Herbert Kaiser

Herbert Kaiser (16 March 1916 – 5 December 2003) was a Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. He was captured by American troops in May 1945. During his career, he flew 1,200 missions and is credited with 68 aerial victories.

Early life and career

Kaiser was born on 16 March 1916 in Jessen in the Province of Saxony within the German Empire. Until 1942, his last name was Höhne, he then changed it to Kaiser.

In mid 1938, Kaiser was posted to I. '' Gruppe'' (1st group) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 136 (JG 136—136th Fighter Wing). On 1 November, elements of I./136 formed the new II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdggruppe'' 186 (II./186—186th Fighter Group), to which Kaiser was posted. This group, also known as the ''Trägerjagdgruppe'' (Carrier Fighter Group), was destined to be stationed on the aircraft carrier ' which was never completed. II./186 (T) initially consisted of two squadrons, 4./186 (T) equipped with the Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber, and 6./186 (T). On 15 July 1939, II./186 (T) was augmented by a third squadron, designated 5./186 (T) to which Kaiser was assigned.

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. In preparation, 5./186 (T) had been moved to Brüsterort, near Königsberg on 22 August. In the early morning hours of 1 September, 5./186 (T) flew its first combat missions, providing fighter protection for 4./186 (T) attacking the naval base of the Polish Navy at Hel and for the old German battleship ''Schleswig-Holstein'' bombarding the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte in the Free City of Danzig on the Baltic Sea. The next, II./186 (T) flew further bomber escort missions and was withdrawn from this theater on 6 September, relocating to Hage, East Frisia.

On 10 May 1940, the opening day of the Battle of France, Kaiser claimed two Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighters shot down. In support of Operation Weserübung, the Germany assault on Denmark and Norway, II./186 (T) was ordered to relocate to Norway on 2 June. There it augmented II. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing) and was based at Trondheim.

Following the decision by Adolf Hitler to halt work on the aircraft carrier ''Graf Zeppelin'', II./186 (T) was redesignated and became the III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 77. In consequence, Kaiser's ''Staffel'' 5./186 (T) became the 8. ''Staffel'' of JG 77 which was headed by ''Oberleutnant'' Lorenz Weber. A week later, III. ''Gruppe'' was withdrawn from this theater of operations and relocated to Döberitz where it was tasked with fighter protection of Berlin. In November, JG 77 was ordered to the English Channel to continue fighting the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the aftermath of the Battle of Britain. 8. ''Staffel'' moved to an airfield at Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, the German invasion of Greece, III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 77 was moved to Deta in western Romania on 4 April 1941. On 16 April, III. ''Gruppe'' had relocated to an airfield at Korinos, three days later the ''Gruppe'' moved to Larissa, reaching Almyros further south on 22 April. The following day, eight Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters from III. ''Gruppe'' escorted Dornier Do 17 bombers from ''Kampfgeschwader'' 2 (KG 2—2nd Bomber Wing) to Argos. On this mission, Kaiser claimed a Westland Lysander aircraft shot down.

Eastern Front

In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, III. ''Gruppe'' was moved to Bucharest and was located in the sector of ''Heeresgruppe Süd'' (Army Group South). III. ''Gruppe'' arrived in Bucharest on 16 June. Four days later, III. ''Gruppe'' moved to Roman. That evening, the pilots and ground crews were briefed of the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front.

In November 1941, ''Oberst'' Werner Mölders, the '' General der Jagdflieger'', personally directed fighter and dive bomber operations on the Crimea. On 9 November 1941, Mölders took Kaiser on a "teaching" mission against a formation of Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, showing Kaiser how to shoot them down.

Kaiser later recalled: "He positioned himself off to one side of-and some distance away from-the last Il-2 in a formation of six. He then turned in quickly and opened fire at the enemy's cockpit from an angle of some 30 degrees. The Il-2 immediately burst into flames and crashed. 'Do you see how it's done?', ''Oberst'' Mölders' voice came over the R/T. 'Right, now you take the next one.' I carried out the same maneuver and, sure enough, the next Il-2 went down on fire. 'And again!' It was like being on a training flight. Another short burst and the third Il-2 was ablaze. The whole lesson had lasted no more than 12 minutes!" In this way, Kaiser scored his 23rd and 24th kills. But because Mölders was officially banned from operational flying, the first Soviet aircraft was never officially credited to him.

Mediterranean Theater

On 23 October 1942, the British Eighth Army launched the Second Battle of El Alamein. Preceding this attack, the Luftwaffe had already planned to replace ''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing), which had been fighting in North African theater, with JG 77. In preparation for this rotation, III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 77 was moved to Munich on 19 October where it was equipped with the Bf 109 G-2/trop. On 23 and 24 October, the ''Gruppe'' moved to Bari in southern Italy. The ''Gruppe'' then relocated to Tobruk Airfield on 26 October. The following day, the ''Gruppe'' moved to an airfield at Tanyet-Harun.

On 27 October, Kaiser attacked six Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighters strafing vehicles on the Via Balbia. Attacking the rearmost P-40, he claimed it shot down. While attacking a second P-40, his Bf 109 G-2 (''Werknummer'' 10640—factory number) was hit in the engine and oil cooler, resulting in a forced landing near Mersa Matruh, in a location approximately south of the Via Balbia. His wingman, observed the crash and reported him killed in action. Two days later, Kaiser returned to JG 77 on foot. Consequently, Kaiser was credited with JG 77's first two aerial victories over North Africa. On 31 October, Kaiser claimed another P-40 shot down, and yet another on 3 November. The following day at 07:10, he claimed a Hawker Hurricane fighter destroyed.

On 8 January 1943, Kaiser claimed a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter shot down. The authors Shores, Massimello and Guest speculate if the claim relates to the previous day combat. On 7 January, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Twelfth Air Force attacked Tripoli with a formation of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers escorted by P-38 fighters of the 94th Fighter Squadron. The USAAF formation was intercepted by III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 77. During this encounter, the P-38 piloted by Lieutenant J.G.H. Lentz was shot down. Kaiser and ''Oberleutnant'' Arno Potzel were the only German pilots to have claimed a P-38 shot down. In late January, Kaiser was transferred to ''Ergänzungsgruppe Süd'' (Supplementary Fighter Group South) as an instructor. His assignment was made due to medical reasons. The constant strain from combat necessitated a period of rest. The Luftwaffe doctor had grounded him as unfit for combat operations and had him flown on a Heinkel He 111 to the airbase Bordeaux-Mérignac at the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux in France where ''Ergänzungsgruppe Süd'' was based. Here, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 14 March 1943. The presentation was made by ''Oberstleutnant'' Alfed Müller, the commander of ''Ergänzungsgruppe Süd''.

Kaiser's tour as an instructor ended on 5 September 1943 when he was transferred to I. ''Gruppe'' of JG 77 where he was assigned to 3. ''Staffel''. At the time, the ''Gruppe'' was defending the airspace over southern Italy. Based at San Severo, the ''Staffel'' was commanded by ''Leutnant'' Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert. On 22 November, Kaiser who was then flying with the '' Gruppenstab'' of I. ''Gruppe'', claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down near Subiaco.

Defense of the Reich

In early April 1944, Kaiser was posted to III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1 (JG 1–1st Fighter Wing) which was based at an airfield near Paderborn. According to the authors Prien and Rodeike, this transfer was considered a disciplinary action, a measure for redemption in combat. The authors state, that particularly ''Oberstleutnant'' Johannes Steinhoff, the commander of JG 77 at the time, had a number of pilots transferred for redemption in defense of the Reich combat, this measure included pilots Kaiser, '' Major'' Heinrich Bär, ''Hauptmann'' Lutz-Wilhelm Burckhardt, ''Leutnant'' Reinert, and ''Oberfeldwebel'' Alexander Preinfalk. On 11 April, the USAAF Eighth Air Force sent 917 heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry in Oschersleben, Bernburg, Halberstadt, Sorau, present-day Żary, Poland, Cottbus and Arnimswalde, present-day Załom, Poland. This attack force was escorted by a strong fighter defense. III. ''Gruppe'' of JG 1 engaged the escort fighters north of Magdeburg. During this encounter, Kaiser claimed two Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighters shot down, his first claims with JG 1. On 22 April, the USAAF Eighth Air Force sent 803 heavy bombers against German ground transportation, primarily targeting the marshaling yard in Hamm. JG 1 was scrambled at 17:45 and vectored to a point of intercept over the Rothaar Mountains where III. ''Gruppe'' ran into a large formation of North American P-51 Mustang fighters. For the loss of twelve of their own, III. ''Gruppe'' pilots claimed four P-51 fighters shot down, including one by Kaiser.

On 6 August 1944, Kaiser was severely wounded during aerial combat with Spitfire fighters north of Paris. Forced to bail out of his Bf 109 G-6 (''Werknummer'' 413577—factory number), his injuries kept him grounded for many months. During the escape from his burning aircraft, he collided with the rudder, breaking his right thigh in multiple places. Following hospitalization in France and Germany, he sent to Bad Wiessee.

Following the dismissal of ''Generalleutnant'' Adolf Galland as ''General der Jagdflieger'', Galland was given the opportunity by Hitler to prove his ideas about the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter. He had hoped that the Me 262 would compensate for the numerical superiority of the Allies. In consequence, Galland formed ''Jagdverband'' 44 (JV 44—44th Fighter Detachment) at Brandenburg-Briest on 24 February 1945. Galland was also given a carte blanche with respect to staffing and began recruiting his pilots. Kaiser joined this elite unit but his injuries prevented him from flying. Consequently, Kaiser was tasked with directing JV 44's ground operations.

Later life

Following World War II, Kaiser reentered military service in the ''Bundeswehr'' as an ''Oberstleutnant'' in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the ''Bundesluftwaffe''. Kaiser died on 5 December 2003 at the age of in Felde, Germany.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Kaiser was credited with 68 aerial victories. Spick also lists him with 68 aerial victories, 42 of which on the Eastern Front, claimed in approximately 1,000 combat missions. Obermaier also lists him with 68 aerial victories, however claimed in approximately 1,200 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the German Federal Archives and state that Kaiser was credited with more than 50 aerial victory claims, including 39 claims on the Eastern Front and at least eleven claims over the Western Allies.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 3716". 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

* Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
* Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (9 August 1941)
* German Cross in Gold on 30 March 1942 as ''Leutnant'' in the 8./''Jagdgeschwader'' 77
* Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as ''Oberfeldwebel'' and pilot in the 8./''Jagdgeschwader'' 77 (later ''Jagdgeschwader'' 1)

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Herbert
1916 births
2003 deaths
Military personnel from the Province of Saxony
People from Jessen (Elster)
Luftwaffe pilots
German World War II flying aces
Recipients of the Gold German Cross
Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
German Air Force personnel
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States
Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt