Georg-Peter "Schorsch" Eder (8 March 1921 – 11 March 1986) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. He is credited with 78 aerial victories achieved in 572 combat missions, including 150 combat missions with the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. This figure includes 10 aerial victories on the Eastern Front, and further 68 victories over the Western Allies, including 36 four-engined bombers.
Born in Oberdachstetten, Eder grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. He joined the military service in the Luftwaffe in 1939. Following flight training, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) in late 1940. Flying with this wing, Eder claimed his first aerial victory on 22 June 1941, the first day of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. Following a ground accident in August 1941, he was assigned to a fighter pilot. In November 1942, Eder was posted to Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) fighting on the Western Front. He was made Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 12. Staffel (12th squadron) of JG 26 in September 1941 and in February 1943. In November 1943, he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) where he was given command of 6. Staffel, a position he held briefly until he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe of JG 2 on 11 November. On 24 June 1944, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. In October, Eder was transferred to Kommando Nowotny, a Me 262 jet fighter unit tasked with testing its operational readiness. Following further aerial victories, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves on 25 November 1944. He ended the war flying with Jagdgeschwader 7 (JG 7—7th Fighter Wing), the first operational jet fighter wing. After the war, Eder became a businessman and died on 11 March 1986 in Wiesbaden.
Early life and career Eder was born on 8 March 1921 in Oberdachstetten in Bavaria. After he attended the Grundschule, an elementary school, and Oberrealschule, a secondary school, he joined the military service of the Luftwaffe on 15 November 1939. Posted to the 4. Kompanie (4th company) of Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 62 (62nd Flight Training Regiment) in Quedlinburg in the Harz region, he then attended the Luftkriegsschule 2 (LKS 2—2nd air war school) at Berlin-Gatow. On 1 April 1940, he was accepted as a Fahnenjunker (candidate). During his flight training, he was promoted to Fähnrich (officer cadet) on 1 September 1940.
World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Eder was posted to 4. Staffel (4th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing), a squadron of II. Gruppe, on 1 December 1940. At the time, II. Gruppe of JG 51 was undergoing a period of rest and replenishment at Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield following the Battle of Britain. There, the Gruppe received the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7. The Gruppe returned to France on 14 February 1941 and was commanded by Hauptmann Josef Fözö while Eder's 4. Staffel was headed by Oberleutnant Erich Hohagen.
Operation Barbarossa
II. Gruppe of JG 51 was withdrawn from the Channel Front in early June 1941 and ordered to Dortmund where the unit was reequipped with the Bf 109 F series. On 10 June, II. Gruppe began transferring east and was located at Siedlce. On 22 June, German forces launched Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 51, under the command of Oberstleutnant Werner Mölders, was subordinated to II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps), which as part of Luftflotte 2 (Air Fleet 2). JG 51 area of operation during Operation Barbarossa was over the right flank of Army Group Center in the combat area of the 2nd Panzer Group as well as the 4th Army.
On the first day of the invasion, Eder claimed his first two aerial victories, a Polikarpov I-16 fighter and a Tupolev SB bomber shot down 09:23 and 09:35 respectively. For this feat, Eder received the Iron Cross 2nd Class () on 26 June. Eight days later, he shot down an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber for his third aerial victory in combat in the area of Babruysk. The German Army crossed the Berezina River on 4 July, and II. Gruppe was moved forward to an airfield at Babruysk, fighting on the Stalin Line in the area of Vitebsk-Orsha-Mogilev. On 11 July, Eder was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (). German forces breached the Stalin Line and II. Gruppe was moved to an airfield at Stara Bychow, approximately south of Mogilev on the Dnieper on 12 July. That day, the Gruppe flew multiple combat air patrols in support of the German beachhead on the eastern bank of the Dnieper in the area between Mogilev and Smolensk. That day, Eder claimed a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber shot down. On 13 July, he claimed two aerial victories, a DB-3 bomber shot down at 10:07 and an I-16 fighter at 10:23, followed by another DB-3 bomber on 14 July. Eder was credited with another Pe-2 bomber shot down on 26 July and an I-16 fighter destroyed on 31 July.
On 5 August, II. Gruppe was moved to an airfield at Schatalowka, present-day Shatalovo air base, southeast of Smolensk. On 9 August, Eder was credited with his tenth and last aerial victory on the Eastern Front when he claimed an I-18 shot down at 16:50. The German designation I-18 refers to the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 fighter. On 10 August, Eder's Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 9184—factory number) collided with a Junkers Ju 52 on the ground at Ponjatowka. Eder suffered a skull fracture and following convalescence, he was posted to the Jagdfliegerschule 2 (fighter pilot school) at Zerbst on 1 November 1941.
Western Front
On 1 November 1942, Eder was posted to 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing), a squadron of III. Gruppe of JG 2 named after the World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen. That day, Oberleutnant Egon Mayer was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe while command of 7. Staffel was given to Hohagen who also joined the Geschwader that day. JG 2 was based in northern France and fought against the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) under the leadership of Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) Major Walter Oesau. At the time, III. Gruppe was equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 and some older A-3s. The Gruppe operated from various airfields in Brittany, France, providing fighter protection for the German U-boat bases along the Atlantic coast. Eder claimed his first aerial victory on the Western Front on 30 December when he shot down a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber on a mission to bomb Lorient.
Together with Mayer, Eder developed the head-on attack as the most effective tactic against the Allied daylight heavy combat box formations of B-17s and Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers. The concept was based on a Kette (chain), three aircraft flying in a "V" formation, attacking from ahead and to the left. When in range, the attackers opened fire with a deflection burst, aiming in front of the enemy aircraft. Following the attack, the pilots would pull up sharply to the left or right. This gave the attacking fighters the best chance of avoiding the massed firepower of the bombers' guns.
On 3 January 1943, the USAAF VIII Bomber Command attacked the U-boat base at Saint-Nazaire. III. Gruppe managed to fend off some of the bombers, claiming sixteen B-17 bombers shot down over sea, including one by Eder. The USAAF reported the loss of seven bombers during the attack. The U-boat base at Lorient was the target of the VIII Bomber Command on 23 January. III. Gruppe, supported by 9. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing), claimed seven aerial victories, of which one B-17 was claimed shot down by Eder. On 9 February, the Gruppenstab (headquarters unit) of III. Gruppe, 7. Staffel and 9. Staffel were ordered to Berck-sur-Mer where they were placed under the command of JG 26. On 13 February, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fighter Command targeted the west coast of Pas-de-Calais with three "Rodeos" and one "Circus". In defense of this attack, Eder claimed a RAF Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down northwest of Boulogne.
Squadron leader In February, a new 12. Staffel of JG 2 was created at the airfield at Beaumont-le-Roger. On 15 February, Eder was appointed its Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of this newly created Staffel and tasked with bringing it to operational readiness. The plan was to equip this Staffel with a full complement of 16 pilots and Bf 109 Gs. Initially, Eder was given eight Fw 190 A-2 and A-3s, as well as two Bf 109 G-1 aircraft, and subordinated and accountable to the Stab of JG 2. On 8 March, Eder claimed the first aerial victory credited to the 12. Staffel when he shot down a Spitfire near Le Petit-Quevilly. That day, VIII Bomber Command sent 54 B-17 bombers to Rennes and 16 B-24 bombers to the Rouen railroad yards. The attack on Rouen was protected by 16 RAF Spitfire squadrons, supported by a Spitfire sweep of the 4th Fighter Group. On 12 March, he shot down another Spitfire northwest of Fécamp.
On 28 March, VIII Bomber Command dispatched 70 B-17 bombers on a mission to bomb the Rouen railroad yards again. The escorting Spitfire fighters missed their rendezvous point with the bombers, leaving the bombers unprotected. II. Gruppe of JG 26 and Eder's 12. Staffel of JG 2 intercepted the bombers, damaging nine and one was shot down by Eder. Following combat with a B-17, he was injured by the return fire but managed to make a forced landing of his Bf 109 G-4 (Werknummer 14988) at Beaumont-le-Roger airfield. By end of April, 12. Staffel had received their full complement of 16 Bf 109 G-6 fighters. Recovered from his injuries, Eder led his Staffel against a USAAF attack on the Potez aircraft plant at Albert. 12. Staffel operated autonomously from other Luftwaffe units and claimed a B-17 bomber and a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter shot down for the loss of three aircraft and two pilots killed in action. Eder was credited with the destruction of the P-47, shot down west of Étaples.
On 29 May, the USAAF targeted Rennes, Saint-Nazaire and La Pallice. Defending against this attack, 12. Staffel claimed three B-17 bombers shot down in combat over sea off Paimpol, including one claim by Eder. He was awarded the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe () on 25 June. The next day, he was credited with the destruction of a Spitfire north of Fécamp. On 29 June, Eder led his Staffel against USAAF bombers, losing two aircraft, one pilot killed in action and two further were wounded, while Eder claimed a B-17 shot down north of Saint-Valery.
Eder shot down a Hawker Typhoon west of Hesdin on 29 August. Two days later, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold (). On 5 September 1943, he was transferred to 5. Staffel of JG 2, taking command of the Staffel after its former commander Leutnant Kurt Goltzsch was wounded the day before. On 5 November, Eder was forced to bail out of his Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 20733) after engine failure near Mons, Belgium and was again injured.
Defense of the Reich Following his recovery from injuries sustained on 5 November 1943, Eder was posted to the II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) under the command of Hauptmann Hermann Segatz in February 1944. The Gruppe, which was fighting in Defense of the Reich, was based in Wunstorf in northern Germany. Following the death of Segatz, Major Heinrich Bär was given command of the Gruppe on 9 March. Bär, who had previously commanded 6. Staffel, was then in consequence succeeded by Eder. Eder claimed his first aerial victory with JG 1 on 8 April when the USAAF Eighth Air Force, formerly known as VIII Bomber Command, attacked German airfields in northwestern Germany as well as the German aircraft industry in Braunschweig. II. Gruppe attacked the bombers in the vicinity of Salzwedel where Eder shot down one of the B-24 bombers.