Gordon Gollob (16 June 1912 – 7 September 1987) 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 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing), 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 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), 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 (2nd group) 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 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) 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 (Major General) 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 (née Reininghaus), 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 (second lieutenant) on 1 September 1936. He then served as an instructor in the Austrian Air Force and commander of Schulstaffel A (Training Squadron A). Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Gollob was transferred to the Luftwaffe (the Nazi German Air Force). There, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 June 1938. On 15 March 1939, Gollob was posted to the 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76—76th Destroyer Wing) flying the Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engined heavy fighter.For an explanation of Luftwaffe unit designations see Organization of the Luftwaffe during World War II.
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 (Podlaska Wytwórnia Samolotów—Podlasie Aircraft Factory) 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 (RAF) 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 (squadron leader) 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" (N6133) 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 (Staff Sergeant) Herbert Schob and Oberleutnant Gerhard Böhmel, shot down a patrolling Lockheed Hudson reconnaissance aircraft "J" (N7377) from No. 233 Squadron off Shetland.
On 7 September 1940 during the Battle of Britain, Gollob was transferred to the Gruppenstab (headquarters unit) of II. Gruppe Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) 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 (captain) 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 (Major) Günther Lützow was subordinated to the 5th Air Corps, under the command of General der Flieger (General of the Aviators) Robert Ritter von Greim, itself part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under the command of Generaloberst (Colonel General) Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) 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.All times used in this section are Central European Time unless otherwise noted. That evening, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe Lothar Keller informed his subordinates of the attack.