Friedrich Obleser


Friedrich-Erich Obleser was a German general in the Bundeswehr. During World War II, he served as a fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe. A fighter ace, Obleser was credited with 120 aerial victories and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. For his post-war service in the German Air Force, he received the Grand Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Early life and career

Obleser was born on 21 February 1923 in Pottenstein in the district of Baden in Lower Austria in Austria. In 1940, he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe. Following flight training, Obleser was assigned to 8. Organization of the [Luftwaffe (1933–1945)#Staffel|Staffel] of Jagdgeschwader 52, a squadron of III. Gruppe of JG 52.

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In January 1943, Obleser arrived with 8. Staffel under command of Hauptmann Günther Rall at the Gigant airfield which was located in the vicinity of Salsk. At the time, the Red Army had launched Operation Koltso, the final phase of the Battle of Stalingrad. Rall made Obleser his wingman and also appointed him as technical officer of the Staffel, a position which was responsible for the overall readiness of the equipment and aircraft. Obleser flew his first combat mission on 12 January 1943 on the Eastern Front. There, he claimed his first aerial victory on 28 March over a Bell P-39 Airacobra.
The Gruppe was moved to the combat area of the Kuban bridgehead on 1 April 1943 where it was based at an airfield at Taman. Operating from Taman until 2 July, III. Gruppe also flew missions from Kerch on 12 May, from Sarabuz and Saky on 14 May, Zürichtal, present-day Solote Pole, a village near the urban settlement Kirovske on 23 May, and Yevpatoria on 25/26 June. While based at Taman, Obleser claimed ten further aerial victories by end of April, increasing his number of aerial victories to eleven in total. On 28 May 1943, Obleser was wounded when his Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-4 was hit by anti-aircraft artillery resulting in a forced landing at Varenikovskaya.

Squadron leader

Following his convalescence, Obleser was appointed Staffelkapitän of 8. Staffel of JG 52 on 6 July 1943, succeeding Rall who took command of III. Gruppe. Prior to his appointment, the Staffel had briefly been led by Leutnant Berthold Korts until Obleser took command. In preparation for Operation Citadel, III. Gruppe had relocated to the central sector of the eastern Front. The Gruppe first moved to Zaporizhzhia and then to Ugrim on 3 July. There, under the command of Luftflotte 4, they supported Army Group South fighting on the southern flank of the salient.
On 9 September, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Dnipropetrovsk, present-day Dnipro, where they stayed until 24 September. Here on 18 September, Obleser claimed his 50th aerial victory and became an "ace-in-a-day" the following day. The Gruppe reached an airfield near Apostolovo on 1 November. With the exception of a brief period from 12 to 20 November when they also used an airfield at Kirovohrad, the Gruppe remained here until 7 January 1944. Here, Obleser claimed further aerial victories, increasing his total to 82 by end of 1943. For this, Obleser received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 8 November 1943 and the German Cross in Gold six days later.
Obleser was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 March 1944, nominated after his 80th aerial victory. At one point he questioned the aerial victory claims made by Erich Hartmann. Hartmann asked Rall to have Obleser transferred to be Hartmann's wingman for a while. Obleser became a witness on some of Hartmann's claims and no longer questioned Hartmann's claims. On 21 July 1944, Obleser was credited with his 100th aerial victory. He was the 87th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.
On 12 December, III. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Zagórze, located west of Kraków. The Gruppe flew relatively few missions at the time. Obleser toyed around with a Panzerfaust, a recoil-less anti-tank weapon, in an attempt to increase its firing range. On 30 December, Obleser was severely wounded when a Panzerfaust exploded in his hand. He did not see any further action before the end of the war in May 1945. He was temporarily replaced by Leutnant Karl Gratz until Leutnant Viktor Petermann officially succeeded Obleser on 7 January 1945 as commander of 10. Staffel.

Later life

After Obleser was released from US captivity, he worked as a commissioner of a recycling company, which predominantly had to dismantle and dispose of bomber aircraft. He then became head of an industrial application department in the private industry. In 1956, Obleser continued his military career, joining the German Air Force of West Germany as a Hauptmann. Following multiple assignments to various fighter units, Obleser was appointed wing commander of Jagdgeschwader 72 in Leck, later known as Jagdbombergeschwader 43, and then commander of Jagdbombergeschwader 31 "Boelcke". Obleser then held the position of system officer for the multirole combat aircraft within the German Air Staff. He then was appointed general manager of the NATO MRCA Management Agency.
Obleser then served as chief of the Air Force Office and commanding general of the Air Force Support Command. From 1 October 1978 until his retirement on 31 March 1983, he held the position of Inspector of the Air Force in the Bundeswehr, achieving the rank of Generalleutnant.
In June 1981, the Federal Minister of Defence Hans Apel threatened Obleser with early retirement following Obleser's report to the Defense Committee of the German Bundestag. Obleser had stated that, due to the latest defense budget cut, the German Air Force could only partially fulfill its obligations. Apel had viewed Obleser's statement as lack of loyalty towards his superiors. Earlier in March 1981, although skeptical of the proposal, Obleser had approved two budget cuts suggested by Inspector General of the Bundeswehr Jürgen Brandt.
Obleser died of natural causes on 5 June 2004 in Neunkirchen-Seelscheid, at 81 years of age.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Obleser was credited with 120 aerial victories. Spick also lists Obleser with 120 aerial victories claimed in approximately 500 combat missions, all which on the Eastern Front. In addition to these claims, Weal states that Obleser claimed nine aerial victories over United States Army Air Forces aircraft, including two heavy bombers. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and state that Obleser was credited with 112 aerial victories, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front. The authors also state that Obleser claimed nine undocumented aerial victories over USAAF aircraft, two heavy bombers and seven fighter aircraft.
Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 34 Ost 86724". The Luftwaffe grid map covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards

Discrepancies in claimed aircraft type