A Document Grouping To The 1St Squadron Of The German Research Institute For Sailplane Flight 230

A collection consisting of two award documents, six photos, a postcard, an issue of “Der Lastensegler” (The Military Glider), and four newsletters of the Luftlande-Fliegerkameradschaft (Airborne Aviator Comradery) from the 1970s. All items are in extremely fine condition or better.

 A certificate (148x209mm) for Unteroffizier (NCO) HermannSchwendtner of the 1. DFS (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug) 230 Staffel/1 (1st Squadron of the German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight 230), part of the Airborne Combat Wing 1. Schwendtner is awarded the Front Flying Clasp for Transport Aviators in Bronze. The document is dated to October 8, 1943, and signed in blue ink by the Commanding General and Commander in the Field Air Gau XXX (Belgrade), General der Flieger Bernhard Waber (1884–1945).

A certificate (209x296mm) for Flieger (soldier in the Luftwaffe) Hermann Schwendtner. He is awarded the Abzeichen für Segelflugzeugführer (Glider Pilot Badge). The document is dated to July 29, 1941, and signed in blue ink by the Chief of the Luftwaffe Personnel Department, General der Flieger Gustav Kastner-Kirdorf (1881–1945), a recipient of the German Cross in Silver.

A photo (73x125mm) of a young Luftwaffe soldier. He is carrying the Glider Pilot Badge. It is either Schwendtner himself or a colleague of his. The reverse says: “Fliegst (?) du mit? Dir zur Freude. Dein Fritz! Gelnhausen 1944” (Will you fly with me/us? For you to enjoy. Yours, Fritz! Gelnhausen (central Germany) 1944).

Five photos (4x 90x62mm and 1x 101x71mm) showing planes on the ground.

Four pictures show a DFS 230, a glider plane, which played a significant part in the Battle of Crete, the taking of the crucial Belgian Fort Eben-Emael, and in the rescue operation of Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini. However, it was most often used to supply hard to reach or encircled troops on the Eastern Front.

One photo shows a Messerschmitt Me 323 Gigant (Giant), a heavy transport plane. It was the largest land-based transport aircraft of the Second War.

A postcard (104x148mm) showing the emblem of the Luftlandegeschwader (Airborne Combat Wing).

An issue of “Der Lastensegler” (The Military Glider) (148x210mm, 1 page) from 1965, written by Maz Smyczek, about the DFS 230 gliding plane in the mountain emergency service in 1944. The author regrets that the Bundeswehr, the post 1945 Germany Army, does not seem to see the potential of of this type of plane.

Newsletter no. 8 with addendum (209x297mm, 9 pages) of the Luftlande-Fliegerkameradschaft (Airborne Aviator Comradery), a tradition collective, dated to January 1973. Topics are how to strengthen the comradery and create closer ties among the members, the inauguration of the Luftwaffe honour memorial in Fürstenfeldbruck, obituaries, the need for a chronicle of the Second War transport wing, and an account of the 4th national meeting of the previous year.