Gen. J. Steinhoff; WW II Ace, NATO Official

Gen. Johannes Steinhoff, an ace World War II fighter pilot who helped rebuild Germany’s postwar air force and later chaired NATO’s military commission, has died at the age of 80.

A career military officer who was badly burned in the crash of a jet fighter near the end of the war, Steinhoff became instrumental in rebuilding Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe.

He served as Germany’s representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization from 1960 to 1963 and became Luftwaffe inspector in 1966.

Five years later, as a four-star general, Steinhoff took over the chair of NATO’s military commission and held the job until his retirement in 1973.

In 1992, Steinhoff attended a weekend aviation art show in Irvine, encountering two Russian fliers who had been adversaries during the war.

“The fighter fraternity is always a close club,” he told The Times.

Steinhoff said the get-together was only possible because of the collapse of the former Soviet Union. He said that earlier efforts by German pilots to meet their Russian counterparts had never succeeded.

“Now,” he said, “we are happy we come together in peace.”

Steinhoff bore scars from his wartime burns. During 993 combat missions for Germany, he was shot down 12 times.

“It is hard to make predictions,” Steinhoff told The Times in 1992. “No one predicted that the Soviet Union would fall apart. No one predicted that Germany would be reunited. I am careful not to make predictions. But one thing will not happen again: that we will fight each other. That is over.”

Steinhoff died Monday. He is survived by his wife and two children.