Bernhard Jope

Oberstleutnant Bernhard Jope (born 10 May 1914 in Leipzig; died 31 July 1995 in Königstein im Taunus) was a German World War II Luftwaffe bomber pilot. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Jope flew the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 "Condor" on missions across the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean in support of the Kriegsmarine, damaging the RMS Empress of Britain (1930) in October 1940. He led Kampfgeschwader 100 (KG 100—100th ) in the attacks on the ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Roma, the British battleship HMS Warspite (03) and cruiser HMS Uganda (66), and the US cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42).

Biography
Bernhard Jope joined the military service of the Luftwaffe on 1 April 1935 after graduating from the Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig (technical university in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz) in aircraft construction. Prior to joining the military service he had already almost completed his flight training at the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (German Air Transport School). In support of the Kriegsmarine, Jope flew the Fw 200 "Condor" on experimental missions across the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean on behalf of Deutsche Luft Hansa. On 26 October 1940 he spotted the troop transport RMS Empress of Britain (1930) and severely damaged her with two 250 kg bombs. The Empress of Britain was subsequently sunk by GS U-32 (1937), commanded by Hans Jenisch, on 28 October 1940.

During his time at Kampfgeschwader 100 (KG 100) Jope led an attack on 9 September 1943 on the Italian battle fleet that was sailing from La Spezia en route to Malta, to surrender to the Allies. Jope led a formation of eleven Dornier 217's armed with the Fritz X radio controlled glide bomb and in the ensuing action the 45,000 ton ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Roma was hit twice and sank. The Roma's sister ship, ITALIAN BATTLESHIP Italia, was hit by a single Fritz, but was able to make it to Malta. In later action, Jope and KG 100 scored hits with the Fritz on the British battleship HMS Warspite (03) and cruiser HMS Uganda (66), and the US cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42).

Awards

 * Spanish Cross in Bronze with Swords
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (27 September 1939)
 * 1st Class (12 September 1940)
 * German Cross in Gold on 5 February 1942 as Hauptmann in the I./KG 40
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
 * Knight's Cross on 30 December 1940 as Oberleutnant and pilot in the 2./KG 40
 * 431st Oak Leaves on 24 March 1944 as als Major and Geschwaderkommodore of KG 100
 * Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht on 29 October 1940

After the war
After the war, and his subsequent time in captivity, Jope was flying again, this time working until his retirement as a pilot for Lufthansa. Jope died on 31 July 1995, in Königstein.