Germany 1918 - 1945
Deimel, Karl - German Cross in Gold grouping - Stalingrad
Description
Nice grouping to Unteroffizier Karl Deimel serving with Kampfgeschwader 55. German Cross in Gold and Luftwaffe Honor Goblet winner. Involved in the Battle of Stalingrad.
Certificates
Certificate to German Cross in Gold. Issued on 26.11.1943. Facsimile signature by Hermann Göring and hand-signed by Generaloberst Bruno Loerzer, Knight's Cross and Pour le Mèrite winner.
Certificate to Luftwaffe Honor Goblet. Issued on 4.7.1943. Facsimile signature by Hermann Göring and hand-signed by Generaloberst Bruno Loerzer, Knight's Cross and Pour le Mèrite winner. Two holes.
Certificate to 1939 Iron Cross 1st Class. Issued on 23.3.1943. Signed by General der Flieger Otto Deßloch, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves winner. Two holes.
Certificate to 1939 Iron Cross 2nd Class. Issued on 19.3.1943. Signed by General der Flieger Martin Fiebig, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves winner. Four holes.
Certificates to Squadron Clasp for Kampfflieger in Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Issued on 10.7.1943, 3.3.1943 and 30.1.1943. Each certificate was signed by Oberst Ernst Kühl, Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves winner. Each certificate has two holes.
"Honour List of the German Luftwaffe" of the Honor Goblet winners. Issued on 9.8.1943. Uffz. Deimel is listed on the last page. Please note: the document was pasted into the photo album.
Photocopy of the original certificate to Luftwaffe Pilots Badge. Issued on 26.4.1941.
Flight book "Flugbuch"
Flight book from 17.4.1940 until 14.2.1945. It contains 1298 flights, including 250 sorties "Jagdeinsatz". Page 52 lists the combat missions over the Stalingrad area. On page 71 there is a very interesting hand-written note by him "Am 20.II.1945 Sprengung von 26 Stück Ju88 G6" (On 20. February 1945 blowing up 26 pieces of Ju88 G6). Unteroffizier Deimel also used the book after the war (1956) to list his private flights. An excellent flight book.
Identification cards & documents
Luftwaffe pilots license "Flugzeugführerschein". Issued on 17.2.1944. Original applied photo. The front cover has two holes.
Nine documents and IDs from him and his wife Apollonia. Issued before and after 1945.
Photos
The photo album comes with 478 photos. Based on his hand-written notes on almost every photo, his service can be traced very well. Excellent photos of the aircraft, his military education, shots of Knight's Cross and German Cross in Gold winners, the everyday life of soldiers, and photos of actors such as Hans Albers, Heinrich George, and Ilse Werner. Unfortunately, the album's cord is missing, so the pages and the cover are loose.
Another four photos. Among them is a portrait photo showing him wearing the German Cross in Gold. It is the only photo that shows him with this award.
Wall decoration
Luftwaffe wall decoration. It shows the inscription "Zum 200. Feindflug" and the squadron emblem of Kampfgeschwader 55 painted on a wooden board. Issued to his 200th sortie. Size: 21.5x27.5 cm. No chipping.
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Signs of use. Overall condition 2.
Condition
2
Historical information
NAME
German Cross in Gold
DATE OF INSTITUTION
28. September 1941 as a military order in two grades. A special grade, the German Cross in Gold with Diamonds was planned and prototypes were made.
AWARD CRITERIA
The golden grade was awarded for multiple exceptional deeds of bravery or leadership and the silver grade for exceptional deeds in troop leadership. The award of the Iron Cross 1. Class, the Spange 1. Class , or the War Merit Cross 1. Class was a pre-requisite for the awarding of the German Cross. The German Cross was located above the Iron Cross 1. Class and War Merit Cross 1. Class but below the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, respectively the Knights Cross of the War Merit Cross.
MANUFACTURERS
The German Cross was awarded by the decision of the supreme commanders of the three army branches.
The German Cross was produced by five known manufacturers and maybe one or two not yet known companies. The known manufacturers are Deschler & Sohn, who designed the cross, Gebrüder Godet, C.E. Juncker, C.F. Zimmermann, and Otto Klein.
Early crosses are unmarked and from the end of 1942/early 1943 onwards, the crosses were marked with the Präsidialkanzlei numbers of the companies.
Due to the heavy and slightly bulky nature of the award, a cloth version was authorized in June 1942. The cloth version can be found with eight different cloth backing colors: field gray (army), dark blue (navy), blue-gray (LW), black (tank forces), stone gray (assault gun), olive (Africa Heer), light khaki (Africa LW), and white (summer uniform).
AWARD NUMBERS
Accurate numbers are not known but the closest estimation based on surviving documents are 25,964 for the gold grade and 2,471 for the silver grade. A known total of eleven soldiers were awarded both grades.
The crosses were mainly stored and registered at the Präsidalkanzlei and were given out by this office. It is possible that smaller numbers were stored at the personnel offices of the three army branches.
AWARD DOCUMENTS
The Heer issued preliminary award documents in the format A5, followed by a larger (356 mm x 254 mm) formal document. The Luftwaffe and the Kriegsmarine never issued any preliminary documents, only the formal ones in the same size as the formal document of the Heer.
WEARING METHOD
The German Cross was worn at the right side of the uniform on the breast pocket.
