| Günter Schwartzkopff | |
| Birth Date: | 5 August 1898 |
| Birth Place: | Forbach, German Empire |
| Death Place: | Châtillon-sur-Bar, France |
| Allegiance: | |
| Branch: | Prussian Army Luftstreitkräfte Reichsheer Luftwaffe |
| Serviceyears: | 1914–1940 |
| Rank: | Generalmajor (Posthumously) |
| Commands: | StG 77 |
| Awards: | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Günter Schwartzkopff (5 August 1898 – 14 May 1940) was an officer in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was the namesake of the Bundeswehr General Schwartzkopff barracks in Hamburg which was renamed the in Generalleutnant-Graf-von-Baudissin-Kaserne June 1994.
Schwartzkopf was an important figure in the development of the dive-bomber arm in the pre-war Luftwaffe. He is credited with the title "Father of the Stuka.
He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 24 November 1939 and posthumously promoted to Generalmajor. He was killed on 14 May 1940 after his Junkers Ju 87 was shot down during the Battle of France.
Schwartzkopff was born on 5 August 1898 in Forbach (now Poznan) in the German Empire. In October 1914, he joined the military service in the Heer as a Fahnenjunker (officer cadet), serving with Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 41, an infantry regiment of the 1st Division. Schwartzkopff joined the Fliegertruppe in 1916 after being badly wounded in the Battle of Verdun in World War I.
On 14 May 1940, Schwartzkoff and his radio operator Feldwebel Heinz Follmer were killed in action in their Junkers Ju 87 B-2 (Werknummer 5328—factory number) while flying a ground attack mission south-west of Le Chesne. They were either shot down by anti-aircraft artillery, or by Hawker Hurricane fighters from No. 1 or No. 73 Squadron, near Châtillon-sur-Bar. Schwartzkopff was buried at the German war cemetery at Noyers-Pont-Maugis. Posthumously, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 24 November 1940, and promoted to Generalmajor in June 1944, the promotion backdated to 1 May 1940.
The Air Force School of the Bundeswehr (Federal Armed Forces) in Hamburg was named General Schwartzkopff barracks in April 1965. The school was renamed in June 1994 to Lieutenant General Graf von Baudissin barracks. A lecture hall was named after him instead.[1]
. James Corum . 1997 . The Luftwaffe: Creating the Operational Air War, 1918–1940 . . 978-0-7006-0836-2 .
. James Corum . 2008 . Wolfram von Richthofen: Master of the German Air War . . Lawrence . 978-0-7006-1598-8 .
. Walther-Peer Fellgiebel . 2000 . 1986 . Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile . 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 . German . Friedberg, Germany . Podzun-Pallas . 978-3-7909-0284-6 .