Gordon Gollob

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 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.

Gollob volunteered for military service in the Austrian Armed Forces in 1933.

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.

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.

On 27 June 1941, he was appointed commander of the II.

Gruppe (2nd group) of JG 3.

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.

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.

He then transferred to Jagdgeschwader 3 (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.

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.

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.