Oberst der Reserve Dr.jur. Ernst Kühl (Fliegerführer Nord) after the presentation of the Eichenlaub award ceremony with Adolf Hitler at Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze. Kühl received the Eichenlaub #356 for his Ritterkreuz on 18 December 1943 for his achievement as Geschwaderkommodore Kampfgeschwader 55 (KG 55) "Greif". The medal was awarded for the continued successes of his Geschwader up until he gave up command of the unit on 8 August 1943. In this time he and his men had flown transport missions to Stalingrad, attacked the tank factory at Gorki and the refineries at Saratov, and participated in support of Operation Citadel in July 1943. Particularly noteworthy was the Geschwader’s support of the II. SS-Panzerkorps on 7 July 1943 near Gremutschi and Krassaja, where his pilots flew 178 missions against targets as close as 200 metres away from friendly lines. By the time of his reception of the Eichenlaub Kühl had also reached a personal mission count of 314, a remarkable achievement given his age!
Ernst Kühl (March 28, 1888 in Breslau; February 2, 1972 in Münster) was a German legal scholar, doctorate in administrative law and head of the cultural department of the Westphalian Provincial Association under Governor Kolbow, as well as an officer in the German Army and the Wehrmacht, most recently Oberst der Reserve der Luftwaffe, bomber pilot and Eichenlaubträger in World War II. At the end of the war he was commander of the 5. Flieger-Division. With between 315 and 400 enemy flights. Alongside Werner Baumbach, Joachim Helbig, Dietrich Peltz and Hermann Hogeback, he was considered the most successful bomber pilot in the Luftwaffe.
Ernst Kühl studied law in Königsberg and Berlin and, after graduating, worked as a government trainee in the Prussian administration. In 1910 and 1911 he served as a one-year volunteer in the cavalry department of the 1st Kurhessian Field Artillery Regiment No. 11 and was discharged as a reserve lieutenant.
As Leutnant d.R. drafted again, he fought in the First World War in the Foot Artillery Regiment No. 22. After the end of the war he was released from the Provisional Reichswehr in 1919 and became District Administrator in Münster in 1928. After acquiring his private pilot's license in 1932 (he completed three Germany flights as a sports pilot and took part in various flying competitions), he was accepted into the new Luftwaffe as a reserve officer in 1936. On August 1, 1939, after a military exercise, he was promoted to Hauptmann d. R. promoted. At the beginning of the war he was transferred to Kampfgeschwader 55, with which he took part in the Polish and western campaigns.
In September 1940 Major Dr. Kühl wounded during Operation "Adlerangriff" (Eagle Attack) when his He 111 P-2 was shot down by the Royal Air Force. He landed in the English Channel, he and his crew were finally rescued by the pilots of the Seenotdienst. Kühl was taken to the hospital in Cherbourg. In March 1941, after more than 100 enemy flights, he was appointed commander of II. Gruppe of the squadron and in August 1942 he was appointed commander of KG 55.
After 230 enemy flights, he was awarded the Ritterkreuz on October 17, 1942. In November 1942 he was also "Lufttransportfuhrer Morosowskaja" (Transport Pilot 2), from where he led the subordinate He 111 to supply supplies to Stalingrad. After the fall of Stalingrad, the remainder of the fighter squadron flew missions on the Don. On August 8, 1943, he relinquished command of the squadron to become Fliegerführer "Nord" (Fliegerführer Nordmeer) on the Arctic Ocean. On December 18, 1943 he was awarded the Eichenlaub. In February 1944 he took over the 3. Flieger-Division, in July 1944 he was appointed Fliegerführer Drontheim (Fliegerführer 4).
On December 19, 1944 he finally became commander of the 5. Flieger-Division in Bardufoss-Heggeli or Narvik, on February 1, 1945 he was replaced by Major General Walter Storp. In March 1945 he was appointed commander of the 14. Flieger-Division in Westphalia, but he was no longer able to take up his post due to the disruption in air communications from Norway. At the end of the war he was taken prisoner by the British.
In September 1947, Kühl, who had been taken prisoner by the British at the end of the war, returned to Germany and wrote several works and was a member of the expert committee for the reorganization of the federal territory. He also drew up a memorandum on the reorganization of the federal territory for the Prime Minister at the time, Karl Arnold. In 1955 he was delegated to the expert committee for the reorganization of the federal territory under the former Reich Chancellor Hans Luther.
Furthermore, during this time, Dr. Kühl manned the Aero-Club Münster, of which he was appointed 1st chairman. Later, the Bundestag delegated him as a representative of the newly founded Luftwaffe of the Federal Republic of Germany to the personnel expert committee for the review and recruitment of generals and colonels in the Bundeswehr armed forces, e.g. also Pöschl, Westhoven and many more.
For his work in the post-war period, Oberst d.R. a.D Dr.jur. Ernst Kühl received the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Ernst Kühl achieved a total of about 400 operational sorties during the Second World War.
Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2011/07/album-foto-berwarna-perwira-dan_5529.html
https://de.metapedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BChl,_Ernst
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_K%C3%BChl_(Pilot)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_K%C3%BChl
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=2466737#p2466737
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/K/KuehlE.htm
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/24261/K%C3%BChl-Drjur-Ernst.htm
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