What German commander of the Jagdgeschwader fighter wing had a personal emissary to Benito Mussolini that later became an arms dealer?
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Josef Veltjens Josef "Seppl" Veltjens (2 June 1894 – 6 October 1943) was a German World War I fighter ace credited with 35 victories. In later years, he served as an international arms dealer, as well as a personal emissary from Hermann Göring to Benito Mussolini. He was awarded Pour le Mérite, the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, and the Iron Cross.
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Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ] ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German political and military leader as well as one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. A veteran World War I fighter pilot ace, he was a recipient of the "Pour le Mérite". He was the last commander of "Jagdgeschwader" 1, the fighter wing once led by Manfred von Richthofen.
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Fiat G.50 The Fiat G.50 "Freccia" ("Arrow") was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft. First flown in February 1937, the G.50 was Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable undercarriage to go into production. In early 1938, the "Freccias" served in the "Regia Aeronautica" (the Italian Air Force), and with its expeditionary arm, the "Aviazione Legionaria", in Spain, where they proved to be fast and, as with most Italian designs, very manoeuvrable. However, it had inadequate weaponry (two Breda-SAFAT 12.7-mm machine guns). The Fiat G.50 was also used in small numbers by the Croatian Air Force and 35 were shipped to Finland, where they served with distinction, with an unprecedented kill/loss ratio of 33/1.
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Heinz Linge Heinz Linge (23 March 1913 – 9 March 1980) was an SS officer who served as a valet for German dictator Adolf Hitler. Linge was present in the "Führerbunker" on 30 April 1945, when Hitler shot himself.
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Jagdgeschwader 142 Jagdgeschwader" 142 "Horst Wessel was a fighter wing of Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe in World War II.
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Fritz Bayerlein Fritz Hermann Michael Bayerlein (14 January 1899 – 30 January 1970) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. He initially served as a staff officer, including with Erwin Rommel in the Afrika Korps. He then commanded the 3rd Panzer Division, the Panzer Lehr Division and LIII Army Corps in the European theatre. Bayerlein was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
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Hermann Greiner Georg-Hermann Greiner (2 January 1920 – 26 September 2014) was a Luftwaffe night fighter ace who served during World War II. Greiner was recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves—the fourth highest German award by war's end. He was also a squadron commander in the prestigious "Nachtjagdgeschwader" 1 ("NJG" 1—Night Fighter Wing 1), the most successful night fighter interceptor unit of any nation in the history of aerial warfare.
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Johannes Wiese Johannes Wiese (7 March 1915 – 16 August 1991) was a German "Luftwaffe" pilot during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 133 enemy aircraft shot down in 480 combat missions. He claimed all of his victories over the Eastern Front, including over 50 Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik ground attack aircraft.
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Jan Zumbach Jan Eugeniusz Ludwig Zumbach (14 April 1915, Ursynów, Congress Poland, Russian Empire – 3 January 1986, France) was a Polish fighter pilot who became an ace and squadron commander during the Second World War. In the postwar period he became a mercenary in Africa and played a key role in forming the air forces of the breakaway states of Katanga and Biafra.
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Wilhelm Keitel Wilhelm Keitel (22 September 1882 – 16 October 1946) was a German field marshal who served as Chief of the Armed Forces High Command ("Oberkommando der Wehrmacht" or OKW) in Nazi Germany during World War II. According to David Stahel, Keitel was "well known and [...] reviled as Hitler's dependable mouthpiece and habitual yes-man" among his military colleagues.
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Wolfsschlucht II "Führerhauptquartier" Wolfsschlucht II (English: "Wolf Canyon") or W2 was the codename used for one of Adolf Hitler's World War II Western Front military headquarters located in Margival, 10 km northeast of Soissons in the department of Aisne in France. It was one of many other Führer Headquarters throughout Europe but was used only one time by Adolf Hitler, June 16 and 17, 1944 for a meeting with Field Marshals Rommel and von Rundstedt about the Normandy Front.
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Galeazzo Ciano Gian Galeazzo Ciano, 2nd Count of Cortellazzo and Buccari (] ; 18 March 1903 – 11 January 1944) was Foreign Minister of Fascist Italy from 1936 until 1943 and Benito Mussolini's son-in-law. On 11 January 1944, Count Ciano was shot by firing squad at the behest of his father-in-law, Mussolini, under pressure from Nazi Germany. Ciano wrote and left behind a diary that has been used as a source by several historians, including William Shirer in his "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" and in the 4-hour HBO documentary-drama "Mussolini and I".
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Josef Kammhuber Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer in the Luftwaffe and post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night fighters in the Luftwaffe.
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Hermann Fegelein Hans Otto Georg Hermann Fegelein (30 October 1906 – 28 April 1945) was a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany. He was a member of Adolf Hitler's entourage and brother-in-law to Eva Braun through his marriage to her sister, Gretl.
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Siegfried Barth Siegfried Barth (23 January 1916 – 19 December 1997) was a German bomber pilot in the Luftwaffe during World War II and commander of the fighter-bomber wing Jagdbombergeschwader 32 (JaBoG 32) of the German Air Force. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, awarded by Nazi Germany to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. As a Bundeswehr officer, he served at the NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) from 1969 to 1972.
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Armin Faber Oberleutnant Armin Faber was a Luftwaffe pilot in World War II who mistook the Bristol Channel for the English Channel and landed his Focke-Wulf 190 (Fw 190) intact at RAF Pembrey in south Wales. His plane was the first Fw 190 to be captured by the Allies and was tested to reveal any weaknesses that could be exploited.
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Adolf Thiel Adolf Thiel (February 12, 1915 – June 2, 2001 Los Angeles) was an Austrian-born German expert in guided missiles during World War II, and later worked for the United States Army and TRW.
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Heinz Brandt Generalmajor Heinz Brandt (11 March 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German officer during World War II who served as an aide to General Adolf Heusinger, the head of the operations unit of the General Staff. He may have inadvertently saved Adolf Hitler's life, at the cost of his own, by moving the 20 July plot bomb planted by Claus von Stauffenberg.
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Kampfgeschwader 26 "Kampfgeschwader" 26 (KG 26) "Löwengeschwader" (in English "Bomber Wing 26" aka ""Lions' Wing"" by virtue of its insignia) was a German air force Luftwaffe bomber wing unit during World War II.
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Günther Josten Günther Josten (7 November 1921 – 7 July 2004) was a German "Luftwaffe" military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 178 enemy aircraft shot down in 420 combat missions, all of which claimed over the Eastern Front. Following World War II, he served in the newly established West Germany's Air Force in the Bundeswehr.
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Reinhard Seiler Reinhard Seiler (30 August 1909 – 6 October 1989) was a Spanish Civil War and World War II Luftwaffe Major and ace, commander of Jagdgeschwader 104 and a winner of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany; for the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success. Reinhard Seiler was credited with 100 victories during World War II, over the course of about 500 combat missions. He recorded an additional 9 victories during the Spanish Civil War.
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Duce Duce (] , "leader") is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word "dux", and cognate with "duke". National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as "Il Duce" ("The Leader") of the movement. In 1925 it became a reference to the dictatorial position of "Sua Eccellenza Benito Mussolini, Capo del Governo, Duce del Fascismo e Fondatore dell'Impero" (""His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Leader of Fascism and Founder of the Empire""). Mussolini held this title together with that of President of the Council of Ministers: this was the constitutional position which entitled him to rule Italy on behalf of the King of Italy. "Founder of the Empire" was added for the exclusive use by Mussolini in recognition of his founding of an official legal entity of the Italian Empire on behalf of the King in 1936 following Italy's victory in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The position was held by Mussolini until 1943, when he was removed from office by the King and the position of "Duce" was dismantled, while Marshal Pietro Badoglio was appointed Presidente del Consiglio.