# Karl Rammelt

Karl Rammelt (10 June 1914 – 13 May 2009) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Rammelt was credited with 46 aerial victories in 450 combat missions.

## World War II

In May 1942, II. Gruppe was based at Bryansk but periodically also operated from airfields at Oryol and Dugino. On 3 September 1942, Rammelt's Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 12808–factory number) ran out of fuel, resulting in an emergency landing at Dugino.

### North Africa

II. Gruppe had been withdrawn from the Eastern Front in early October 1942 and sent to Jesau in East Prussia, present day Yushny, Bagrationovsky District, for conversion to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. Conversion training began on 7 October and on 4 November, the unit received the order to convert back to the Bf 109 and to transfer to the Mediterranean theatre. Via various stopovers, II. Gruppe moved to Sidi Ahmed airfield, arriving on 14 November. There, the unit was subordinated to Fliegerführer Tunis (Flying Leader Tunis).
On 17 March 1943, Rammelt was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 4. Staffel of JG 51, succeeding Oberleutnant Georg Seelmann. On 28 December, Rammelt was wounded when he bailed out of his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 160717) south of Rovigo following aerial combat.

## Later life

Following World War II, Rammelt applied for service in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe of the Bundeswehr. On 1 June 1956, he was appointed the first commander of a training squadron of Flugzeugführerschule "S" (FFS "S"—Pilot Training School) based at Memmingen Air Base. On 1 June 1958, Rammelt was succeeded by Oberstleutnant Wilhelm Batz In July 1965, Rammelt served in the Hubschrauber -Lehr, Versuchs- und Transportstaffel (HLVsuTrspStff—Helicopter Demonstration, Trial and Tranport Squadron) at Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base. There he formulated his ideas for the creation of heavy helicopter transportation squadrons. Although preparations for the creation of Helicopter Transport Wing 64 were already in progress, Rammelt believed in decentralizing helicopter units, resulting in a less effective leadership of such units.

## Summary of career
### Aerial victory claims

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 41 aerial victory claims, plus 16 further unconfirmed claims. Of his 41 confirmed aerial victories, 19 were claimed on the Eastern Front and 22 on the Western Front, including eight heavy bombers.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 04 Ost 90761". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about 360 square miles (930 km$^2$). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.
Chronicle of aerial victories :
| This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Rammelt an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.  This and the – (dash) indicates unconfirmed aerial victory claims for which Rammelt did not receive credit.  This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman. ||||||||||
| Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location | Claim | Date | Time | Type | Location |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Eastern Front — 1 May – 4 October 1942 ||||||||||
| 1 | 12 June 1942 | 17:45 | Yak-1 | 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Bolkhov | — | 8 August 1942 | 16:15 | MiG-1 | west of Chask |
| — | 26 June 1942 | 10:40 | Yak-1 | east of Oryol | 8 | 10 August 1942 | 17:05 | Pe-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Rzhev |
| 2♠ | 5 July 1942 | 05:00 | Pe-2 | 20 km (12 mi) southwest of Belyov | 9 | 13 August 1942 | 18:05 | Yak-1 | 18 km (11 mi) southwest of Belyov |
| 3♠ | 5 July 1942 | 05:05 | Pe-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northwest of Belyov | — | 21 August 1942 | 11:20 | LaGG-3 | 10 km (6.2 mi) north of Belyov |
| 4♠ | 5 July 1942 | 05:20 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Bolkhov | 10 | 23 August 1942 | 06:43 | Il-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Uljanowo |
| — | 5 July 1942 | 05:22? | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Bolkhov | — | 23 August 1942 | 06:55 | Il-2 | northeast of Uljanowo |
| 5♠ | 5 July 1942 | 09:30 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northwest of Bolkhov | — | 25 August 1942 | 06:35 | Pe-2 | west of Zhizdra |
| 6♠ | 5 July 1942 | 14:06 | Yak-1 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Bolkhov | 11 | 27 August 1942 | 17:54? | Il-2 | 28 km (17 mi) northeast of Oryol |
| 7 | 6 July 1942 | 06:30 | Il-2 | 30 km (19 mi) southeast of Zhizdra | 12 | 28 August 1942 | 13:57? | Il-2 | 5 km (3.1 mi) northwest of Belyov 5 km (3.1 mi) southeast of Rzhev |
| — | 10 July 1942 | 17:05 | Pe-2 | | — | 4 September 1942 | 11:40 | P-39 | northwest of Zhizdra |
| — | 4 August 1942 | 11:00 | LaGG-3 | northeast of Rzhev | 13 | 8 September 1942 | 09:00 | Pe-2 | 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Belyov |
| — | 4 August 1942 | 12:05 | LaGG-3 | 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Rzhev | 14 | 14 September 1942 | 17:05? | Pe-2 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southeast of Rzhev |
| — | 5 August 1942 | 16:55 | Il-2 | 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Rzhev | — | 27 September 1942 | 07:45 | MiG-3 | 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Rzhev |
| — | 5 August 1942 | 17:15 | Il-2 | east of Dugino | | | | | |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Mediterranean Theater, North Africa — 5 November – 31 December 1942 ||||||||||
| 15 | 27 November 1942 | 09:18 | Spitfire | 12 km (7.5 mi) southwest of Béja | 17 | 28 November 1942 | 15:42 | Spitfire | 33 km (21 mi) southwest of Bizerte |
| 16 | 28 November 1942 | 15:35 | Spitfire | 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Bizerte 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Gabès | | | | | |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Mediterranean Theater, North Africa — 1 January – 11 April 1943 ||||||||||
| — | 4 February 1942 | 14:30 | B-17 | southwest of Gabès | 20 | 29 March 1943 | 18:45 | P-40 | 10 km (6.2 mi) northeast of Skhira |
| 18 | 20 March 1943 | 18:05 | P-40 | 30 km (19 mi) northwest of Maknassy | 21? | 31 March 1943 | 19:00 | P-40 | south of El Ayacha |
| 19 | 21 March 1943 | 13:06 | Spitfire | 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Gabès | 22 | 5 April 1943 | 14:48 | P-40 | 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Hajeb El Ayoun |
| — | 21 March 1943 | 16:30 | B-17 | 30 km (19 mi) southwest of Gabès | — | 6 April 1943 | — | B-17 | La Sebala Airfield |
| – 4. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Mediterranean Theater, Sardinia and Sicily — May – July 1943 ||||||||||
| — | 13 May 1943 | 14:05 | B-17 | 30 km (19 mi) south of the southern edge of Sardinia | 25 | 5 June 1943 | 15:16 | P-38 | PQ 04 Ost 90761 |
| 23 | 19 May 1943 | 13:33 | Spitfire | PQ 04 Ost 8037 PQ 8637 | 26 | 18 June 1943 | 11:22 | B-26 | PQ 04 Ost 7087 |
| 24 | 31 May 1943 | 12:57 | P-38 | PQ 04 Ost 8044 | | | | | |
| – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Defense of the Reich — 15 August – 3 December 1943 ||||||||||
| 27 | 14 October 1943 | 14:22 | B-17 | 35 km (22 mi) north-northeast of Frankfurt | 28 | 2 November 1943 | 13:35 | B-17 | 80 km (50 mi) south-southwest of Wiener Neustadt northeast of Graz |
| – Stab II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders" – Mediterranean Theater, Northern Italy — December 1943 ||||||||||
| 29 | 25 December 1943 | 11:20 | P-38 | Villa Estense | 30 | 28 December 1943 | 11:52 | B-24 | 40 km (25 mi) southwest of Padua |

### Awards

* Flugzeugführerabzeichen
* Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold
* Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (25 June 1943)
* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* German Cross in Gold on 16 January 1944 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 October 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 51 "Mölders"