The collection consists of: a Luftwaffe Soldbuch (101x144mm, near very fine); a German Cross in Gold certificate (255x354mm, better than very fine); an Honour Goblet certificate (211x298mm, extremely fine); an Iron Cross 1st Class certificate (140x201mm, extremely fine); an Iron Cross 2nd Class certificate (140x201mm, extremely fine), a Front Flying Clasp for Reconnaissance in Silver certificate (148x211mm, extremely fine); a Front Flying Clasp for Reconnaissance in Bronze certificate (148x210mm, extremely fine); a promotion to Feldwebel (Sergeant) certificate (209x300mm, near extremely fine); a Wound Badge in Black certificate (138x199mm, extremely fine); an Air Gunner’s Badge certificate (148x211mm, extremely fine); a DRL Sports Badge booklet (149x207mm, extremely fine); and a photo of Kämmerling (88x137mm, extremely fine). The Soldbuch is dated to April 3, 1940.
The German Cross in Gold certificate and the Honour Goblet certificate are dated to March 20, 1944, and August 30, 1943, respectively. They carry a Göring facsimile and are signed in blue ink by Chief of Aerial Fleet 4 and Commander Southeast, Colonel General Bruno Loerzer (1891–1960), a recipient of the Pour le Mérite and the Knight’s Cross.
The Iron Cross 1st Class certificate is dated to February 27, 1943 and signed in blue ink by Generalfeldmarschall Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (1895–1945), a recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and cousin of “Red Baron” Manfred von Richthofen.
The Iron Cross 2nd Class certificate is dated to August 10, 1942 and signed in black ink by Commanding General of the 4th Air Corps, General der Flieger Kurt Pflugbeil (1890–1955), a recipient of the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves.
The Front Flying Clasp in Silver certificate is dated to February 12, 1943, and the Front Flying Clasp in Bronze certificate is dated to August 30, 1942. They are signed in black ink by Group Commander of Nahaufklärungsgruppe (Short Range Reconnaissance Group) 1, Major Gustav Nagel, a recipient of the German Cross in Gold.
The promotion to Feldwebel (Sergeant) certificate is dated to August 8, 1943, stating that Kämmerling is promoted effective July 1. It too is signed by Nagel, as is the Wound Badge in Black certificate, dated to September 15, 1942 for a wound Kämmerling received on September 12.
The Air Gunner’s Badge certificate is dated to October 8, 1941 and carries a facsimile of General der Flieger Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (1881–1945), a recipient of the German Cross in Silver.
Kämmerling received the DRL Sports Badge in Bronze on July 1, 1941.
The photo shows Kämmerling in the rank of Feldwebel, wearing the Iron Cross 1st Class, the Front Flying Clasp in Gold, the Iron Cross 2nd Class ribbon bar, the Air Gunner’s Badge, and what is presumably the Wound Badge. It can be dated to between July 1943 and March 1944.
Footnote: Bernhard Kämmerling was born on September 26, 1919 in Wattenscheid (western Germany). He worked as a miner, as did his father. At an unknown point in time he joined the Wehrmacht. There is no information about Kämmerling’s early service time, except that he was promoted to Obergefreiter (Corporal) on April 1, 1940 and to Unteroffizier (NCO) on September 1, 1940. In March of 1941 Kämmerling was placed in the Pilot Training Regiment 31, 6th Company, indicating that he might have served in a different capacity, possibly a different branch of the Wehrmacht before becoming a pilot. In April Kämmerling served in the Student Company of Pilot Shooter School 1 in Hilversum (Netherlands), and then spending the next three months at the Reconnaissance Pilot School in Brieg (modern day Brzeg, southern Poland). His training completed Kámmerling joined the 5th Squadron (Short Range) of Reconnaissance Group 11. The group’s task was to fly reconnaissance missions on the Eastern Front, in southern Russia, for the 11th Panzer Division. Here he won most of his awards, including the Iron Crosses, Front Flying Clasps, the Honour Goblet, and he was promoted to Feldwebel (Sergeant). Interestingly, his Honour Goblet certificate is made out to NCO, even though he had already been promoted at the time. On March 16, 1944 Kümmerling briefly joined the 2nd Squadron of Short Range Reconnaissance Group 2, at the time stationed in Romania and then in Poland. Four days later he received the German in Cross in Gold, the highest honour he was decorated with. After that Kämmerling was redeployed on April 26, 1944 to the Student Company of Pilot School A 118 in Stettin (modern day Szczecin, western Poland), presumably to train new pilots. His last known post was at the Pilot School A 3 with the 1st Student Company in Guben (Gubin, western Poland), starting on January 6, 1945.