Douglas Pitcairn, Luftwaffe Pilot

[JDupre5762]

I have recently learned about Douglas Pitcairn a Luftwaffe pilot who flew with
the Condor Legion in Spain. The article didn't describe how someone with such
an English sounding name ended up in Spain. At first I thought he might be an
English volunteer for Franco but since the Condor Legion was really an all
German show and now I learn that Pitcairn flew for the Luftwaffe in France I
realize he must have been a German citizen. I am more intriqued than ever.

Who was he and how did he get his name? Did he survive WW2?

John Dupre'

[Tex Houston]

"JDupre5762" > wrote in message
...
> I have recently learned about Douglas Pitcairn a Luftwaffe pilot who flew
with
> the Condor Legion in Spain. The article didn't describe how someone with
such
> an English sounding name ended up in Spain. At first I thought he might
be an
> English volunteer for Franco but since the Condor Legion was really an all
> German show and now I learn that Pitcairn flew for the Luftwaffe in France
I
> realize he must have been a German citizen. I am more intriqued than
ever.
>
> Who was he and how did he get his name? Did he survive WW2?
>
> John Dupre'

If I recall he was the German Fighter Director for the Polesti "Tidal Wave"
raid as Uzal Ent was the American commander. I believe he was Douglas
Pitcairn of Perthshire. The English and German 'royals' were related. This
is from memory and I do not know if all is recalled correctly. Google is
your friend.

Tex

[Yann D]

This what I've found in a newsgroup.
Of course, there is no official credit to those statements, however, the
author nicknamed (?) Many Souffan seems pretty confident in his writings
Funny this guy allegedly invented the famous Micky Maus insigna.

Yann
-------
Douglas Pitcairn was the second Staffel Kapitan of the 3/J88 from april to
the end of July 1937 (he was replaced by Dolfo Galland,) he was the man who
introduced the famous Micky Maus insignia for the 3/J88. He never claimed a
victory during the spanish tour.

the 1st september 39, Haupt Douglas Pitcairn took the command of the 1/JG51
till 5th august 1940 where he had a serious accident just before to take
off. His White 1 entered in collision with the White 8 of Fw Willi gasthaus.

During this period he shot down 4 aircrafts: 25/9/39 a Curtiss Hawk H75 of
GC II/4, 21/5/40 a Hurricane maybe of 253 Sqn. But not sure, possibly also
it can be a French fighter, many were shot down in this aera this same day.
For these 2 victories Douglas Pitcairn had as Wingman Heinz Bär ( a future
experte with 221 victories).

The two last victories are the 23/5/40 near Arras against a Dewoitine 520 of
GC I/3 and the 6/6/40 against a French bomber Léo 451 probably of GB II/31.

After his accident he never flew again and served in different Jafü.

[robert arndt]

"Tex Houston" > wrote in message >...
> "JDupre5762" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I have recently learned about Douglas Pitcairn a Luftwaffe pilot who flew
> with
> > the Condor Legion in Spain. The article didn't describe how someone with
> such
> > an English sounding name ended up in Spain. At first I thought he might
> be an
> > English volunteer for Franco but since the Condor Legion was really an all
> > German show and now I learn that Pitcairn flew for the Luftwaffe in France
> I
> > realize he must have been a German citizen. I am more intriqued than
> ever.
> >
> > Who was he and how did he get his name? Did he survive WW2?
> >
> > John Dupre'


Douglas Pitcairn was the second Staffel Kapitan of the 3/J88 from
April to the end of July 1937 (he was replaced by Adolf Galland,) he
was the man who introduced the famous Micky Maus insignia for the
3/J88. He never claimed a victory during the spanish tour.

The 1st September 39, Haupt Douglas Pitcairn took the command of the
1/JG51 till 5th august 1940 where he had a serious accident just
before to take off. His White 1 entered in collision with the White 8
of Fw Willi Gasthaus.

During this period he shot down 4 aircrafts: 25/9/39 a Curtiss Hawk
H75 of GC II/4, 21/5/40 a Hurricane maybe of 253 Sqn. But not sure,
possibly also it can be a French fighter, many were shot down in this
aera this same day. For these 2 victories Douglas Pitcairn had as
Wingman Heinz Bär ( a future experte with 221 victories).

The two last victories are the 23/5/40 near Arras against a Dewoitine
520 of GC I/3 and the 6/6/40 against a French bomber Léo 451 probably
of GB II/31.

After his accident he never flew again and served in different Jafü…

(provisional information taken from another board)
Rob

p.s. Pitcairn was the first to score a kill for 1/JG51

[ian maclure]

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 01:14:02 +0000, JDupre5762 wrote:

> I have recently learned about Douglas Pitcairn a Luftwaffe pilot who flew with
> the Condor Legion in Spain. The article didn't describe how someone with such
> an English sounding name ended up in Spain. At first I thought he might be an
> English volunteer for Franco but since the Condor Legion was really an all
> German show and now I learn that Pitcairn flew for the Luftwaffe in France I
> realize he must have been a German citizen. I am more intriqued than ever.
>
> Who was he and how did he get his name? Did he survive WW2?

He was probably the offspring of a German mother and
Scottish father. Not an uncommon thing.
For instance there was, I understand, in the Kaiser's War
an Austrian airman with the fine German name of Robert
Thompson. He was low on their ace's list.

I can imagine that looking at a roster of American military
the Germans might have wondered aloud at the irony.
Eisenhower for instance? Spaatz? etc.

And don't forget the pride of the USN. Able Seaman Hitler
( who, if he had any sense of humo(u)r at all should have
joined the US Army and tried for Corporal ).

Drill Sergeant: OK, recruits listen up we're going to explain
to you why you're here....
Corporal Hitler carry on....

IBM

IBM

IBM

__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Accounts Starting At $6.95 - http://www.uncensored-news.com
<><><><><><><> The Worlds Uncensored News Source <><><><><><><><>

[Krztalizer]

>> Who was he and how did he get his name? Did he survive WW2?
>
> He was probably the offspring of a German mother and
> Scottish father.

A famous example would be Experte/Ace Gordon MacGollob, one of the Luftwaffe's
best.

v/r
Gordon (not THAT Gordon)
<====(A+C====>
USN SAR

Its always better to lose -an- engine, not -the- engine.

[Cub Driver]

>I can imagine that looking at a roster of American military
> the Germans might have wondered aloud at the irony.
> Eisenhower for instance?

Well, they put about that he was Jewish. Same with Roosevelt.
(Actually, a lot of Americans believed that of FDR.)

Just as all Americans are the offspring of immigrants, and many have
close ties to another country, so are all Europeans the product of
migrations and conquests over the centuries, and many can trace their
parentage to another country. My son-in-law is English, but both of
his father's parents were Scots (not an important distinction, to an
American, but I assure you it is to a Scot), and his mother's family
have German roots. And note that the English are called Anglo-Saxon,
referring to two Germanic tribes.

I went backcountry skiing in Canada with a young woman guide whose
name was McDonald, pronounced Mac-donn-all. Her family were of the
"habitants" and did not speak English, being thoroughly French save
for the surname.

Then there famously was Louis Battenberg, who changed his name to
Mountbatten during World War I.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! weblog www.vivabush.org

[Peter Stickney]

In article >,
Cub Driver > writes:

> Then there famously was Louis Battenberg, who changed his name to
> Mountbatten during World War I.

And, of course, the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, family, who changed their name
to Windsor somewhere around the same time.

Or, as stated in the 4th Blackadder series:
"I can't be a traitor! I'm as British as Queen Victoria!"
"Oh, so you're half German, you married a German, you speak German,
and the Kaiser is your Grandson!"

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster

[ian maclure]

On Tue, 13 Jul 2004 05:22:09 -0400, Cub Driver wrote:

[snip]

> I went backcountry skiing in Canada with a young woman guide whose
> name was McDonald, pronounced Mac-donn-all. Her family were of the
> "habitants" and did not speak English, being thoroughly French save
> for the surname.

Probably a descendent of a demobilised highland soldier of the
French-Indian/7 Year's War period.
Many settled on the North Shore of the St Lawrence and their
progeny have been speaking only French for the better part
of 250 years.

Two of the leading lights of the Quebec separatist movement
bore the mellifluous fine old French names Robert Burns and
Louis O'Neil.

IBM

__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Accounts Starting At $6.95 - http://www.uncensored-news.com
<><><><><><><> The Worlds Uncensored News Source <><><><><><><><>

[Cub Driver]

On 13 Jul 2004 20:56:22 GMT, "ian maclure" > wrote:

>Two of the leading lights of the Quebec separatist movement
> bore the mellifluous fine old French names Robert Burns and
> Louis O'Neil.

Then there is the famous South American liberator, Bernando O'Higgins.

I believe there was also a marshal of France named Ashe.

The Scots weren't exactly stay-at-homes, but the Irish *really* got
around.

Then there are the "English" families you find in Argentina, often in
Patagonia. I've met several of these in the past few years, result of
a family connection. They speak English, and most go to school or
university in Britain at some point in their lives.

And yes, one of them just got a job on an estancia so large that his
new employer sent him to flight school, because the foreman gets
around by Cessna 172, so you see this was really on topic after all.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! weblog www.vivabush.org

[Marc Reeve]

ian maclure wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 05:30:54 -0400, Cub Driver wrote:
>
>
>>On 13 Jul 2004 20:56:22 GMT, "ian maclure" > wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Two of the leading lights of the Quebec separatist movement
>>> bore the mellifluous fine old French names Robert Burns and
>>> Louis O'Neil.
>>
>>Then there is the famous South American liberator, Bernando O'Higgins.
>
>
> And there is of coures the Chilean Navy vessel named after
> that fine old hidalgo grandee of Spain Almirante Don
> Alejandro Cochrane.
>
Tomaso Cochrane, yes?

--
Marc Reeve
Some guy at a desk somewhere ^reverse^ for email

[Tom Denton]

Admiral Lord Thomas Alexander Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald.

[Marc Reeve]

Tom Denton wrote:
> Admiral Lord Thomas Alexander Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald.

Yes, I was aware of that.

AKA "the real 'Jack Aubrey'", though with somewhat less stellar a career
in the Napoleonic Wars. Not that this has anything to do with military
aviation.

-Marc
--
Marc Reeve
Some guy at a desk somewhere ^reverse^ for email

[Ian MacLure]

Marc Reeve > wrote in :

> Tom Denton wrote:
>> Admiral Lord Thomas Alexander Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald.
>
> Yes, I was aware of that.
>
> AKA "the real 'Jack Aubrey'", though with somewhat less stellar a career
> in the Napoleonic Wars. Not that this has anything to do with military
> aviation.

Aka the real <name your Napoleonic Naval Fiction Hero>.
All of them are a pastiche of Cochrane and others.
With HMS Speedy thrown in for good measure.

IBM

__________________________________________________ _____________________________
Posted Via Uncensored-News.Com - Accounts Starting At $6.95 - http://www.uncensored-news.com
<><><><><><><> The Worlds Uncensored News Source <><><><><><><><>

[literide]

I have recently learned about Douglas Pitcairn a Luftwaffe pilot who flew with
the Condor Legion in Spain. The article didn't describe how someone with such
an English sounding name ended up in Spain. At first I thought he might be an
English volunteer for Franco but since the Condor Legion was really an all
German show and now I learn that Pitcairn flew for the Luftwaffe in France I
realize he must have been a German citizen. I am more intriqued than ever.

Who was he and how did he get his name? Did he survive WW2?

John Dupre'

I came across him while researching a paper in college on the air battle of the Ploesti oil refineries. Apparently he was of noble birth, his mother a Prussian aristocrat, his paternal line Scottish landed gentry. His full and proper designation was Douglas Pitcairn of (Scottish Placename forgotten). It's also possible that Pitcairn was the teritorial designation and not his surname. What the actual surname may be, I am not sure, tried Burkes, who track the Scottish Gentry pretty well but cannot seem to find any Pitcairns but the territory seemed to be among the holdings of the Keith family, the head of which bears the title EARL MARISCHAL. If he is indeed Douglas Keith of Pitcairn, he may be of a cadet branch of that family. He may have used Pitcairn the way Prince William registered for St. Andrews as William Wales rather than William Mountbatten-Windsor, who wouldnt. Obvioulsy raised in his mothers land and traditions he became a patriotic German officer, though I dont know to what extent he was idealogically a Nazi.
This info was in an obscure book on Ploesti I have not been able to locate since. His heritage was detailed in the context of the irony that the defending German's were just about everything but. Pitcairn commanded the Luftwaffe and the AA troops were mostly Romanian conscripts, while there was a startling preponderance of Germanic surnames among the USAAF personel involved in the raid.

I hope this is helpful

PS. I think someone above had his full name and designation as: Douglas
Pitcairn of Perthshire. Sounds right and likely landed gentry by the sounds of it, but doesnt appear in Burkes. Perhaps removed because of his ties during WWII

Also, Kaiser Bill was Queen Victoria's grandson, her husband Albert was her German first cousin, William (of orange) and Mary were first cousins who together deposed their common grandfather from the british throne. Many European wars were large scale family fueds.