page_title: Kurt Brändle
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Kurt Brändle / World War II
caption_attribution_description: Information added by Wikimedia users.English: Luftwaffe soldiers of the Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) fighter wing (also known as "Ace of Spades") resting at an airfield infront of a Messerschmitt Bf 109 with an open cowling. Behind in the background is a Junkers Ju 52; KBK LW 3.
context_page_description: Kurt-Werner Brändle was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 180 enemy aircraft shot down in over 700 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 25 claims over the Western Front.
  Born in Ludwigsburg, Brändle, who already was a civilian motor-powered aircraft and glider pilot, volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazy Germany in 1935. He was posted to Jagdgeschwader 53 in 1939 and claimed 14 aerial victories on the Western Front. In May 1942 he was given command of II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet". Fighting on the Eastern Front, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 1 July 1942 after 49 aerial victories. In July and August 1942, he claimed a further 50 aerial victories in the southern sector of the Eastern Front. After claiming his 100th aerial victory he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 27 August 1942.
  On 5 July 1943 during the Battle of Kursk, Brändle achieved his 150th aerial victory and in August 1943 was transferred to the Western Front fighting in Defense of the Reich.
context_section_description: World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Brändle received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse) on 20 April 1940. He claimed his first aerial victory on 10 May 1940 during the Battle of France, shooting down an Armée de l'Air (French Air Force) Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 south of Sedan. In total Brändle claimed two victories over France before he was wounded on 26 May 1940. During takeoff on a maintenance test flight he crashed into a Dornier Do 17 injuring himself in the head. He spent the next few weeks in the military hospital at Heidelberg.
  After recovering from the hospital, Brändle claimed his second victory during the Battle of Britain over the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 11 August 1940. On 26 August 1940, he was tasked with the leadership of 5. Staffel (5th Squadron) of JG 53. Following his fourth aerial victory, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse) on 3 September 1940. He was officially appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 5. Staffel on 15 September 1940. On 11 November 1940, he claimed his 6th and 7th aerial victories and was awarded the Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Fighter Pilots (Frontflugspange für Jagdflieger) in Silver on 5 May 1941 and in Gold on 7 June 1941.
  The bulk of the Geschwader's air elements were moved via Jever, in northern Germany, to Mannheim-Sandhofen on 8 June 1941. There the aircraft were given a maintenance overhaul prior to moving east. The II. Gruppe was transferred to Neusiedel in East Prussia, present-day Malomožaiskojė in Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, between 12–14 June. On 22 June the Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace in support of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union which opened the Eastern Front. There, Brändle claimed further victories and by the end of October 1941 was credited with 28 aerial victories.
  Brändle's unit was then relocated to the Western Front again in October 1941 where it was based at Leeuwarden in the Netherlands before it was moved to the Mediterranean theater in December 1941. Based at Comiso airfield, Brändle flew combat missions against the RAF during the Siege of Malta. There he was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 25 February 1942 and four days later, on 1 March, he was promoted to Hauptmann (captain).
caption: A Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1's of JG 53, similar to those flown by Brändle.
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