Otto Gaiser (5 October 1919 – 22 January 1944) was a

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

with 66 confirmed kills, and he was the recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

In 1942, Gaiser was assigned to ''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) where he served as

Rudolf Wagner Rudolf Friedrich Johann Heinrich Wagner (30 July 1805 – 13 May 1864) was a German anatomist and physiologist and the co-discoverer of the germinal vesicle. He made important investigations on ganglia, nerve-endings, and the sympathetic nerve ...

's wingman. Wagner went on to become a Luftwaffe ace as well. Gaiser claimed his first kill on 16 March 1943. That day, he shot down a Soviet

Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 The Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 (Лавочкин-Горбунов-Гудков ЛаГГ-3) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a refinement of the earlier LaGG-1 and was one of the most modern aircraft available to the So ...

fighter near

Vyazma Vyazma () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District, Smolensk Oblast, Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the ...

. Gaiser served with 10. ''Staffel'' of JG 51 which at the time was under the command of ''Oberleutnant''

Horst-Günther von Fassong Horst-Günther von Fassong (27 April 1919 – 1 January 1945) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator and fighter ace during World War II. Depending on source, he is credited between 63 and 136 aerial victories achieved in an unknown number of ...

. He achieved his 10th victory on 11 July, when he claimed another LaGG-3 shot down. Gaiser claimed 17 victories in August, including five Soviet

Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' (Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian term ...

ground-attack aircraft shot down on 14 August, making him an " ace-in-a-day". On 22 January 1944, Gaiser was last seen in combat with

ground-attack aircraft near

Berdychiv Berdychiv (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximat ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. He has remained missing to this day. It is thought he became a victim of the Soviet ground defences. Posthumously, Gaiser was awarded the

() on 9 June 1944 for 74 aerial victories claimed. He was also promoted to ''Leutnant''.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Gaiser was credited with 66 aerial victories. Obermaier also states that he was credited with 66 victories claimed in 380 combat missions. Spick however lists him with 74 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces – Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the

German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") are the national archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture ...

and found records for 66 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = ''Planquadrat''), for example "PQ 35 Ost 36624". The Luftwaffe grid map () covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15

minutes Minutes, also known as minutes of meeting, protocols or, informally, notes, are the instant written record of a meeting or hearing. They typically describe the events of the meeting and may include a list of attendees, a statement of the activit ...

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

by 30 minutes of

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

, an area of about . These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area in size.

Awards

Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe () was a World War II German military decoration awarded to aircrew and certain other Luftwaffe personnel in recognition of the number of operational flights flown. It was instituted by '' Reichsmarschall'' ...

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1939) 2nd and 1st Class *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 28 January 1944 as ''Feldwebel'' in the 10./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 * Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 3 April 1944 as ''

Feldwebel '' '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia ...

'' and pilot *

on 9 June 1944 as ''

Oberfeldwebel (; OFw or OF) is the fourth highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. History The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old ...

'' and pilot in 10./''Jagdgeschwader'' 51

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

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

External links

TracesOfWar.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaiser, Otto 1919 births 1940s missing person cases 1944 deaths Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II Aviators killed by being shot down People from Reutlingen People from the Free People's State of Württemberg Missing in action of World War II Missing person cases in Ukraine Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg