LT. KURT EBENER - COMMEMORATIVE ENVELOPE SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: LT. ECKART-WILHELM VON BONIN, SERGEANT ALOIS WOSNITZA, MAJOR GENERAL MAX IBEL - HFSID 74836

WORLD WAR II LUFTWAFFE: KURT EBENER, ECKART-WILHELM VON BONIN, ALOIS WOSNITZA and MAX IBEL
1971 envelope commemorating the 30th anniversary of the first jet flight in England and signed by four important members of the Nazi German Luftwaffe, including fighter aces Kurt Ebener and Eckart-Wilhelm Von Bonin, Stuka pilot Alois Wosnitza and Max Ibel, who formed a Luftwaffe fighter wing in the early day of World War II
Commemorative envelope signed "Max Ibel Oberst/1/K'dore JG.27/Kanal/1940", "Eckart Von Bonin/Kdr.II/NJG1", "Kurt Ebener" and "Alois Wosnitza/Stüka 77/1940-1945/Frankreich/England/Balkan/Krela Rütsland" in blue and purple inks. Blue, black and red ink stamps on front and verso. 6¼x4¼ envelope. RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire, England, May 15, 1971. Envelope commemorating the 30th anniversary of the first jet flight in the United Kingdom, with color cachet of a Gloster-Whittle E28/39 jet at left edge. This envelope was flown from RAF Cranwell to RAF Biggin Hill (now London Biggin Hill Airport), Bromley, Greater London, England. Two English stamps affixed. Envelope contains 10 b/w photos of various sizes, printed on cardstock and with purple and red ink stamps on verso, of all four signers and a Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. Austrian-born EBENER (1920-1975) was a Nazi Germany Luftwaffe fighter ace who scored 57 aerial victories between 1942 and 1944 in 150 missions. This includes 35 kills during his time he fought in the Battle of Stalingrad (Dec. 17, 1942-Jan. 15, 1943). He was shot down by U. S. fighters on Aug. 23, 1944 and captured as a prisoner of war, but his injuries were so severe that he was repatriated in January of 1945. Ebener received the Knight's Cross on April 7, 1943. VON BONIN (1919-1992) was a night-fighter ace with the Luftwaffe during World War II. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and, by the end of World War II, scored 39 victories in 150 missions, almost all of them at night. Von Bonin was made a Gruppenkommandeur, the equivalent of a wing commander in the U. S. Air Force, in Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 in 1943 and was promoted to major in 1944. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in 1944. WOSNITZA (1914-1982) was a pilot with the Nazi German Luftwaffe during World War II. Wosnitza flew the Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber and Fw 190 fighter and survived an amazing 1,217 missions from 1940 until the end of the war, a career that included the invasion of France, the Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa versus the Soviet Union. He destroyed 104 tanks, two armored trains, 12 bridges, a ship, a troop transport and several amphibious vehicles and shot down two planes. Wosnitza was promoted to Oberfeldwebel, the equivalent of a master sergeant in the U. S. Air Force, and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross in 1944. IBEL (1896-1981) served in the German infantry in World War I, rising to the rank of lieutenant by the end of that war. He joined the Nazi German Luftwaffe as a captain in 1934 and, in 1939, was made commander of fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 3 (1939). He was later commander and organizer of Jagdgeschwader 27 (1939-1940), which he led during the invasion of France, of Jagdfliegerführer 3 (1941) and of the 2nd Fighter Division (1943-1945). Ibel rose to the rank of Generalmajor and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on Aug. 22, 1940. After the war, he joined the West German Bundeswehr and rose to the rank of Brigadegeneral and commanded the 1st Air Force Division (1957-1961). Envelope is open. Lightly toned, soiled and creased. Wosnitza's signature has bled lightly but is legible and touches adhesive stain in bottom right corner. Von Bonin and Wosnitza's signatures touch ink stamps. Photos are lightly bowed and have light scratches (not visible head-on) and impressions on images. Otherwise in fine condition.