Werner Molders

Werner Molders
The first WWII fighter pilot to capture the popular imagination in Germany, Werner Mölders was the youngest Kommodore in the Luftwaffe, the first pilot to beat von Richtofen's WWI record of 80 aerial victories, and the first to achieve 100. Unlike the dashing Adolf Galland, Mölders was quiet, serious, a practicing Catholic, and a tactical thinker. As a fledgling flier he had to overcome airsickness, but ultimately replaced Galland in the Luftwaffe during the Spanish civil war of 1936-1939. Flying the new Messerschmitt Bf 109B he accumulated 14 victories in Spain. He added 25 more during the Battle of France, until he was shot down and taken prisoner.
Repatriated after the fall of France, his famous Battle of Britain rivalry with Galland ran his score up to 54 (not counting victories achieved in Spain), compared to 52 for Galland. Mölders altered Luftwaffe tactics by adopting the four-plane Schwarm formation. He nurtured new fighter pilots, including Galland, and his men called him Vati ("Daddy") although he was less than 30 years old. After six months and 33 victories on the eastern front, Reichsmarschall Göring promoted him in July 1941 to be General of Fighter Pilots--a position he held only briefly. Four months later Mölders died in the co-pilot's seat of a Heinkel 111 bomber that crashed in bad weather. Ironically, this happened while he was en route to Berlin for the state funeral of former WWI Ace Ernst Udet, head of the Luftwaffe Technical Department and a recent suicide.

Lt. General Werner Molders
(1913-1941)
Final Tally: 101 WWII victories, plus 14 scored in Spain
Fighter Aircraft Flown: Bf 109
Rank at End of War: General der Jagdflieger (Lt. General)
Medals and Awards: Knight's Cross with oak leaves, swords, and diamonds
Campaign Flown: Battle of Britain