Otto Wei%C3%9F (pilot)
Otto Albert Bernhard Wei was a German World War II Luftwaffe attack aircraft pilot and recipient of the coveted Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves . The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was the first attack aircraft pilot so honored. Wei flew more than 500 combat missions with the Henschel Hs 123 and the Messerschmitt Bf 109.
Wei was born onSeptember 1907 in Breslautoday Wrocaw in Polandat the time a Silesian Province of the Kingdom of Prussia. He joined the police force of the Weimar Republic onApril 1926 at police school in Frankenstein in Schlesien and was promoted to PolizeiLeutnant in 1931. He transferred to the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule in Braunschweig for pilot training onMarch 1933. Wei transferred to the Luftwaffe onOctober 1934 holding the rank of Oberleutnant where he initially served as a technical officer with a reconnaissance squadron. From October 1936 to July 1938, now a Hauptmann , he served on the Stab of Jagdgeschwader 134 Horst Wessel . In July 1938 he was appointed Staffelkapitn of the Fliegergruppe which was later renamed to II.LehrgeschwaderLG 22nd Group of the 2nd Demonstration Wing.
Source: Wikipedia