Walter Sigel, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetWalter Sigel
German officer and Knight's Cross recipient
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Ulm, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
About Walter Sigel
- Walter Sigel (12 January 1906 – 8 May 1944) was a German air officer during World War II.
- He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
- He led the German bombers during the bombing of Wielun, the first aerial bombing (and the first war crime) of the war.
- Sigel died on 8 May 1944 after crashing his aircraft into Trondheim Fjord. Sigel was the commanding officer of Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 during the Junkers Ju 87 dive bombing demonstration at Neuhammer, present-day Swietoszów, Poland, on 15 August 1939.
- Observing the demonstration were the senior Luftwaffe commanders, including Generals Hugo Sperrle, Bruno Loerzer, and Wolfram von Richthofen.
- The lower cloud layer, which was believed to be at 900 metres (3,000 ft), was only at 100 metres (330 ft).
- While Sigel managed to just barely pull out in time, 13 other Ju 87 crews crashed to their death.
- The event became known as the "Neuhammer Stuka Disaster" (Neuhammer Stuka-Unglück).
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