World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces
invaded Poland. Nordmann claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Polish
PZL.43 on 3 September 1939. Nordmann achieved his next victory during the
Battle of France and seven more in the
Battle of Britain. He was appointed
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 12.
Staffel (12th squadron) of
Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) on 1 March 1940, replacing
Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Erwin Neuerburg who became
Staffelkapitän of 7.
Staffel of
Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). In this function, he was promoted to
Oberleutnant on 1 April 1940. Nordmann was victorious over two
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Supermarine Spitfires on 17 October 1940 and achieved his ninth aerial victory on 6 May 1941. On 21 November 1940, I.
Gruppe of JG 77 was officially redesignated and became IV.
Gruppe of JG 51.
Operation Barbarossa On 15 June, IV.
Gruppe of JG 51 began transferring east and was located at an airfield named Krzewicze, located approximately west of
Brest-Litovsk. On 22 June, German forces launched
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 51 was subordinated to
II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), which as part of
Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2). JG 51 area of operation during Operation Barbarossa was over the right flank of
Army Group Center in the combat area of the
2nd Panzer Group as well as the
4th Army. On 20 July 1941 Nordmann was appointed to command IV./JG 51, succeeding
Major Friedrich Beckh who was selected to command JG 51 as
Geschwaderkommodore (Wing Commander). Command of the 12.
Staffel was passed on to
Oberleutnant Heinrich Bär. Less than two weeks later, on 1 August 1941 Nordmann was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () after a total of 31 victories which was presented to him by
General der Flieger Bruno Loerzer.
Unteroffizier (Sergeant)
Franz-Josef Beerenbrock flew as Nordmann's
Rottenflieger (
wing man) around this time. Nordmann achieved his 40th victory in total on 16 August and his 50th on 28 August. Only three weeks later he was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 16 September 1941 after 59 victories which was presented by
Adolf Hitler. Three days later, on 19 September, he was promoted to
Hauptmann (captain). On 10 April 1942, Nordmann took over command of JG 51 as
Geschwaderkommodore from Beckh who was transferred to the
Reich Air Ministry. Nordmann was promoted to
Major (major) on 18 June 1942. On 26 June 1942 Nordmann crashed his
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-2 (
Werknummer 12825—factory number). The aircraft flipped during the landing and Nordmann suffered a
basilar fractured skull, an injury typical of high-speed crashes. Although he flew again shortly after the crash his injury required hospitalization in August. Nordmann, who had been assisted by
Hauptmann Joachim Müncheberg as a
Geschwaderkommodore in training, temporarily replaced him during his absence. On 17 January 1943 Nordmann's
Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was involved in a
midair collision with
Hauptmann Rudolf Busch,
Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 51. Busch was killed and Nordmann, severely injured, did not fly operationally again. In total, Nordmann claimed 78 aerial victories, 69 of which on the Eastern Front, flying over 800 combat missions. Under his leadership JG 51 reported the 4,000th aerial victory on 16 December 1942, the 5,000th victory on 2 June 1943, the 6,000th victory on 27 July 1943 and the 7,000th victory on 15 September 1943. Nordmann, who had been promoted to
Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 1 August 1943, was appointed
Jagdfliegerführer Ostpreussen on 1 April 1944. This command was also later referred to as
Jagdabschnittsführer 6 (leader of the 6th fighter sector), while subordinated to the
Luftflotte 6 (6th Air Fleet). On 11 November,
Reichsmarschall (Marshal of the Realm)
Hermann Göring, in his role as commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, organized a meeting of high-ranking Luftwaffe officers, including Nordmann. The meeting, also referred to as the "Areopag" was held at the
Luftkriegsakademie (air war academy) at
Berlin-Gatow. This Luftwaffe version of the Greek
Areopagus—a court of justice—aimed at finding solutions to the deteriorating air war situation over Germany. He was appointed
Inspekteur der Tagjäger Ost (Inspector of Fighter Operations East) on 4 January 1945 and on 30 January 1945 promoted to
Oberst (Colonel). Just prior to the end of the war, on 4 April 1945, he took over command of the
1st Fighter Division until the end of the war. ==Later life and business career==