Squadron names

Kurt Walter Barthel (8 June 1914 in Garnsdorf – 12 November 1967 in  Frankfurt am Main), known by his pen name KuBa, was a German writer, poet, playwright, dramaturge and East German state official.

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (21 December 1742 in Rostock – 12 September 1819 in Krobielowice), Graf (count), later elevated to Fürst (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (field marshal).  He earned his greatest recognition after leading his army against Napoleon I at the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813 and the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 in Kloesjino – 27 March 1968 in Novoselovo) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space.  Travelling in the Vostok 1 capsule, Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth on 12 April 1961.  By achieving this major milestone in the Space Race, he became an international celebrity, and was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation's highest honour.  Gagarin died when the MiG-15 training jet he was piloting with flight instructor Vladimir Seryogin crashed near the town of Novoselovo.

Klement Gottwald (23 November 1896 in Vyškov – 14 March 1953 in Prague) was a Czech communist politician, who was the leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1929 until his death in 1953–titled as general secretary until 1945 and as chairman from 1945 to 1953.  He was the first leader of Communist Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1953.

Lambert Horn (27 December 1899 in Düsseldorf – 2 June 1939 in Sachsenhausen) was a German politician of the KPD.  On November 29, 1934, the People's Court sentenced Horn to three years in prison for "preparation for high treason and serious forgery of documents".  On December 15, 1936, he was transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

Heinz Kapelle (17 September 1913 in Berlin – 1 July 1941 in Berlin) was a leader of the Young Communist League of Germany (Kommunistischer Jugendverband Deutschlands; KJVD) in Berlin in the 1930s.  The Volksgerichtshof sentenced Heinz Kapelle to death on 21 February 1941 for "furthering the enemy's cause and conspiracy to commit high treason".  On 1 July of that year, he was put to death at Plötzensee Prison in Berlin.

Wladimir Mikhaylovich Komarow (16 March 1927 in Moscow – 24 April 1967 in Orenburg Oblast) was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, and cosmonaut.  In October 1964, he commanded Voskhod 1, the first spaceflight to carry more than one crewmember.  He became the first Soviet cosmonaut to fly in space twice when he was selected as the solo pilot of Soyuz 1, its first crewed test flight.  A parachute failure caused his Soyuz capsule to crash into the ground after re-entry on 24 April 1967, making him the first human to die in a space flight.

Ludwig Adolf Wilhelm Freiherr von Lützow (18 May 1782 in Berlin – 6 December 1834 in Berlin) was a Prussian general notable for his organization and command of the Lützow Freikorps of volunteers during the Napoleonic Wars.

Hermann Matern (17 June 1893 in Burg bei Magdeburg – 24 January 1971 in Berlin) was a German communist politician (KPD) and high ranking functionary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and statesman in the German Democratic Republic.

Heinrich Gottlob Rau (2 April 1899 in Stuttgart – 23 March 1961 in East-Berlin) was a German communist politician during the time of the Weimar Republic; subsequently, during the Spanish Civil War, he was a leading member of the International Brigades and after World War II a leading East German statesman.

Arthur Pieck (28 December 1899 in Bremen - 13 January 1970 in Berlin) was a qualified typesetter and committed political activist who became a stage and movie actor and, later, a Communist party official.  Between 8 July 1941 and May 1945, he served as a Senior Policy Commissar and Captain with the Central Administration of the Red Army.  He topped off his unusually varied career, between 1955 and 1960, as a senior director - ultimately General Director - of Interflug, the East German national airline.  After this, he served, between 1960 and 1965, as a junior Transport Minister.

Leander Ratz (1923 – 30 May 1962) was a trained locksmith and was practically an officer from the very beginning of the new armed forces.  He helped build up the Volkspolizei-Luft, was commander of the 1st Aeroklub Cottbus (precursor of the 1st Air Defense Division) from 1953 to 1956 and then from 01 July 1956 to 31 March 1958 also commander of the 1st Air Defense Division.  In his last post, he was commander of Pilot Training Wing 15 in Bautzen when he died in a plane crash on a training flight with a MiG-17 over Poland.

Ferdinand Baptista von Schill (6 January 1776 in Bannewitz – 31 May 1809 in Stralsund) was a Prussian major who revolted unsuccessfully against French domination of Prussia in May 1809.  Schill's rebellion ended at the Battle of Stralsund, a battle that also saw Schill's own death in action.  Outnumbered 3 to 1, Schill's Prussian forces succumbed to a Napoleonic force supported by Dutch and Danish auxiliaries.

Werner Seelenbinder (2 August 1904 in Stettin – 24 October 1944 n Brandenbur an der Havel) was a German communist and wrestler.  He was arrested on 4 February 1942 and after nine camps and prisons in two and half years, the Volksgerichtshof sentenced him to death.  He was executed for treason on 24 October 1944 at Brandenburg-Görden Prison.

Fritz Paul Schmenkel (14 February 1916 in Warsow, near Stettin – 22 February 1944 in Minsk) was a German communist and resistance fighter, who fought alongside the Soviet partisans in German-occupied Byelorussia during World War II.  In December 1943, German forces captured Schmenkel.  He was taken to Minsk (German-occupied Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union) where a German military court sentenced him to death; he was executed by firing squad on 22 February 1944.

Paul Wieczorek (15 July 1885 in Bromberg – 14 November 1918 in Berlin) was a participant in the November Revolution in Germany and commander of the People's Marine Division.  During a struggle for the leadership of the Division, Paul Wieczorek was shot dead by Korvettenkapitän (Lieutenant Commander) Friedrich Brettschneider.

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