Background
Drewes was born on 20 October 1918 in Lobmachtersen-bei-Braunschweig, a small village near Hannover in northwestern Germany, the son of a local pharmacist.
Drewes was born on 20 October 1918 in Lobmachtersen-bei-Braunschweig, a small village near Hannover in northwestern Germany, the son of a local pharmacist.
He is credited with 52 victories of which 43 were claimed at night mainly against British four-engine bombers whilst flying variants of the Messerschmitt Bf 110. As the end of the 1930s, Drewes volunteered for the officer"s school of the German Army and at the end of the course transferred to the Luftwaffe during 1939. Drewes was first assigned to World War II/Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing) flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110, operating defensive patrols over the North Sea.
In May 1941 the Luftwaffe committed Flyer Command Iraq (Fliegerführer Irak), which comprised one squadron (Staffel) of He 111s (4/Kampfgeschwader 4), one Staffel of Zerstörer (Bf 110s of 4/ZG 76), and 12 transports including a number of Junkers Ju 90s to support the Iraqi rebels during the Anglo-Iraqi War.
The ten-day stint in the Middle East saw Drewes shoot down a British Gloster Gladiator biplane. Allied air-opposition was light and the Luftwaffe force concentrated mainly on ground support duties.
By 26 May, despite cannibalizing two machines damaged in a Royal Air Force (Royal Air Force) raid on Mosul, no Bf 110 was left serviceable. Drewes and his unit were evacuated the following day.
Soon after ZG 76 was converted to a night fighter unit and renamed Nachtjagdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3—3rd Night Fighter Wing).
Drewes scored regular night victories over Germany, before being transferred to Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) where he would remain until the end of the war. In 1944 he became Gruppenkommandeur III. His adjutant in the group at the time was Oberleutnant Walter Scheel, who later became the President of Germany (1 July 1974 – 30 June 1979).
Drewes was decorated with Ritterkreuz and Eichenlaub. He was captured by British forces at the end of the war.
He returned at least once each year on visits to Germany.
He died on 13 October 2013 in Blumenau, southern Brazil, of natural causes. 235 missions 1 Gloster Gladiator 1 Supermarine Spitfire 1 Short Stirling 1 Consolidated B-24 Liberator 6 Boeing B-17 9 Handley Page Halifax 33 Avro Lancaster Bibliography.