In parallel, he was accepted for flight training with the Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule, a covert military-training organization, and at the Lipetsk fighter-pilot school.

Following flight training, he served with Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel" (JG 134—134th Fighter Wing) and was one of the first German volunteers to fight in the Spanish Civil War.

Following his service in Spain, Trautloft held various command positions, and at the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, he was the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2.

He claimed his first aerial victory during the Invasion of Poland and was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 20 which later became III.

[4] Following four months of training in the Soviet Union, he returned to Germany and joined the military service of the Reichswehr and attended the Kriegsschule (war school) in Dresden.

[14] Five days later, shortly after claiming a Potez 540 aircraft, Trautloft was himself shot down by a Dewoitine D.372, forcing him to bail out over Nationalist-held territory.

[22][23] In 1937, Trautloft participated in the 4th international flight meeting held at the Dübendorf military airfield, Switzerland from 23 July to 1 August.

[28] In 1939, Trautloft published his Spanish War diaries named Als Jagdflieger in Spanien [As a Fighter Pilot in Spain] with a foreword by Ernst Udet.

Its main task was flying combat air patrols but had relatively little enemy contact, claiming three aerial victories, including one by Trautloft.

[33] That evening, Trautloft claimed a Royal Air Force (RAF) Supermarine Spitfire shot down southeast of Dunkirk.

In total, I. Gruppe of JG 20 under Trautloft's command claimed 35 aerial victories during the Battle of France, losing five pilots killed in action, two were taken prisoner of war and three were wounded.

[40] In late August it was becoming apparent to the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command) that the Battle of Britain was not going as planned.

[41] On 21 August the Luftwaffe communicated and continued with the changes which had started in June when Falck had been tasked with the creation of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing).

At the time, JG 54 was based at Campagne-lès-Guines and also fighting against the RAF, either escorting bombers to England or flying combat air patrols.

[46] On 2 November, Trautloft's Bf 109s E-3 (Werknummer 724—factory number) was damaged by a squib load but he managed to land the aircraft safely.

[45] On 20 November, the Geschwaderstab began transferring to Germany for a period of rest and maintenance, arriving at Dortmund Airfield on 3 December.

Trautloft's Bf 109s E-3 (Werknummer 724) was again damaged on 22 April in a forced landing at Fünfkirchen, present-day Pécs, following engine failure.

For the next four weeks, the pilots familiarized themselves with the new aircraft before on 15 June, the Geschwaderstab was ordered to Trakehnen in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

[50] On 24 June, elements of JG 54 moved to Kaunas with the objective to achieve air supremacy over the combat area of Army Group North.

[55] On 5 December 1941, the Stavka (high command of the Soviet armed forces) launched a series of counter offensives named the winter campaign of 1941–42.

[60] On 9 May, Trautloft claimed a Yak-1 fighter and a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber in the combat area south-southwest of Valday and east of Demyansk, following the relief of the Kholm Pocket.

[63] In late 1944, a rumor crossed Trautloft's desk that a large number of Allied airmen were being held at Buchenwald Concentration Camp.

The meeting was held at the Haus der Flieger in Berlin and was attended by a number of high-ranking fighter pilot leaders which included Trautloft, Lützow, Hermann Graf, Gerhard Michalski, Helmut Bennemann, Kurt Bühligen, Erich Leie and Herbert Ihlefeld, and their antagonist Göring supported by his staff Brauchitsch and Karl Koller.

The fighter pilots, with Lützow taking the lead as spokesman, criticized Göring and made him personally responsible for the decisions taken which contributed to the lost air war over Europe.

[70] In the last days of the war he stole a small aircraft and flew it to land in a field between Blaichach and Sonthofen which was close to where his fiancé was living in the village of Oberstdorf.

To support himself and his wife following the end of the war Trautloft, who had produced many caricatures on the subject of aviation in his youth created the two costumed children "Toni and Vroni" which became popular, appearing on postcards, maps and as dolls marketed by the Schildkröt company.

Trautloft also designed an original scarf that served as admission to the German Alpine Ski Championships when they were held in Oberstdorf in 1949.

[72] On 1 October 1957, Trautloft joined the new German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe, of West Germany with the rank of Brigadegeneral.

On 1 January 1962, Trautloft succeeded Generalmajor Hermann Plocher as commander of Luftwaffengruppe Süd (Air Force Group South) in Karlsruhe.

[74] He was an active member of many veteran organizations including the Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger until his death on 12 January 1995 at Bad Wiessee in Bavaria.