Gordon Gollob
Gordon Gollob was an Austrian fighter pilot during World War II. A fighter ace, he was credited with 150 enemy aircraft shot down in over 340 combat missions. Gollob claimed the majority of his victories over the Eastern Front, and six over the Western Front.
Gollob volunteered for military service in the Austrian Armed Forces in 1933. In March 1938, following the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Gollob was transferred to the Luftwaffe. In 1939, Gollob was posted to Zerstörergeschwader 76, a heavy fighter wing. He claimed his first aerial victory on 5 September 1939 during the invasion of Poland. Gollob claimed one victory during the Battle of the Heligoland Bight and two victories during the Norwegian Campaign. He then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 3, flying the single-engined Messerschmitt Bf 109. In the aftermath of the Battle of Britain on the Channel Front, he claimed his sixth and final victory on the Western Front.
Gollob then fought in the aerial battles of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. On 27 June 1941, he was appointed commander of the II. Gruppe of JG 3. He claimed 18 aerial victories in August, and following his 42nd victory was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 18 September. He was credited with 37 victories in October, including nine on 18 October and six on 22 October. On 26 October 1941, his total then at 85 aerial victories, Gollob was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. He then served at a training facility and underwent commander training. Gollob was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 on 16 May 1942. He claimed his 100th victory on 20 May, and on 23 June was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords following his 107th aerial victory. On 29 August, Gollob became the first fighter pilot to claim 150 enemy aircraft destroyed and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, Germany's highest military decoration at that time.
Due to concerns that he would be killed in action, Gollob was prohibited from flying further combat missions. On 15 October 1942, he became Jagdfliegerführer 3 on the Western Front. On 6 September 1943 he was appointed as Jagdfliegerführer 5, responsible for the tactical fighter command of northwestern France. In April 1944, he was transferred to the staff of the Inspector of Fighters. In January 1945, he succeeded Generalleutnant Adolf Galland as Inspector of Fighters, a position he held until the end of the war. In peacetime, he became General Secretary of the Federation of Independents, a right-wing political party in Austria. He worked in a sales position for the Deutz AG. Married and the father of three children, Gollob died on 7 September 1987.
Early life and career
Gollob was born on 16 June 1912 in Vienna, the capital of Austria-Hungary. His father, Heinrich Gollob, worked as an academic painter. His mother, Johanna, was the daughter of Zoe von Karajan, a distant relative of Herbert von Karajan and wife of Carl Reininghaus. Gollob was the first of five children. Both his parents had studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, where they mutually befriended Gordon Mallet McCouch, an American artist of Scottish descent. McCouch was his godfather and the namesake for his first name, Gordon. Max was his middle name, not Mac, but because of McCouch, he was called "Mac". In his youth, Gollob already wanted to become an engineer and pilot. In 1930, as a student at an Oberrealschule, a secondary school, he built his first primary glider in Tirol, experimenting with it at the old airfield at Innsbruck. He also completed his A- and B-license to fly glider aircraft and became an instructor as well as a construction and airframe inspector.Following four semesters of mechanical engineering at the University of Graz, Gollob joined the Austrian Armed Forces in 1933 as an officer cadet in the artillery. For three years he was trained at the Theresian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 September 1936. He then served as an instructor in the Austrian Air Force and commander of Schulstaffel A. Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Gollob was transferred to the Luftwaffe. There, he was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 June 1938. On 15 March 1939, Gollob was posted to the 3. Staffel of Zerstörergeschwader 76 flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engined heavy fighter.
World War II
Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 starting World War II in Europe. ZG 76 had been stationed at the Polish border prior to the invasion. Gollob scored the first of his aerial victories over Poland on 5 September 1939, shooting down a PWS 56 biplane. He also flew ground support missions, attacking an airfield and destroying several aircraft on the ground. On 21 September 1939, Gollob was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class. Following the campaign in Poland, ZG 76 was moved to Germany for defensive operations. The 1. Gruppe of ZG 76 first relocated to the Stuttgart area on 29 September 1939 to defend the western border against the French and British, who had declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. From early October to mid-December, I. Gruppe operated from airfields in the Stuttgart and Ruhr regions before relocating north to Jever on 16 December 1939. There, on 18 December 1939, Gollob claimed his second aerial victory over a Royal Air Force Vickers Wellington bomber in what became known as the Battle of the Heligoland Bight. During the battle, he shot down and killed Squadron Leader Archibald Guthrie, of No. 9 Squadron.Invasion of Norway and Battle of Britain
On 8 April 1940, Gollob was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3. Staffel of ZG 76. The unit took part in Operation Weserübung, Germany's assault on Denmark and Norway in the opening operation of the Norwegian Campaign. In June 1940, I. Gruppe was based at Trondheim-Værnes, when the Allied expeditionary force composed of the British, French, and Free Polish forces, were being evacuated from Narvik. In support of the evacuation, the RAF was targeting German shipping in Norwegian waters and Luftwaffe occupied airfields along the coast. On 13 June, fifteen Blackburn Skua dive bombers, six from 800 Naval Air Squadron and nine from 803 Naval Air Squadron, launched from the Royal Navy aircraft carrier Ark Royal attempted to attack the battleship Scharnhorst in the Trondheimsfjord. The flight was intercepted by the Luftwaffe and in the resulting aerial encounter, eight Skuas were shot down, the first by Gollob. That day, he was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class.Gollob then received night fighter training. At the time, he made several recommendations for technical improvement of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 single-engined fighter. Based on these recommendations, he was transferred to the Erprobungstelle Rechlin, the Luftwaffe test facility at Rechlin in June 1940. At 14:47 on 9 July 1940, Gollob intercepted and shot down Short Sunderland flying boat "Y" from No. 201 Squadron. The Sunderland, piloted by Flight Lieutenant J.D. Middleton, was on patrol off Norway and crashed southwest of Sumburgh Head. That same day at 17:20, Gollob, together with Oberfeldwebel Herbert Schob and Oberleutnant Gerhard Böhmel, shot down a patrolling Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance aircraft "J" from No. 233 Squadron off Shetland.
On 7 September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, Gollob was transferred to the Gruppenstab of II. Gruppe ''Jagdgeschwader 3 based at Arques in northern France. On 8 October, Oberleutnant Werner Voigt, Staffelkapitän of 4. Staffel was shot down over England and taken prisoner of war. Four days later, Gollob took command of 4. Staffel. In February 1941, the entire II. Gruppe returned to Germany for a period of rest. The pilots went on a ski vacation in Kitzbühel from 9 to 28 March 1941. 4. Staffel was housed at the foot of the Ehrenbachhöhe, the highest point of the Hahnenkamm. The Gruppe then reassembled at Darmstadt-Griesheim where they received a complement of the new Bf 109 F-2 fighter aircraft. On 25 April 1941, II. Gruppe began relocating back to the English Channel Front at Monchy-Breton. The Gruppe completed relocation on 4 May and flew its first mission on 7 May 1941. That day, the RAF flew several fighter sweeps over the French coast and Gollob was credited with shooting down a Supermarine Spitfire fighter, his sixth of the war and last on the Western Front. On 1 June 1941, Gollob was promoted to Hauptmann and II. Gruppe'' began its relocation to the Eastern Front. The ground elements moved immediately while the air elements followed on 8 June. On that day, they flew to Saint-Dizier and then to Böblingen. On the following day, they continued to Breslau-Gandau, now the Wrocław–Copernicus Airport in Poland, via Straubing.
War against the Soviet Union
In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe headed further east on 18 June. Following a stopover at Kraków, the unit was moved to Hostynne. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 under the command of Major Günther Lützow was subordinated to the 5th Air Corps, under the command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, itself part of Luftflotte 4, under the command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South, with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev. At 17:00 on 21 June 1941, the 5th Air Corps, based at Lipsko, briefed the various unit commanders of the upcoming attack. That evening, Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe Lothar Keller informed his subordinates of the attack.The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June 1941. II. Gruppe flew its first missions on the Eastern Front shortly before 04:00, flying low attacks against Soviet airfields in the vicinity of Lvov in Ukraine. At 06:30 the Gruppe fought its first aerial battles. 4. Staffel claimed three victories and the Gruppenstab four. One of these victories was credited to Gollob, who claimed a Polikarpov I-16 fighter shot down at 07:00. On 25 June, II. Gruppe claimed 17 victories, 6 of which were credited to 4. Staffel. The Staffel engaged Ilyushin DB-3 bombers escorted by I-16 "Ratas" on a free chase mission west of Lutsk. The Soviet bombers targeted the German advance roads from Hrubieszów through Volodymyr-Volynskyi to Lusk. Gollob was credited with two victories over DB-3s in this encounter. On 26 June 1941, Gruppenkommandeur Keller was killed in a mid-air collision. The next day, Gollob succeeded Keller in this position and turned over command of 4. Staffel to Oberleutnant Karl Faust. In the beginning of July 1941, the front in the vicinity of the northern sector of Army Group South became increasingly fluid. This necessitated the relocation of II. Gruppe to Volodymyr-Volynskyi. By this time the war of attrition had reduced the Gruppe to 50 percent of its authorized strength. One reason for this was the almost complete lack of new aircraft or of engines and other spare parts. Another factor was overwork of the ground crews and signs of exhaustion were apparent. Flying combat air patrols over Berdychiv and Zhytomyr on 1 July, II. Gruppe claimed four victories. On this day at 19:42, Gollob claimed his tenth aerial victory over a Petlyakov Pe-2 light bomber. The following day, the Gruppe claimed 23 aerial victories for the loss of one in combat. The first victory of the day was claimed by Gollob who shot down a ZKB-19—a German alias for the Polikarpov I-17 fighter, possibly a misidentified Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 or Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3—at 05:52 in the morning. On another mission that day, he claimed two Vultee V-11 attack aircraft shot down at 11:30 and 11:43.
The rapid advance of German ground forces required II. Gruppe to move to Lutsk on 5 July, then to Dubno that evening and to Miropol on 10 July. Flying missions east of Zhytomyr, Gollob claimed his 14th victory over a Polikarpov I-153 at 06:30 on 13 July 1941. A victory over a DB-3 at 11:42 and a further victory over a Tupolev SB-2 bomber at 11:44, both claimed on 16 July, took his total to 16 aerial victories. On 20 July 1941, II. Gruppe relocated from Miropol to Berdychiv. One day later, Gollob was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe for 16 aerial victories. On 23 July 1941 at 16:35, Gollob claimed a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber, his 17th aerial victory. That day, II. Gruppe received orders to turn over its remaining aircraft to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53. Gollob's Gruppe was re-equipped with the Bf 109 F-4. On 28 July, the pilots were flown to Krosno on a Junkers Ju 52 where they received a full complement of Bf 109 F-4s. After a single familiarization flight, they departed to Berdychiv and on the following morning they were transferred to Bila Tserkva. During the first days in August 1941, II. Gruppe flew missions over the combat areas along the Dnieper in support of the main German attack to encircle Soviet forces near Uman, approximately south of Kiev. Most II. Gruppe missions were subsequently in the greater Kiev area and to the north near Malyn, where Soviet forces were still holding onto the west bank of the Dnieper. Until 6 August 1941, II. Gruppe claimed five victories without loss. Two victories claimed on 5 August took Gollob's total to 20 aerial victories. He was victorious over a I-153 at 17:46 and a I-17 at 18:22.
On 7 August, II. Gruppe moved again, from Bila Tserkva the Gruppe moved to Signajewka, a forward airfield near Shpola. In the days to come, the Gruppe flew combat missions over the Dnieper, between Kaniv and Kremenchuk as well to the south. Flying from Signajewka for the next 10 days, II. Gruppe claimed 64 aerial victories, including 11 on 8 August, 7 on 9 August, 8 on 12 August and 27 on 17 August 1941, the Gruppes most successful day of the entire 1941 summer campaign. In the same timeframe, Gollob increased his tally of aerial victories to 26. II. Gruppe had to relocate again to keep up with the German advance. On the afternoon of 17 August parts of the air elements flew to Kirovohrad-North airfield. Their primary mission was to protect the armored spearheads in the Dnipropetrovsk area. On 21 August 1941, II. Gruppe claimed 17 victories, five of which were by Gollob. This "ace-in-a-day" achievement, the first of six during his combat career, took his total to 33 aerial victories. On 25 August, III Army Corps took Dnipropetrovsk and captured the first bridgehead across the Dnieper. Until the end of August 1941, II. Gruppe primary objective was to help secure the bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnieper. In support of these battles, Gollob scored a I-17 on 22 August, a Polikarpov I-180 fighter aircraft on 24 August and a Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber on 31 August 1941, taking his total to 36 aerial victories. On 1 September 1941, the 17th Army began crossing the Dnieper in force and II. Gruppe was moved to Myronivka. Flying from Myronivka was characterized by poor weather conditions with rain and fog, as a result operations were kept to a minimum. At the time, II. Gruppes primary objective was the defense of the Dnieper crossing. In these defensive battles, Gollob score his 37th victory on 8 September. His opponent was classified as an I-26 fighter aircraft, later referred to as Yakovlev Yak-1. One day later, he claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. On 12 September weather conditions improved and flight operations increased. II. Gruppe flew missions in support of the armored spearheads as well as fighter escort missions for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. That day, Gollob claimed two victories, an Il-2 and a I-26, taking his total to 40 aerial victories. On 13 September, the Gruppe claimed 20 victories over Soviet bombers and ground-attack aircraft, including a V-11 shot down by Gollob at 17:19. On 14 September 1941, the German airfield at Myronivka came under Soviet air attack. Following the attack, Gollob and his wingman Oberleutnant Walther Dahl managed to pursue the attackers, and both shot down one of them. This victory over an I-153 claimed at 05:47 in the morning took his total to 42 aerial victories. II. Gruppe was again forced to relocate, on 15 September it moved to an airfield at Kremenchuk. On 18 September, Gollob was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 42 victories. On 19 September 1941, II. Gruppe was tasked with strafing Soviet airfields in the Poltava area. That day, Gollob claimed his 43rd aerial victory over an R-5 at 13:55. He became an "ace-in-a-day" again on 28 September 1941 which took his score to 48 aerial victories. That day he had claimed three Pe-2s and two I-61s, a designation for the MiG-1 fighter aircraft.