Gerhard Thyben

Gerhard Thyben (24 February 1922 – 4 September 2006) was a German military aviator who served in the Luftwaffe from 1940 until the end of World War II and later as an instructor with the Colombian Air Force.

As a fighter ace, he claimed 157 enemy aircraft shot down in 385 combat missions, five of which over the Western Allies the other 152 were claimed on the Eastern Front.

Thyben was born on 24 February 1922 in Kiel, at the time the capital of the Province of Schleswig-Holstein, a free State of Prussia in the Weimar Republic.

He was the son of Fritz Thyben, a manager (Prokurist) with Johannsen & Schmielau, and his wife Lisbeth, née Ebelmann.

While in school, Thyben joined the Hitler Youth where he learned to fly the Schneider Grunau 9 glider aircraft.

He was then transferred to 3./Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 32 (3rd company of the 32nd Aviators Training Regiment) in Rochefort-en-Terre for further flight training on 14 October.

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland.

Following his posting to JG 3, Thyben travelled to Krakau, present-day Kraków, where he waited for an aircraft to shuttle to his unit on the Eastern Front.

Born in Kiel, Thyben volunteered for service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1940.

After a period of training at various pilot and fighter pilot schools, he was posted to Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), operating on the Eastern Front.

Following graduation from school, he volunteered for military service in the Luftwaffe on 15 July 1940.

On 15 November he was transferred to another flight school where he was promoted to Gefreiter (Privat First Class) on 1 July 1941.

On 16 September 1941, Thyben was posted to the Jagdfliegervorschule 2 (2nd fighter pilot pre-school), passing this course on 14 December.

He was then transferred to the Jagdfliegerschule 5 (5th fighter pilot school) in Wien-Schwechat.

There, for disciplinary reasons, he was arrested for six days in April and further five days in May 1942.

After he completed his fighter pilot training on 1 November, Thyben was then posted to the 3.

On 13 December 1942, Thyben was posted to the II.

Gruppe (2nd group) of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing), named after the World War I fighter ace Ernst Udet.

This Gruppe was then based on the southern sector of the Eastern Front and Thyben was assigned to 6.

Staffel.

On 28 December 1942, Thyben was assigned a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and together with two other Luftwaffe pilots flew to Lemberg, present-day Lviv.

Adverse weather conditions delayed his flight east.

Seven days later, he flew to Kirovohrad, present-day Kropyvnytskyi, and onwards to Zaporozhye.

Due to further delays, Thyben eventually arrived with II.

He claimed his first aerial victory on 26 February 1943.

In August 1943, his unit was transferred to Western Front where he claimed five aerial victories.

Gruppe of JG 3, then based at Rovenky and commanded by Hauptmann Kurt Brändle, on 22 January 1943.

Thyben had arrived at the front during the closing days of the Battle of Stalingrad which ended in the defeat of the German 6th Army.

On 6 February, II.

In 1944, Thyben was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which was based on the Eastern Front.

In September 1944, Thyben was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 7.

Following his 156th aerial victory, he was injured in combat and received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves in April 1945.

Following World War II, Thyben left Germany and moved Spain, later to Argentina and then to Colombia where he worked for the Colombian Air Force as an instructor.

He continued to pursue a career in civil aviation until his retirement.

Staffel (7th squadron) of JG 54 and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for 116 aerial victories in December.

Until October, he completed his recruit training with Fliegerausbildungs-Regiment 71 (71st Aviators Training Regiment) in Wien-Stammersdorf.

He was then transferred to Flugzeugführerschule A/B 113 in Brünn, present-day Brno in the Czech Republic, where he learned to fly the Heinkel He 72 Kadett.

Thyben died on 4 September 2006 in Cali, Colombia.

Staffel (3rd squadron) of Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a specialized training unit for new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front, and on 13 November to 1.

Staffel of Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Süd.