
1 March 1934: Leutnant (Second Lieutenant)
20 April 1936: Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant), effective as
of 1 April 1936
18 October 1938: Hauptmann (Captain), effective as of 1
October 1938
19 July 1940: Major
25 October 1940: Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
20 July 1941: Oberst (Colonel) |
Bundesarchiv images
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