Walter Storp

Walter Storp (2 February 1910 – 9 August 1981) was a German bomber pilot and commander of several bomber wings during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. Storp reached the rank of Generalmajor and ended the war as commander of the 5th Air Division in Norway.

Walter Storp
Born	2 February 1910 Schnecken, East Prussia
Died	9 August 1981 (aged 71) Goslar
Allegiance	Weimar Republic  Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1928–45
Rank	Generalmajor
Commands held	KG 6, SKG 210, KG 76
Battles/wars	Spanish Civil War World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Storp was born on 2 February 1910 in Schnecken, East Prussia, the son of a forester. After he received his Abitur (diploma) in 1928 he joined the military service and served in the navy.[1] Holding the rank of Oberleutnant he served in the Bordfliegerstaffel 1./106 (on board flyers squadron) until February 1936. From May to September he was a pilot aboard the heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, participating in the ship's first cruise of the Spanish Civil War in August 1936.[2]

Storp was assigned to the Reich Ministry of Aviation on 1 October 1938 and at the same time became the chief pilot of general Hans Jeschonnek. Serving briefly with KG 30 in early 1940, Storp became temporary Gruppenkommandeur of III gruppe, KG 4 between May and August 1940. He was then appointed group commander of II./Kampfgeschwader 76 (II./KG 76—2nd Group of the 76th Bomber Wing) on 12 September 1940. He and his crew performed a successful low-altitude attack over the English Midlands on 27 September 1940.[3]

In April 1941 Storp was appointed commander of Schnellkampfgeschwader 210, leading the unit during operations against the Soviet Union during 1941. He then was transferred to a RLM staff appointment in October 1941, before a further move in September 1942, as Geschwaderkommodore of Kampfgeschwader 6. A return to KG 76 occurred in June 1944, while in February 1945 he became Commander of the 5th Flieger-Division until the end of the war.

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd Class (2 October 1939) & 1st Class (26 April 1940)[4]
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (20 October 1940)[5]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross (21 October 1940) 149th recipient in the Luftwaffe as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./ Kampfgeschwader 76[6]
  • Oak Leaves (14 July 1941) as Major und Geschwaderkommodore of the Schnellkampfgeschwader 210[6]

References

1. Schumann 2007, pp. 185, 187.
2. Kaiser 2010, p. 71.
3. Schumann 2007, p. 185.
4. Thomas 1998, p. 353.
5. Schumann 2007, p. 187.
6. Scherzer 2007, p. 727.

• Kaiser, Jochen (2010). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 1 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Bomber Fliers—Volume 1] (in German and English). Bad Zwischenahn, Germany: Luftfahrtverlag-Start. ISBN 978-3-941437-07-4.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
• Schumann, Ralf (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1 (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. ISBN 978-3-86619-013-9.
• Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7648-2300-9.