{{Short description|German flying ace (1897–1960)}} {{use dmy dates|date=May 2021}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = | name = Ernst Bormann | birth_date = {{birth date|1897|11|5|df=y}} | death_date = {{death date and age|1960|8|1|1897|11|5|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Kirchbrak]] | death_place = [[Düsseldorf]] | image = | caption = | nickname = | allegiance = {{flag|German Empire}}<br />{{flag|Weimar Republic}} (to 1920)<br />{{flag|Nazi Germany}} | branch = [[Image:Cross-Pattee-Heraldry.svg|18px]] [[Luftstreitkräfte]]<br />[[Luftwaffe]] | service_years = 1915–20, 1934–45 | rank = [[Generalmajor]] | commands = [[KG 76]] | unit = [[Jasta 2|Jagdstaffel "Boelcke"]] | battles = [[World War I]]<br />[[World War II]] | awards = [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]] | other_work = }}
'''Ernst Bormann''' (5 November 1897 – 1 August 1960) was a [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[World War I]] ''[[Luftstreitkräfte]] '' [[flying ace]] and a ''[[Generalmajor]] '' of the ''[[Luftwaffe]] '' during [[World War II]]. He was also a recipient of the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]].
He surrendered to the Soviet forces on 10 May 1945 and was released on 9 October 1955.<ref>Schumann 2007, p. 32.</ref>
==Career== Ernst Bormann was born on 5 November 1897 in [[Kirchbrak]].
He joined Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 82 on 17 August 1915 as a [[cadet]].<ref name=Lines>Franks et al 1993, p. 82.</ref> Bormann transferred to aviation, being sent to ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 7'' ("Replacement Detachment 7") on 7 March 1917. He moved on to FEA 12 on 24 October 1917. He was at ''Armee-Flug-Park'' (Army Flight Park) 9 when he received his first operational assignment; on 8 January 1918, he was posted to ''[[Feldflieger Abteilung]]'' (Field Flier Detachment) 42.<ref name=Lines /> On 4 May 1918, [[Leutnant]] Bormann was posted to a prestigious fighter squadron, [[Carl Bolle (flying ace)|Carl Bolle]]'s [[Jagdstaffel 2]], which was equipped with Germany's best fighter of the war, the [[Fokker D.VII]]. Beginning 3 July 1918, Bormann was credited with downing 17 enemy aircraft, most of them [[fighter aircraft|fighters]], by 4 November 1918.<ref name=Lines /><ref>[http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/bormann.php Ernest Bormann biography at The Aerodrome Forum]</ref>
Ernst Bormann was a flying instructor from 1 August 1925 to 30 September 1930, at the nascent [[Luftwaffe]]'s covert aviation training center at [[Lipetsk]], the [[Soviet Union]]. He returned to Germany to instruct there. In 1934, after [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler's]] rise to power, Bormann was commissioned as a captain in the Luftwaffe. From 1 April 1935 to 31 May 1938, he was a [[staffelkapitän]] for Kampfgeschwader Boelcke.<ref name=Lines /> From 1 July to 31 October 1938, he commanded III. ''Gruppe'' of [[Jagdgeschwader 132|''Jagdgeschwader'' 132]].{{sfn|Prien|Stemmer|Rodeike|Bock|2000|pp=144–145}} His next assignment was the command of ''Lehrgeschwader'' (Advanced Training Wing) 1; this posting lasted until July 1940.
During [[World War II]], Bormann succeeded to command of ''[[Kampfgeschwader 76]]''. As a major general, he was the ''Fliegerführer Crimea'' from February to June 1943. He was taken prisoner by the Soviet forces on 10 May 1945.<ref name=Lines /> Bormann returned from imprisonment in the Soviet Union in October 1955. He earned a Doctorate before dying in [[Düsseldorf]] on 1 August 1960.<ref name=Lines />
==Awards== * [[Iron Cross]] (1914) ** 2nd Class (24 July 1916){{sfn|Thomas|1997|p=67}} ** 1st Class (13 August 1918){{sfn|Thomas|1997|p=67}} * [[Clasp to the Iron Cross]] (1939) ** 2nd Class (22 September 1939){{sfn|Thomas|1997|p=67}} ** 1st Class (10 October 1939){{sfn|Thomas|1997|p=67}} * ''Bild des Reichsmarschalls im Silberrahmen'' (15 September 1941){{sfn|Thomas|1997|p=67}} * [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]] ** Knight's Cross on 5 October 1941 as ''[[Oberstleutnant]]'' and ''[[Geschwaderkommodore]] '' of ''Kampfgeschwader'' 76{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=235}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=140}} ** 119th Oak Leaves on 3 September 1942 as ''[[Oberst]]'' and commander of the ''Gefechtsverband Bormann'', augmenting ''Kampfgeschwader'' 76{{sfn|Scherzer|2007|p=235}}{{sfn|Fellgiebel|2000|p=61}}
==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist|25em}}
===Bibliography=== {{Refbegin}} *{{Cite book| title = Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile | trans-title = The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches | last = Fellgiebel | first = Walther-Peer | year = 2000 | author-link = Walther-Peer Fellgiebel | orig-year = First published 1986 | publisher = Podzun-Pallas | location = Friedberg, Germany | language = de | isbn = 978-3-7909-0284-6 }} *{{cite book| title = Jasta Boelcke | last = Franks | first = Norman | year = 2004 | publisher = Grub Street | location = London | isbn = 978-1-904010-76-0 }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Ritterkreuzträger der Kampfflieger—Band 1 | trans-title = The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Bomber Fliers—Volume 1 | last = Kaiser | first = Jochen | year = 2010 | publisher = Luftfahrtverlag-Start | location = Bad Zwischenahn, Germany | language = German, English | isbn = 978-3-941437-07-4 }} * {{Cite book |last1=Prien |first1=Jochen |last2=Stemmer |first2=Gerhard |last3=Rodeike |first3=Peter |last4=Bock |first4=Winfried |year=2000 |title=Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945—Teil 1—Vorkriegszeit und Einsatz über Polen—1934 bis 1939 |trans-title=The Fighter Units of the German Air Force 1934 to 1945—Part 1—Pre-War Period and Action over Poland—1934 to 1939 |language=de |location=Eutin, Germany |publisher=Struve-Druck |isbn=978-3-923457-54-0 }} *{{Cite book| title = 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 | trans-title = 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 | last = Scherzer | first = Veit | year = 2007 | publisher = Scherzers Militaer-Verlag | location = Jena, Germany | language = de | isbn = 978-3-938845-17-2 }} *{{Cite book| title = Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 1: A–K | trans-title = The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 1: A–K | last = Thomas | first = Franz | year = 1997 | publisher = Biblio-Verlag | location = Osnabrück, Germany | language = de | isbn = 978-3-7648-2299-6 }} * [[Norman Franks|Franks, Norman]]; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Grub Street, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-948817-73-1}}. * Schumann, Ralf (2007). ''Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 des LG 1'' (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany: VDM Heinz Nickel. {{ISBN|978-3-86619-013-9}}. {{Refend}}
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box | before=Oberst [[Stefan Fröhlich (german General)|Stefan Fröhlich]] | after=Major [[Wilhelm von Friedburg]] | title= Commander of [[Kampfgeschwader 76]] | years=26 February 1941 – 7 January 1943 }} {{s-end}}
{{Subject bar | portal1=Aviation | portal2=Biography }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bormann, Ernst}} [[Category:1897 births]] [[Category:1960 deaths]] [[Category:German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union]] [[Category:German World War I flying aces]] [[Category:Luftwaffe pilots]] [[Category:Major generals of the Luftwaffe]] [[Category:People from Holzminden (district)]] [[Category:Military personnel from the Province of Hanover]] [[Category:Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves]] [[Category:Military personnel from Lower Saxony]]