BOMBER COMMANDER

Oberst Alois Stoeckl

Alois Stoeckl had served as an artillery officer during the First World War but joined the Fliegertruppe in 1916 and qualified as an observer. He rejoined the Luftwaffe in 1935 with the rank of Hauptmann. In 1937, he took command of III./KG255 before promotion to Oberstleutnant and later that year went to Spain in a ground appointment. He then returned to III./KG255 which became I./KG51 in May 1939.

Promoted to Oberst in August 1939, he was taking part in operations over France and the Low Countries in late 1939/early 1940, but in March he took command of KG55, his Geschwader being very active in the Battle of France and the early stages of the Battle of Britain. He was awarded the Knights Cross for his command of the early operations of KG55 against Britain, operations in which he frequently participated. However, on 14 August 1940 he was flying as observer in a Heinkel 111 P-4, Werk Nummer 2898, during a sortie to attack RAF airfields when the aircraft was shot down (above left) at Dean Hill, East Dean, Hampshire, by two Spitfires of 609 Squadron. Stoeckl was killed, along with Oberleutnant Bruno Brossler and Oberst Walter Fink, a senior Luftwaffe Chief-of-Staff. Two other crew members were captured, wounded. The loss of two such senior officers, flying together on a hazardous operational flight over Britain, is said to have resulted in an order banning such senior officers from undertaking sorties like this - at least, especially when two very senior officres were flying together and particularly with Fink merely going along to experience and witness, first-hand, operational flying over Britain.