Ernst Udet

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Ernst Udet
Born	26 April 1896 Frankfurt am Main, German Empire
Died	17 November 1941(1941-11-17) (aged 45) Berlin, Nazi Germany
Buried	Invalidenfriedhof in Berlin
Allegiance	German Empire (1914–1918)  Weimar Republic (1918–1919)  Nazi Germany (1934–1941)
Service/branch	Luftstreitkräfte (1915–1919)  Luftwaffe (1934–1941)
Years of service	1914–1919, 1934–1941
Rank	Oberleutnant (1918) Generaloberst (1940)
Unit	World War I: FA 68, FA(A) 206, KEK Habsheim, Jastas 4, 11, 15, 37
Commands held	World War I: Jasta 37, Jasta 4
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class Clasp to the Iron Cross 1st and 2nd Class Knights Cross with Swords of the House Order of Hohenzollern Hanseatic Cross Hamburg & Lübeck versions Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4th and 3rd Class Pour le Mérite Pilot’s Badge German Empire Pilot/Observer Badge in Gold with Diamonds Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Ernst Udet (26 April 1896 – 17 November 1941) was a German pilot during World War I and a Luftwaffe Colonel-General (Generaloberst) during World War II.

Udet joined the Imperial German Air Service in April 1915 at the age of 19, and eventually became a notable flying ace of World War I, scoring 62 confirmed victories. The highest scoring German fighter pilot to survive that war, and the second-highest scoring after Manfred von Richthofen, his commander in the Flying Circus, Udet rose to become a squadron commander under Richthofen, and later under Hermann Göring.^[1] Udet spent the 1920s and early 1930s as a stunt pilot, international barnstormer,^[2] light-aircraft manufacturer, and playboy.

On 1 May 1933 Udet joined the Nazi Party.^[3] He became involved in the early development of the Luftwaffe (officially founded on 15 May 1933), where he was appointed director of research and development. Influential in the adoption of dive-bombing techniques as well as of the Stuka dive bomber, by 1939 Udet had risen to the post of Chief of Procurement and Supply for the Luftwaffe. The stress of the position and his distaste for administrative duties led to Udet developing alcoholism.

The launch of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, combined with issues with the Luftwaffe's needs for equipment outstripping Germany's production capacity and increasingly poor relations with the Nazi Party, caused Udet to choose suicide on 17 November 1941 by shooting himself in the head.