Werner Baumbach

Werner Baumbach (27 December 1916 – 20 October 1953) was a bomber pilot in the German Luftwaffe during World War II and commander of the secret bomber wing Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200). He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) for the destruction of over of allied shipping.

Career
Born on 27 December 1916 in Cloppenburg, Baumbach entered the Luftwaffe in 1936 and was trained as a bomber pilot. He was one of the first pilots to fly the Junkers Ju 88 bomber and flew various bombing missions with Kampfgeschwader 30 (KG 30). On 19 April 1940 he bombed and damaged the French cruiser Émile Bertin for which he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class. In 1942, Baumbach was removed from active pilot duty and started working on new bomber designs; among others, he helped design the composite bomber system Mistel. In 1944, he was placed in command of the newly formed Kampfgeschwader 200 (KG 200) and was in charge of all Luftwaffe special missions. Baumbach was promoted to Oberstleutnant on 15 November 1944 and was tasked with leading the affairs of the General der Kampfflieger.

After the war, Baumbach spent three years as a prisoner of war before he moved to Argentina where he worked as a test pilot. He died in a plane crash on 20 October 1953 while evaluating a British Lancaster bomber. He was interred in his hometown Cloppenburg.

Baumbach released his memoirs, Zu spät: Aufstieg und Untergang der deutschen Luftwaffe (English title: "Broken Swastika"), in the late 1940s. The book demonstrates that even after Germany's defeat, Baumbach still believed to a very large extent in the National Socialist ideology. The fact that Baumbach's time as commander of KG 200 is not mentioned with a single word highlights the extreme secrecy of Germany's special missions program.

Awards

 * Narvik Shield
 * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe for Bomber Pilots in Gold with Pennant "200"
 * in Silver (22 March 1941)
 * in Gold (1942)
 * Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds (14 July 1941)
 * Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe
 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (28 September 1939)
 * 1st Class (4 May 1940)
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords
 * Knight's Cross on 8 May 1940 as Leutnant and pilot in the 5./KG 30
 * 20th Oak Leaves on 14 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 1./KG 30
 * 16th Swords on 17 August 1942 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./KG 30
 * Mentioned twice in the Wehrmachtbericht on 14 February and 28 February 1941