Frenzel, Günther (KG.z.b.V. 1)

Date of birth:: March 19th, 1919 (Berlin/Brandenburg, Germany)
Date of death:: March 12th, 2011 (Eitorf/Northrhine-Westernphalia, Germany)
Nationality:: German (1933-1945, Third Reich)

Biography

Frenzel was one of the pilots that operated in captured Vickers Wellington bombers. On an operation he landed his plane on an airfield in Belgian-Congo, tanked his plane, took off again and bombarded the airfield he had just landed. When he was taken prisoner, the British sentenced him to death, but he managed to escape with a stolen plane on the same day as his conviction.

1938: joined the Luftwaffe and trained at FFS A/B Oschatz
1939: transferred at FFS C Sorau and at BFS Neuburg
1940: transferred at Grosse KFS Tutow
1941-1942: flew transport missions in the Mediterranean as well as clandestine missions, including a flight to the Belgian Congo in a captured RAF Wellington bomber.
12.05.1942: with 11./ KG.z.b.V. 1, WIA when he was shot down in the Mediterranean, rescued and hospitalized in Derna; lost 4 fingers
22.06.1942: Unteroffizier, awarded the Ehrenpokal
1942-05.1943: WIA in eastern Mediterranean and hospitalized in Gotha/Germany
23.12.1942: Feldwebel, awarded Ritterkreuz, 11./ KG.z.b.V. 1
05.1943: attended Offiziers-Anwärter Schule in Berlin-Gatow
07.1943: attended Fluglehrer-Schule in Quedlinburg
09.1943: Leutnant, became a glider flight instructor at Gelnhausen
11.1943-02.1945: instructor with Segelflug-Sonderkommando Komet teaching future Me 163 pilots to glide
05.1945: captured by the Americans
12.1945: released and lived in East Germany during the immediate postwar years
1950: left the DDR and worked for an auto parts maker, eventually becoming manager
1970: after retiring, he went to Brazil and Mexico in relation to the auto parts industry and subsequently became famous throughout South and Central America as an automotive overhaul and repair expert

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Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Unteroffizier
Unit:: Flugzeugführer
Awarded on:: June 19th, 1942

Published in the Ehrenliste der Deutschen Luftwaffe on June 22nd, 1942.

Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg

Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Feldwebel (Sergeant)
Unit:: Flugzeugführer, 11.Staffel, III. Gruppe, Kampfgeschwader zur besonderen Verwendung 1, Luftwaffe
Awarded on:: December 23rd, 1942

Awarded in recognition of his ~200 flights flown, but even more so for his remarkable record of individual achievements as a transport pilot, which included the following notable events…

1) Volunteering to find a bomber crew that had been shot down down in enemy territory, which he was able to accomplish due to being trained in navigation by the stars.

2) Being pressed into service on a special mission which involved flying captured Wellington bombers against an Allied fuel depot in the Congo.

3) Narrowly escaping captivity during Operation Crusader. Frenzel had landed at Derna airfield, but found it already under the control of the British. He was taken prisoner, but before he was shipped off the airfield came under attack from German ground attack aircraft. Frenzel and his flight mechanic seized the opportunity, and despite British small-arms fire they were able to board their Ju-52, start the engine and take off.

4) Being the sole survivor of a flight of 13 Ju-52s that were attacked by a strong group of British fighters while in transit over the Mediterranean. Every single transport except Frenzel’s was shot down, but Frenzel was able to carry on with his heavily damaged plane all the way to the coast. Here he made an emergency landing in the ocean right next to the beach, upon which his plane washed up. Despite being heavily wounded, he had managed to keep the plane airborne for 45 minutes, reach friendly territory, and save the lives of everyone aboard his transport. He received a visit in the hospital from Kesselring himself in light of this accomplishment.