Martin Harlinghausen

Martin Harlinghausen
Martin Harlinghausen
Born	17 January 1902 Rheda, German Empire
Died	22 March 1986 (aged 84) Gütersloh, West Germany
Allegiance	Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany  West Germany
Service/branch	Reichsmarine Luftwaffe German Air Force
Years of service	1923–45 1957–61
Rank	Generalleutnant
Unit	10th Air Corps
Commands held	Fliegerführer Atlantik Fliegerführer Tunesien
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Martin Harlinghausen (17 January 1902 – 22 March 1986) was a Luftwaffe commander during World War II and a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.

Harlinghausen was appointed Fliegerführer Tunesien in July 1942. He remained in the Mediterranean theater until 18 June 1943, when disagreements with his superiors led to his replacement.^[1]

Harlinghausen served in the new West German Air Force from 1957 to 1961. He was sent into retirement, having been politically uncomfortable during his post-war career, after demanding a proper investigation in the 1961 F-84 Thunderstreak incident, after which Oberstleutnant Siegfried Barth, commander of Jagdbombergeschwader (JaBoG) 32, was removed from his post without a proper investigation.^[1]

Harlinghausen died in Gütersloh in March 1986.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (30 January 1940) & 1st Class (3 February 1940)^[2]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 4 May 1940 as Major in the general staff and chief of staff of the X. Fliegerkorps^[3]
  • 8th Oak Leaves on 30 January 1941 as Oberstleutnant in the general staff and chief of staff of the X. Fliegerkorps^[3]
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 3 November 1940
• Great Cross of Merit

References

Citations

1. STRAUSS-BEFEHL: Bier-Order 61 (German) Der Spiegel, published: 9 May 1962, accessed: 30 November 2010
2. Thomas 1997, p. 246.
3. Scherzer 2007, p. 366.

Bibliography

• Jackson, Robert (2002). The Bismarck. Weapons of War: London. ISBN 1-86227-173-9.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz (1997). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2299-6.
• Die Wehrmachtberichte 1939–1945 Band 1, 1. September 1939 bis 31. Dezember 1941 [The Wehrmacht Reports 1939–1945 Volume 1, 1 September 1939 to 31 December 1941] (in German). München, Germany: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. 1985. ISBN 978-3-423-05944-2.