original commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen", also known as JG II. In 1939, he became Inspector of the Nationalsozialitische Fliegerkorps, the Luftwaffe's civil reserve. World War II and beyond World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. On 30 November, Bülow-Bothkamp was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing), succeeding Oberstleutnant Carl-Alfred Schumacher in this capacity. He led this Gruppe until 31 March 1940, surrendering command of the Gruppe to Hauptmann Karl Hentschel. On 1 April, he took over command of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) as Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) from Oberst Gerd von Massow. Bülow-Bothkamp led JG 2 during the blitzkrieg into France during May and June 1940. Despite being over 40 years old, he vanquished at least 12 opponents in this campaign. This performance as a fighting commander of JG 2 earned him another promotion, to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel), and he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 22 August 1940. On 1 September 1940, he was reassigned to Nachtjagdschule 1 (Night Fight School 1). He remained in command of this unit through its redesignation as Nachtjagdgeschwader 101 (NJG 101), until October, 1943. He commanded the 5th Fighter Division from November, 1943 and then commanded Jafu 4 on the western front from March 1944 to September 1944. He ended the war back with the Nationalsozialitische Fliegerkorps. He died of natural causes in Kirchbarkau, near his ancestral castle, where he was buried in the same plot as his brothers. Awards Iron Cross (1914) 2nd Class (23 June 1916) 1st Class (30 May 1917) Aviator badge (WW I) (3 March 1917) Albert Order II. Class with swords (9 May 1917) Military Order of St. Henry (7 October 1918) House Order of Hohenzollern (9 October 1918) Aviator badge (WW II) (4 February 1935) Wehrmacht Long Service Award 4. Class (2 October 1936) Clasp to the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 August 1940 as Oberstleutnant of the Reserves and Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" See also Pilots who flew in combat in both World Wars Otto Höhne Erich Mix Louis Strange Theo Osterkamp, an ace in both World War I and II Stanley Vincent, the only British pilot to score victories in both wars. Marcel Haegelen, the only French