Abernetty, Otto.

Abernetty, Otto, born 08-03-1893 in Frankfurt (Oder), Brandenburg, Germany, five years after Adolf Hitler (did you know), started his military career, 20 years old, on 20-06-1913 as a Fahnenjunker in the 147^th Infantry Regiment. At the same time detached to the War School in Hershfeld. The WWI Flyer Aces, Rittmeister, Cavalry captain, Manfred von Richthofen “the Red Baron” and his brother Lothar were his big examples. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (see Did you know) (see Peter Göring) (see Emmy Sonnemann) and (Carin Fock) would be the successor of Manfred von Richthofen.  Abernetty became an observer with the 47^th Flying Battalion and with the later General der Flieger Karl Koller   as a colleague, later renamed in 6^th Flying Battalion. Detached to the Battle Squadron 13 and and ended the was in the Staff of the Commander of Flying 9. Abernetty was one of the volunteers, who secretly, learned to fly in Russia,  as a military Air Force was forbidden in Germany, after the restriction laid on by the Treaty of Versailles. The first step to founding a secret German flying school in the USSR, Lipetsk fighter-pilot school , was taken back in Lenin’s time, in 1920, when the German leaders turned to Soviet Russia’s government with a proposal to establish German military training courses on its territory. The Politburo considered this proposal and approved it on the whole, but, in order to keep the matter confidential, they decided to organize the training of German military specialists in small provincial towns rather than in Moscow. The Bolsheviks were eager to imitate German war experience and become acquainted with modern military equipment, including aircraft. In addition, the Soviet leadership counted on the Reichswehr’s help in attracting the German industrialists to restoring Russia’s war potential and tried to maintain good relations with the Reichswehr. The number of pilots and ground personnel at the school grew steadily.  There were only 7 Germans and about 20 Russians at the training center in 1925, but, in a few years, their number had risen to around 200. This number reached its peak in 1932, reaching 303, including 43 Germans, 26 Soviet military pilots, and 234 Soviet blue- and white-collar workers and technicians. With the rise of the Nazis to power in January 1933, the ideological gap between fascist Germany and the communist Soviet Union became too large and the fighter school at Lipetsk was closed on 15-09-1933. Abernetty finished his education as a pilot in 1928, as an Oberleutnant. He became commander of the 5^th Infantry Regiment in the German Army of only 100.000 men, a poor army without an Air Force. In 1936 he became the group Commander of the 254^th Regiment, meanwhile an Oberstleutnant, connected with the command of the new, Pilot Education School in Dresden, in 1937 . At the start of World War II he as an Oberst was Chief of Operations in the Staff of the Commander of Luftwaffe with Army Group South, led by Generaloberst der Panzertruppe, Gerd von Rundstedt

 and his Chief of Staff Generalfeldmarschall der Infanterie, Erich von Manstein

   until 06-10-1939. The same position in Army Group B, under Generalfeldmarschall der Infanterie, Fedor von Bock, until 04-11-1939.

Death and burial ground of Abernetty, Otto.

 As the commander of the Air Force 18^th Army he crashed unfortunately with his plane on 02-07-1940 near the town of Chateaudun, in France, shortley after the armistice of the French Army on 22-06-1940. He was posthumous promoted to Generalmajor on 07-07-1940.

Otto Abernetty, age 47, is buried, between thousands of soldiers, on the war cemetery of Champigny St. André in France, nearby the graves of General der Flieger, Kommandeur Wehrkreis XVII, Otto von Stülpnagel, the “butcher” of Paris.Otto von Stülpnagel  , the SS Obergruppenführer, Oberbefehlhaber der 7^th Army, Friedrich Dollmann , and SS Brigadeführer, Kommandeur SS-Panzer Grenadier Regiment 1, Fritz Witt

, Flyer Ace, Major, Flugzeugführer i.d. 7./J.G. 2, nickname “Nowotny”  , Josef Sepp Wurmheller  , The total numbers of aircraft shot down by JG 7 is difficult to quantify due to the loss of Luftwaffe records, but at least 136 aircraft were claimed, and research indicates as many as 420 Allied aircraft may have been claimed shot down. Also buried there,  SS Obersturmführer, Hans Junge (see Junge), Hitler´s former adjutant and husband of Traudl Junge-Humps Hitler´s youngest secretary

  and the Generalmajor der Infanterie, Commander of the 33^rd Landswehr Infantry Regiment, Arnold von Bessel.

Message(s), tips or interesting graves for the webmaster:    robhopmans@outlook.com