Ritterkreuzträger of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) "Herz As"

Jagdgeschwader 77, commonly known by its famous emblem and nickname “Herz As,” was one of the most widely deployed fighter wings of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, serving on nearly every major front from 1939 until Germany’s surrender in May 1945. Formed on 1 May 1939, the Geschwader initially operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and quickly became involved in the campaigns over Poland, France, and the Battle of Britain before being transferred to the Balkans, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Eastern Front. Its pilots achieved thousands of aerial victories during the war, producing numerous highly decorated fighter aces including Gordon Gollob, Joachim Müncheberg, Heinrich Bär, Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert, and Johannes Steinhoff. During Operation Barbarossa, JG 77 gained a formidable reputation through intense combat against Soviet aviation, while in North Africa it provided crucial air cover for Axis ground forces and fought continuous battles against the RAF Desert Air Force and later the USAAF. The Geschwader’s red heart insignia became especially associated with the legacy of Joachim Müncheberg, whose leadership and combat achievements helped shape the unit’s identity. JG 77 was unusual among Luftwaffe fighter wings in that it fought in virtually every theater of the war, from Norway and the Arctic regions to Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, the Balkans, and the Reichsverteidigung campaign over Germany. The unit remained equipped primarily with variants of the Bf 109 throughout its existence, although II./JG 77 briefly operated the Italian-built Macchi C.205 in late 1943. Numerous members of the Geschwader received high decorations including the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, Eichenlaub, Schwerter, and Brillanten for exceptional aerial combat achievements. Despite suffering severe losses during the final years of the conflict, Jagdgeschwader 77 remained operational until the collapse of the Third Reich, earning a place among the most famous and battle-experienced Jagdgeschwader of the Luftwaffe.

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BRILLANTENTRÄGER


Oberst Gordon Gollob (1912-1987) was an Austrian-born fighter pilot in the Luftwaffe who rose to the rank of Oberst and achieved a total of 150 aerial victories in over 340 combat missions, the vast majority on the Eastern Front during World War II. After service in the Austrian Armed Forces he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1938, initially flying with Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76) as Oberleutnant in the 3. Staffel where he claimed his first victory on 5 September 1939 during the invasion of Poland, before transferring in September 1940 to Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3) and commanding the 4. Staffel; as Hauptmann he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe JG 3 "Udet" on 27 June 1941 during Operation Barbarossa and, following 42 aerial victories that included numerous successes against Soviet aircraft, was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 18 September 1941. He continued his rapid scoring with 37 victories in October alone, including nine on a single day on 18 October, and received the Eichenlaub on 26 October 1941 after reaching a total of 85 aerial victories. Appointed Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 "Herz As" on 16 May 1942 (promoted to Major on 1 July 1942), he claimed his 100th victory on 20 May and, after reaching 107 victories, was awarded the Schwerter on 23 June 1942 while serving as Führer and Kommodore of JG 77; on 29 August 1942 he became the first Luftwaffe fighter pilot to claim his 150th aerial victory over the Eastern Front, for which he was awarded the Brillanten on 30 August 1942 as the third recipient overall of the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten, after which he was barred from further combat flying and assigned to higher staff roles including Jagdfliegerführer positions and ultimately General der Jagdflieger in early 1945.

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SCHWERTERTRÄGER


Oberst Herbert Ihlefeld (1914-1995) was one of the most successful Jagdflieger of the Luftwaffe, credited with approximately 130 aerial victories in more than 1,000 combat missions spanning the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. After gaining early combat experience with Jagdgruppe 88 of the Legion Condor in Spain, where he achieved nine victories and earned the Spanienkreuz in Gold mit Schwertern, he served with I.(J)/LG 2 and later I./JG 77 during the campaigns in Poland, France, and the Battle of Britain. Ihlefeld received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 13 September 1940 as an Oberleutnant and Flugzeugführer in the I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) after achieving 21 confirmed aerial victories during the western campaigns and the intense fighting over Britain, where his aggressive leadership and combat success established him as one of the Luftwaffe’s leading fighter aces. Following his appointment as Gruppenkommandeur of I./JG 77, he participated in the Balkan Campaign and the opening stages of Unternehmen Barbarossa, rapidly increasing his score against Soviet aircraft; after reaching 47 victories and demonstrating outstanding command ability, he was awarded the Eichenlaub zum Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 27 June 1941 as the 16th recipient of the decoration. Continuing his remarkable success on the Eastern Front, Ihlefeld surpassed the century mark in aerial victories, and after claiming his 101st victory he received the Schwerter zum Eichenlaub des Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 24 April 1942 as the ninth serviceman to be so honored, recognizing both his extraordinary combat record and his effectiveness as a leader within JG 77. He later commanded JG 52, JG 25, and JG 1, surviving the war despite being shot down eight times and remaining one of the most decorated fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe.

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EICHENLAUBTRÄGER


Major Kurt Ubben (1911-1944), born on 18 November 1911 in Dorstadt and killed in action on 27 April 1944 near Fère-en-Tardenois in German-occupied France, was a highly decorated Luftwaffe fighter ace nicknamed "Kuddel" who achieved 110 aerial victories over approximately 500 combat missions during World War II. Starting his military career in the Reichsmarine in 1931 aboard the school ship Gorch Fock before transferring to the Luftwaffe in 1935, Ubben served initially with Jagdgruppe 186 and then with Jagdgeschwader 77. His first victory came on 10 May 1940 during the Battle of France when he downed a Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighter as a Leutnant. Appointed Staffelkapitän of 8. Staffel of JG 77 in July 1940, he excelled in the Balkans campaign, including damaging the British battleship HMS Warspite and sinking a motor torpedo boat during the invasion of Crete, before transferring to the Eastern Front for Operation Barbarossa. There, flying with III. Gruppe of JG 77, he rapidly accumulated claims against Soviet aircraft and ground targets; on 4 September 1941, as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 8./Jagdgeschwader 77, he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes after 28 aerial victories (with additional credits for 26 aircraft destroyed on the ground and about 15 armoured vehicles), recognizing his leadership and combat success in intense air battles supporting Heeresgruppe Süd. Promoted to Hauptmann and appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./Jagdgeschwader 77 in September 1941, Ubben continued his scoring, reaching 69 victories by early 1942; for this sustained performance, he was awarded the Eichenlaub (as the 80th recipient) on 12 March 1942, with the presentation made personally by Adolf Hitler on 5 April 1942 at the Wolfsschanze. Later transferred to the Mediterranean and North African theaters where he claimed his 100th victory in January 1943, Ubben rose to Major and eventually Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in March 1944 for Defense of the Reich duties, only to be shot down in his Fw 190 by USAAF P-47 fighters while bailing out at too low an altitude for his parachute to fully deploy.



Hauptmann Wolf-Dietrich Huy (1917-2003), who rose to the rank of Hauptmann in the Luftwaffe, served primarily as Staffelkapitän of the 7. Staffel of III. Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 77, and was a fighter ace credited with 40 aerial victories (including 38 on the Eastern Front) in over 500 operational sorties; he received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 5 July 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 7./Jagdgeschwader 77 principally for his successful fighter-bomber attacks during operations in the Balkans and the Battle of Crete, where after nine aerial victories he sank approximately 34,000 GRT of Allied shipping including the freighter Hellas of 22,000 GRT and scored direct hits on the battleship Warspite, the cruiser Fiji and a destroyer, and he later received the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub as the 83rd recipient on 17 March 1942 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of 7./Jagdgeschwader 77 after accumulating 32 aerial victories (reaching his 38th claim around that time while operating with III./Jagdgeschwader 77 in the Crimea), before being shot down over Tanyet Harun on 29 October 1942 and spending the remainder of the war as a prisoner.



Hauptmann Friedrich Geisshardt (1919-1943) was born on 22 January 1919 in Sonnefeld near Coburg in Oberfranken as the son of a teacher who had died from wounds received in the First World War; at the age of fifteen he joined the Flieger-HJ and trained as a glider pilot before entering the Luftwaffe in 1937 and being posted on 1 July 1939 to the 2. Staffel of Lehrgeschwader 2. During the invasion of Poland, Unteroffizier Geisshardt scored his first aerial victory on 9 September 1939 near Lubień (a PZL P.11c of the Polish III/3 Squadron), only to force-land behind enemy lines the next day near Włocławek, endure brief captivity, and escape after five days on foot and horseback to rejoin his unit; he was promoted Leutnant der Reserve on 1 December 1939 and later transferred to 1./LG 2. He claimed further victories over France and Britain, four Hawker Furies over Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, and two Hurricanes over Crete, then served as adjutant of the Stab of I.(Jagd)/LG 2 (subordinated to Jagdgeschwader 77 for Operation Barbarossa), achieving his twentieth victory on 23 June 1941 and receiving the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 30 August 1941 as Leutnant and Flugzeugführer in I./Jagdgeschwader 77 after 27 aerial victories. Rapid success followed on the Eastern Front, including multiple “ace-in-a-day” performances in April 1942, promotion to Oberleutnant on 1 April, and appointment as Staffelkapitän of 3./Jagdgeschwader 77 on 26 April; for reaching 79 victories he was awarded the Eichenlaub to the Ritterkreuz (101st recipient) on 23 June 1942 while serving as pilot and Adjutant in the Stab I./Jagdgeschwader 77, the decoration being presented by Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier Rastenburg a few days later. After further claims over Malta and North Africa that brought his total past the century mark, Hauptmann Geisshardt assumed command as Gruppenkommandeur of III./Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter” in January 1943; on 5 April 1943, flying an Fw 190 A-4, he was mortally wounded in the abdomen by defensive fire from USAAF B-17s of the 306th Bomb Group near Antwerp, managed to land at Sint-Denijs-Westrem, and died of his injuries early the next morning, 6 April 1943, having been credited with 102 aerial victories in 642 combat missions.



Major Heinrich Setz (1915-1943) was born on 12 March 1915 in Gundelsdorf near Kronach in the Kingdom of Bavaria as the son of an Oberförster and entered the Luftwaffe as a Fahnenjunker on 6 April 1936, receiving promotion to Leutnant on 1 January 1938 and later serving as an instructor at a Jagdfliegerschule before joining II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 in Norway in the summer of 1940, where he scored his first three aerial victories against RAF aircraft; appointed Staffelkapitän of 4./Jagdgeschwader 77 in July 1941, he led the Staffel during Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, claiming numerous successes including his 45th victory by late November 1941, for which Oberleutnant Setz was awarded the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes on 31 December 1941, and continued to excel in the Crimea and during the fighting around Voronezh, becoming an ace-in-a-day on several occasions and reaching his 81st victory on 23 June 1942, the same day he received the Eichenlaub to his Ritterkreuz (the 102nd such award) which was presented by Adolf Hitler at the Führerhauptquartier in Rastenburg a few days later, subsequently achieving his 100th victory on 24 July 1942 and ending his Eastern Front career with 135 confirmed claims before promotion to Hauptmann on 1 November 1942 and appointment as Gruppenkommandeur of I./Jagdgeschwader 27 on the Western Front in November 1942, where on 13 March 1943, during his 274th combat mission while intercepting American bombers near Abbeville, he claimed three Spitfires but was killed in a mid-air collision with a fourth over Yzengremer, being posthumously promoted to Major with a final total of 138 aerial victories.

Source :
https://www.ww2.dk/air/jagd/jg77.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jagdgeschwader_77

Bio of Oberst Johannes Steinhoff (1913-1994)

Full name: Johannes Steinhoff
Nickname: Macky

Date of Birth: 15 September 1913 - Bottendorf, Thuringia, Sachsen, Prussia (German Empire)
Date of Death: 21 February 1994 - Wachtberg-Pech, Bonn (Germany)

Battles and Operations: Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Battle of France, Battle of Britain, Operation Weserübung, Operation Barbarossa, Battle of Stalingrad, Tunisian campaign, Defense of Sicily, Italian campaign, Defense of the Reich

NSDAP-Number: No information
SS-Number: No information
Religion: No information
Parents: unnamed agricultural mill-worker (father) and unnamed traditional housewife (mother)
Siblings: Bernd Steinhoff, Wolf Steinhoff, Greta Steinhoff, Charlotte Steinhoff
Spouse: Ursula (married 29 April 1939)
Children: Wolf Steinhoff, Ursula Steinhoff

Promotions:
1 April 1936 Leutnant
1 January 1939 Oberleutnant
14 February 1941 Hauptmann
1 April 1944 Oberstleutnant
1 October 1944 Oberst
1 October 1958 Brigadegeneral (Bundeswehr)
1965 or 1966 Generalleutnant (Bundeswehr)
2 January 1971 General (Bundeswehr)

Career:
1934-1935 Kriegsmarine naval flying cadet
1936 transfer to Luftwaffe
1 September 1939 transferred to Jagdgeschwader 26, commanded 10.(Nacht)/JG 26
1940 transferred to Jagdgeschwader 2, commanded 11.(Nacht)/JG 2
early 1940 Staffelkapitän 4./Jagdgeschwader 52
1 March 1942 Gruppenkommandeur II./Jagdgeschwader 52
3 April 1943 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77
12 November 1944 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 7 and Kommando Nowotny
early 1945 transferred to Jagdverband 44
1952 consultant on military aviation in Rearmament Office
1955 joined Bundeswehr
September 1966 - December 1970 Inspekteur der Luftwaffe
1971-1974 Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

Awards:
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (1940)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (1940)
Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg (18 August 1941)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (30 August 1941) as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52), after he reached his 35th aerial victory. This came during the early phase of Operation Barbarossa on the Eastern Front, where II./JG 52 had been supporting the 18th Army's advance toward the Neva River and Lake Ladoga. The Gruppe had moved to the forward airfield at Spasskaya Polist on the Polist River, south of Chudovo and north of Novgorod on Lake Ilmen, operating in a sector of dense forests, rivers, and Soviet defensive positions. In his first month of combat alone Steinhoff had already claimed 28 Soviet aircraft, beginning with an I-153 biplane near Varėna in Lithuania on the opening day of the invasion, 22 June 1941, followed by a DB-3 bomber south of Varėna three days later. The decisive 35th victory occurred on 29 August 1941 southeast of Kolpino when Steinhoff, flying his Messerschmitt Bf 109, spotted a lone I-15 fighter low over the battlefield. He dove from altitude in a classic high-speed bounce, closing rapidly through patchy cloud and ground haze, then raked the Soviet biplane with cannon and machine-gun fire. The I-15 burst into flames and spiraled down trailing black smoke, crashing near Soviet lines. This single kill, achieved amid intense low-level dogfights and flak over the advancing German infantry, pushed him past the threshold for the Ritterkreuz.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #115 (2 September 1942) as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52), achieved he reached his 100th and 101st aerial victories on 31 August 1942. By this stage the Gruppe was operating from Tusov airfield, 25 kilometers southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the western bank of the Don, in the middle of the ferocious air battles surrounding Stalingrad. Soviet LaGG-3 fighters and Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft swarmed the skies in dense formations, trying to protect Red Army reinforcements and counter the German push across the Don bend. On that hot summer afternoon Steinhoff led his Staffeln into a swirling melee above the river and the approaching city. He first latched onto a LaGG-3 in a turning fight at medium altitude, using the superior climb and roll rate of his Bf 109 G to outmaneuver the heavier Soviet fighter, then opened fire at close range; the LaGG-3 disintegrated in mid-air with pieces tumbling toward the Volga. Moments later, in the same engagement, he spotted a second LaGG-3 attempting to escape at lower level and pursued it through scattered cumulus clouds and heavy anti-aircraft bursts, finishing it off with a precise burst into the cockpit area. The two kills in quick succession brought his score to exactly 100, making him only the 18th Luftwaffe pilot to reach the century mark. The award were presented personally by Adolf Hitler on 4 November 1942 alongside other leading aces.
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #82 (28 July 1944) as Oberstleutnant and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77), after he had accumulated 168 confirmed victories. The award recognized his sustained leadership and combat success in the Mediterranean theater, particularly during the desperate defense of Sicily and the Italian mainland in 1943-44. A vivid example of the actions that contributed to this high honor occurred on 25 June 1943 northwest of Trapani, Sicily, roughly 150 kilometers from the coast. USAAF B-17 Flying Fortresses had bombed Messina earlier that day, and JG 77, together with elements of JG 53, scrambled approximately 80 fighters under coordination from Adolf Galland and Günther Lützow. Hazy weather and mistaken intelligence about the bombers' route scattered the intercept force, with only a handful of German aircraft managing to reach the returning American formation. Steinhoff, flying his Bf 109 G, pressed through the haze and thick contrails at high altitude, closing on a straggling B-17 from astern. He opened fire with his cannon, targeting the left wing engines and fuselage; flames erupted from the bomber's wing root as it shuddered and began trailing thick smoke. The Fortress rolled slowly onto its back and plunged into the Mediterranean in a long, fiery arc, its crew bailing out or perishing with the aircraft. This four-engined kill, achieved against overwhelming odds and in coordination with a depleted fighter force, exemplified the aggressive leadership Steinhoff demanded of JG 77 even as the theater collapsed around them. By the time the Swords were awarded in mid-1944 his score had climbed to 168 (including four four-engined bombers), reflecting continued victories and command under extreme pressure in Italy and the early Defense of the Reich.
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger und Einzatszahl (with number 900)
Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold mit Anhänger
Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer-Beobachter Abzeichen (ohne Brillanten)
Verwundetenabzeichen 1939 in Gold
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 13. März 1938
Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938
Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille)
Dienstauszeichnung der Wehrmacht 4. Klasse (4 Jahre)
Großes Verdienstkreuz des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland mit Stern und Schulterband (4 July 1972)
Legion of Merit (USA, 1970)
Légion d'honneur (France, March 1972)

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Johannes Steinhoff was a Luftwaffe fighter ace during World War II, a German general in the postwar Bundeswehr, and a senior NATO official. Born on 15 September 1913 in Bottendorf, Thuringia, then part of the Province of Saxony in Prussia within the German Empire, he rose to become one of the highest-scoring pilots of the conflict with 176 confirmed aerial victories achieved over 993 operational sorties. Steinhoff flew combat missions from the first day of the war in September 1939 until April 1945 and was among the very few Luftwaffe pilots to operate the revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter in action as a member of Jagdverband 44 under Adolf Galland. He survived twelve shoot-downs himself and endured severe burns in a fiery crash during the final weeks of the war. Decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, Steinhoff later received high civilian honors including the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, the American Legion of Merit, and the French Legion of Honour. After the conflict he played a pivotal role in rebuilding West Germany's air force and served as Inspector of the Luftwaffe and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, while also participating in the late-war Fighter Pilots' Revolt against Hermann Göring's leadership.

The son of an agricultural mill-worker father and a traditional housewife mother, Steinhoff grew up with two brothers named Bernd and Wolf and two sisters named Greta and Charlotte. One sister, Charlotte, later married Ludwig Hahn, who commanded the Security Police and Security Service in occupied Warsaw and was involved in the Warsaw Ghetto operations. After attending the Klosterschule Roßleben convent school where he studied classics and languages including French, English, Latin, and Greek, Steinhoff enrolled at the University of Jena from 1932 to 1934 to study philology. There he joined the Landsmannschaft Suevia academic fencing fraternity. Financial difficulties forced him to leave university, leading him to enlist in the Kriegsmarine in 1934 as a naval flying cadet alongside his friend Dietrich Hrabak. In 1936 he transferred to the newly reestablished Luftwaffe, where he was promoted to Leutnant on 1 April 1936 and to Oberleutnant on 1 January 1939. On 29 April 1939 he married Ursula, with whom he had a son named Wolf and a daughter also named Ursula, the latter later marrying an American economics professor and Colorado state senator.

In the summer of 1939 the Luftwaffe experimented with single-engine night fighter tactics, and Steinhoff was appointed Staffelkapitän of the 11th Night Fighter Squadron of Lehrgeschwader 2 at Greifswald, initially equipped with Arado Ar 68 biplanes before switching to Messerschmitt Bf 109 D variants. With the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 he moved to Jagdgeschwader 26 and took command of its newly formed 10th Night Fighter Squadron at Bonn-Hangelar. During the Battle of the Heligoland Bight on 18 December 1939 he claimed two Vickers Wellington bombers from RAF Bomber Command shot down south-southwest of the island. In early 1940 his unit became the 11th Night Fighter Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 2, and he participated in Operation Weserübung in Norway before supporting the Battle of France, where he downed two Bristol Blenheim bombers on 10 May 1940 near The Hague and Düsseldorf. Transferred in August 1940 to the 4th Squadron of Jagdgeschwader 52, he scored his fifth victory, a Supermarine Spitfire over Dorking during the Battle of Britain on 30 September 1940, and continued claiming additional Spitfires along the English Channel coast into 1941.

Steinhoff's career accelerated dramatically after the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 when II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52 moved east to support Army Group North. Operating from forward airfields such as Suwałki, Varėna, and later Spasskaya Polist on the Polist River south of Chudovo, the unit engaged Soviet fighters and bombers amid dense forests and river lines near Lake Ladoga. Steinhoff opened his Eastern Front tally on the first day of Operation Barbarossa by downing a Polikarpov I-153 biplane near Varėna in Lithuania, followed quickly by an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. By late August the Gruppe was heavily engaged supporting the 18th Army's advance, and on 29 August 1941 southeast of Kolpino he spotted a lone I-15 fighter low over the battlefield. Diving through patchy cloud and ground haze in his Bf 109, Steinhoff closed rapidly and raked the Soviet biplane with cannon and machine-gun fire, sending it spiraling down in flames to crash near enemy lines. This 35th victory secured him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 30 August 1941 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän.

By early 1942 Steinhoff had assumed command of II Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 52, which redeployed to the Stalingrad sector and operated from Tusov airfield southwest of Kalach-na-Donu on the Don River's western bank amid ferocious air battles protecting German advances and countering dense Soviet formations of LaGG-3 fighters and Il-2 Sturmoviks. On the hot afternoon of 31 August 1942 he led his squadrons into a swirling melee above the river. First engaging a LaGG-3 in a tight turning fight at medium altitude, he exploited the Bf 109 G's superior climb and roll to outmaneuver the heavier opponent and disintegrate it with close-range fire, pieces tumbling toward the Volga. Moments later he pursued a second LaGG-3 attempting to escape at low level through scattered clouds and flak, finishing it with precise bursts into the cockpit. These two kills brought his total to 101 and earned him the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves on 2 September 1942 as the 115th recipient, presented personally by Adolf Hitler in November alongside other leading aces.

Transferred in April 1943 to become Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 77 in the Mediterranean theater, Steinhoff led defensive operations over Tunisia, Sicily, and Italy against overwhelming Allied bomber streams. On 25 June 1943 northwest of Trapani in Sicily, amid hazy weather and confused intelligence after USAAF B-17s bombed Messina, he pressed through thick contrails at high altitude with only a handful of fighters and closed on a straggling Flying Fortress from astern. Targeting the left wing engines and fuselage with cannon fire, he ignited flames at the wing root; the B-17 rolled onto its back and plunged into the Mediterranean in a long fiery arc. This four-engine victory, achieved under extreme pressure, contributed to his promotion to Oberstleutnant and the award of the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 28 July 1944 after 168 victories. Steinhoff later commanded the first Me 262-equipped Jagdgeschwader 7 before joining Jagdverband 44 in early 1945, where he scored additional jet kills. His flying ended abruptly on 18 April 1945 at München-Riem when, during takeoff in formation against American raids, his left wheel struck debris, causing the jet to veer wildly, nearly collide with another aircraft, run off the runway, and explode in flames. Pulled from the burning wreckage, he suffered disfiguring burns requiring two years of hospitalization and sixty-nine operations, including eyelid reconstruction by a British surgeon.

After the war Steinhoff served as a consultant on military aviation during West Germany's rearmament and joined the Bundeswehr in 1955. He rose rapidly, becoming Inspector of the Luftwaffe from September 1966 to December 1970 and then Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1971 to 1974. He authored several books drawing on his experiences, including accounts of operations over Sicily and reflections on the final hours of the war. Steinhoff died on 21 February 1994 in Wachtberg-Pech near Bonn at the age of eighty, remembered as both a brilliant combat leader who fought through every theater of the air war and a key architect of postwar German and Allied air power.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Steinhoff
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/34548/Steinhoff-Johannes.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/S/SteinhoffJ.htm
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.unithistories.com/units_index/index.php?file=/officers/personsx.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://www.bundesarchiv.de/en/
https://www.geni.com/
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://grokipedia.com/
Steinhoff, Johannes: Messerschmitts Over Sicily (via books.google.com)
Steinhoff, Johannes: In letzter Stunde (via books.google.com)
Spick, Mike: Luftwaffe Fighter Aces (via books.google.com)
Mathews, Andrew J. & Foreman, John: Luftwaffe Aces (via books.google.com)

Bio of Oberst Herbert Ihlefeld (1914-1995)

Full name: Herbert Ihlefeld. Historical records, military biographies, award citations (such as those for the Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern), and primary sources from the era consistently list him simply as Herbert Ihlefeld, with no middle name, additional given names, or variations documented. He was commonly referred to by the nickname "Ihle" among fellow pilots and in some personal accounts.

Nickname: Ihle

Date of Birth: 01.06.1914 - Pinnow, Pomerania (German Empire)
Date of Death: 08.08.1995 - Wennigsen, Lower Saxony (Germany)

Battles and Operations: Spanish Civil War, Polish Campaign, Western Campaign, Battle of Britain, Balkan Campaign, Operation Barbarossa, Eastern Front operations 1941-1942, Reichsverteidigung, Operation Bodenplatte

Religion: No information
Parents: son of a farm laborer (name unknown)
Siblings: No information
Spouse: No information
Children: No information

Promotions:
00.10.1935 Unteroffizier
20.08.1938 Leutnant
01.06.1940 Oberleutnant
01.10.1940 Hauptmann
00.06.1942 Major
01.02.1944 Oberstleutnant
30.01.1945 Oberst

Career:
01.04.1933 volunteered for Reichswehr service as Grenadier in Infanterie-Regiment 5, Stettin
1934 posted to aviation technical school at Jüterbog
March 1935 transferred to Luftwaffe for flight training
March 1937 assigned to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 132 Richthofen
late 1937 volunteered for Condor Legion in Spain, assigned to 2. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 until July 1938
01.08.1938 posted to I. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 2 (later operating as I. Gruppe JG 77)
September 1940 appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe JG 77
April 1941 participated in Balkan Campaign with I. Gruppe JG 77
22.06.1941 began operations on Eastern Front with I. Gruppe JG 77 under Heeresgruppe Süd
10.05.1942 relieved as Gruppenkommandeur and assigned to staff training with Geschwaderstab JG 51
22.06.1942 appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 52
28.10.1942 passed command of JG 52 and took over leadership of Jagdfliegerschule 3 (later JG 103)
21.07.1943 formed and commanded JG Nord (redesignated JG 25) for high-altitude interception duties
May 1944 briefly served as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 11
20.05.1944 appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 1 Oesau
01.01.1945 led JG 1 during Operation Bodenplatte
04.05.1945 surrendered with JG 1 at Lüneburg Heath to British forces
post-war worked as civilian pilot and did not rejoin the Bundesluftwaffe

Awards and Decorations:
Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords (for service in Condor Legion)
Wound Badge in Black
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold with Pennant 1000
Combined Pilots-Observation Badge
Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse (26.09.1939)
Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse (04.07.1940)
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (12.06.1941)
Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (09.04.1942)
Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes (13.09.1940) as Oberleutnant and pilot in I.(J)/LG 2 for 21 aerial victories during the Battle of Britain
Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub (27.06.1941, 16. Verleihung) as Hauptmann and Kommandeur I. Gruppe JG 77 for reaching 40 aerial victories in the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa
Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern (24.04.1942, 9. Verleihung) as Hauptmann and Kommandeur I. Gruppe JG 77 after his 101st aerial victory on the Eastern Front
Mentioned in Wehrmachtbericht (27.06.1941, 26.03.1942, 31.03.1942, 20.05.1942)

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Herbert Ihlefeld rose from humble beginnings as the son of a Pomeranian farm laborer to become one of the most durable and successful fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe, credited with between 123 and 132 aerial victories in more than 1,000 combat sorties across multiple theaters while surviving eight shoot-downs. After basic infantry service he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935, completed pilot training, and volunteered for the Condor Legion in Spain where he claimed nine victories flying the Bf 109, earning the Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords. Returning to Germany he joined I. Gruppe of Lehrgeschwader 2 and flew in the Polish and French campaigns before the intense air battles over the English Channel and Britain in 1940.

The Ritterkreuz was awarded on 13 September 1940 during the height of the Battle of Britain after Ihlefeld had accumulated 21 confirmed victories in World War II. As Staffelkapitän of 2. Staffel in I.(J)/LG 2 he repeatedly engaged RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes in large-scale fighter sweeps and escorts, claiming multiple kills on days such as 22 August (two Spitfires near Dover), 24 August (two more Spitfires over Kent), 2 September (two Spitfires over Hornchurch), and 5-7 September (further Hurricanes and Spitfires during raids on London). His steady accumulation of victories while protecting bomber formations and conducting free hunts demonstrated outstanding marksmanship, tactical awareness, and resilience under heavy anti-aircraft fire and superior numbers of enemy fighters.

Transferred to the Eastern Front in June 1941 as Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe JG 77, Ihlefeld achieved even greater success in the opening days of Operation Barbarossa. On 23 June he claimed two SB-2 bombers during escort missions for Kampfgeschwader 27, followed by two DB-3 bombers on 26 June near Chernivtsi, bringing his total to 40 victories. These rapid claims, achieved while providing air cover for advancing ground forces and conducting fighter sweeps over Soviet airfields, showcased his ability to exploit the initial surprise and numerical superiority in the southern sector. For this performance he received the Eichenlaub on 27 June 1941 as the 16th member of the Wehrmacht so honored.

Continuing operations on the Eastern Front through 1941 and early 1942, Ihlefeld led his Gruppe to over 300 claimed victories while personally reaching 101 aerial victories by 22 April 1942, including an ace-in-a-day on 30 August 1941 and seven claims on 20 April 1942. His leadership maintained high morale and operational effectiveness despite harsh conditions, long-range missions, and increasing Soviet resistance. This sustained record of personal success and unit achievement earned him the Schwerter on 24 April 1942 as the 9th recipient, presented by Hitler at the Wolfsschanze.

Later in the war Ihlefeld commanded JG 52 briefly, established the specialized high-altitude unit JG 25 to counter RAF Mosquito raids, served with JG 11, and from May 1944 led JG 1 Oesau through the desperate defense of the Reich and the failed Operation Bodenplatte on 1 January 1945, where he was himself forced down by flak near Rotterdam. In the final months he oversaw conversion training onto the He 162 jet fighter before surrendering his wing in May 1945. After the war he lived quietly as a civilian pilot, meeting one of his former RAF opponents in 1984, and passed away in 1995 at the age of 81.



Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Ihlefeld
https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/23472/Ihlefeld-Herbert-Jagdgeschwader-77.htm
https://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/I/IhlefeldH.htm
https://rk.balsi.de/index.php?action=list&cat=300
https://www.ww2.dk/lwoffz.html
https://forum.axishistory.com/
https://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/
https://aircrewremembered.com/KrackerDatabase/?q=units
https://grokipedia.com/
https://web.archive.org/web/20091027052912fw_/http://geocities.com/orion47.geo/index2.html
Obermaier, Ernst. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe 1939-1945. Band I Jagdflieger. Mainz: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann, 1989.
Prien, Jochen. Die Jagdfliegerverbände der Deutschen Luftwaffe 1934 bis 1945. Teil 1-14. Eutin: Struve-Druck, various years.
Stockert, Peter. Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939-1945. Band 4. Osnabrück: Biblio-Verlag, 2012.
Spick, Mike. Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. New York: Ivy Books, 1996.
Forsyth, Robert. Luftwaffe in the Spanish Civil War. Hersham: Ian Allan, 2011.
Mathews, Andrew and John Foreman. Luftwaffe Aces - Biographies and Victory Claims. Walton on Thames: Red Kite, 2015.

Karl-Gottfried Nordmann Playing with an Eagle

Leutnant Karl Gottfried Nordmann (right) plays with an eagle with his fellow Luftwaffe pilot. The eagle is most likely the mascot of the unit in which he served: I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) "Herz As". This photo itself was taken in the spring of 1940, and most likely in March when Nordmann was Staffelkapitän of 3.Staffel in his Gruppe. By this time he was already an experienced pilot but still not quite an "ace" (five or more aerial victories). Nordmann had his first victory in early September 1939 over Poland, while further victories were recorded over France. In the Battle of Britain he recorded seven enemy planes being shot down (though over a very long period of time, from July 1940 to July 1941!). Overall, Nordmann claimed 78 victories in more than 800 combat missions. Nearly all of his victories were recorded in Russia where he fought until the end of 1942.

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2014/09/foto-jagdgeschwader-77-jg-77-herz-as.html
http://www.mourningtheancient.com/truth-animalsx6.htm

Gordon Gollob in Color

Hauptmann Gordon Gollob (Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 3) relaxes with his pet dog while busy writing down what he experienced that day in his flight log. Behind the ace we can see a 1937 Packard car. This photo was taken on the Eastern Front during the Operation Barbarossa (German invasion of the Soviet Union), summer 1941.

Hauptmann Gordon Gollob after receiving the Schwerter for his Ritterkreuz.

Hauptmann Gordon Gollob after receiving the Schwerter for his Ritterkreuz.

Hauptmann Gordon Gollob after receiving the Schwerter for his Ritterkreuz.



Major Gordon Gollob with the Schwerter for his Ritterkreuz.



Oberstleutnant Gordon Gollob after receiving the Brillanten for his Ritterkreuz.

Gordon Gollob postwar.

Source :
http://alifrafikkhan.blogspot.com/2022/05/foto-gordon-gollob-pilot-pertama-yang.html
http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.com/2010/07/oberst-gordon-gollob.html
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ww2-luftwaffe-ace-gordon-gollob-1845727198

Bio of Oberst Gordon Gollob (1912-1987)

Gordon Max "Mac" Gollob

Date of Birth: 16.06.1912 - Wien (Austria-Hungary)
Date of Death: 07.09.1987 - Sulingen, Niedersachsen (West Germany)

Parents: Heinrich Gollob and Johann Reininghaus
Wife: Elisabeth Lüning (married 14.02.1943)
Children: Ulrik Gollob (30.11.1943), Gerald Gollob (09.01.1946) and Cornelia Gollob (16.03.1954)

Promotions:
01.09.1936 Leutnant (Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte)
01.06.1938 Oberleutnant
01.06.1941 Hauptmann
02.07.1942 Major
01.04.1943 Oberstleutnant
01.05.1944 Oberst
30.01.1945 NSFK-Gruppenführer

Career:
00.00.1933 joined the Austrian Bundesheer as an officer cadet in the artillery
00.00.1934 began flight training
00.00.1936 flight instructor and Kommandant Schulstaffel A
00.00.1938 entered the German Luftwaffe
15.03.1939 transferred to 3.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76)
05.09.1939 scored his first aerial victory over Poland after shooting down a PWS 56 biplane
09.04.1940 Staffelkapitän 3.Staffel / I.Gruppe / Zerstörergeschwader 76 (ZG 76)
15.08.1940 his aircraft damaged by British fighters but he returned safely
Night fighter training, and a short stint with Erprobungsstelle Rechlin before going to JG 3
07.09.1940 transferred to II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3)
12.10.1940 - 27.06.1941 Staffelkapitän 4.Staffel / II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3)
27.06.1941 - 20.11.1941 Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3)
05.10.1941 scored his 50th aerial victory over a Russian I-61
18.10.1941 The most successful day when Gollob scored 9 aerial victories in three combat missions
20.11.1941 transferred to Erprobungsstelle Rechlin
13.03.1942 transferred to Stab Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54)
16.05.1942 - 30.09.1942 Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77)
20.05.1942 shot down two aircraft, a DB-3 and a LaGG-3, and thereby exceeded 100 aerial victories
23.07.1942 - 31.08.1942 Führer Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52)
29.08.1942 reached 150 aerial victories and became the Luftwaffe's highest scoring pilot at that point
30.09.1942 transferred to Stab Jagdfliegerführer 3
15.02.1943 - 22.06.1943 Ia Jagdfliegerführer 3
22.06.1943 - 15.09.1943 Jagdfliegerführer 3
15.06.1943 (or 06.09.1943?) Jagdfliegerführer 5 (5. Jagd-Division)
00.04.1944 transferred to the personal staff of the General der Jagdflieger to represent him on the Jägerstab
18.09.1944 subsequently transferred to the Kommando der Eprobungstellen
00.12.1944 Chef Jäger-Sonderstab (set up to coordinate fighter operations during the Ardennes Offensive)
01.02.1945 - 08.05.1945 General der Jagdflieger (L.In. 3)/RLM
00.05.1945 hospitalized
00.00.1946 status altered from POW to Internee
Held in a civilian jail at Kitzbühel - while not accused of war crimes he was repeatedly interrogated by the Americans and even by the French
Became the Generalsekretär of a splinter party in Austria
00.00.1960? employed as a distributor with the Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz-Werken

Awards and Decorations:
21.09.1939 Eisernes Kreuz II.Klasse
13.06.1940 Eisernes Kreuz I.Klasse
30.01.1941 Narvikschild in Silber
11.05.1941 Frontflugspange für Jäger in Gold
21.07.1941 Luftwaffe Ehrenpokale für besondere Leistungen im Luftkrieg
18.09.1941 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes, as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3). Awarded after 42 aerial victories
26.10.1941 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub #38, as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur II.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3). Awarded after 85 aerial victories
25.11.1941 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
20.06.1942 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
23.06.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern #13, as Hauptmann and Führer Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) "Herz As". Awarded after 107 aerial victories
30.08.1942 Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwerter und Brillanten #3, as Major and Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77) "Herz As". Awarded after 150 aerial victories
31.08.1942 Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht
00.11.1942 Magyar Királyi Légierő Pilótajelvény (Hungarian Honor Pilot Badge)
15.03.1943 Krimschild
12.06.1943 Medalia "Cruciada Impotriua Comunismului" (Romania)
00.00.194_ Gemeinsames Flugzeugfuhrer-Beobachter Abzeichen mit Brillianten

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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.

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 forced 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.

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 (Eisernes Kreuz 2. Klasse). Following the campaign in Poland, ZG 76 was moved to Germany for defensive operations. The I. 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.

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 (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse).

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 140 kilometers (90 mi) 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.

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.[Note 5] That evening, Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II. Gruppe Lothar Keller informed his subordinates of the attack.

The invasion of the Soviet Union began on 22 June 1941. II. Gruppe flew its first missions on the Eastern Front shortly before 04:00, flying low attacks against Soviet airfields in the vicinity of Lvov in Ukraine. At 06:30 the Gruppe fought its first aerial battles. 4. Staffel claimed three victories and the Gruppenstab four. One of these victories was credited to Gollob, who claimed a Polikarpov I-16 fighter shot down at 07:00. On 25 June, II. Gruppe claimed 17 victories, 6 of which were credited to 4. Staffel. The Staffel engaged Ilyushin DB-3 bombers escorted by I-16 "Ratas" on a free chase mission west of Lutsk. The Soviet bombers targeted the German advance roads from Hrubieszów through Volodymyr-Volynskyi to Lusk. Gollob was credited with two victories over DB-3s in this encounter. On 26 June 1941, Gruppenkommandeur Keller was killed in a mid-air collision. The next day, Gollob succeeded Keller in this position and turned over command of 4. Staffel to Oberleutnant Karl Faust. In the beginning of July 1941, the front in the vicinity of the northern sector of Army Group South became increasingly fluid. This necessitated the relocation of II. Gruppe to Volodymyr-Volynskyi. By this time the war of attrition had reduced the Gruppe to 50 percent of its authorized strength. One reason for this was the almost complete lack of new aircraft or of engines and other spare parts. Another factor was overwork of the ground crews and signs of exhaustion were apparent. Flying combat air patrols over Berdychiv and Zhytomyr on 1 July, II. Gruppe claimed four victories. On this day at 19:42, Gollob claimed his tenth aerial victory over a Petlyakov Pe-2 light bomber. The following day, the Gruppe claimed 23 aerial victories for the loss of one in combat. The first victory of the day was claimed by Gollob who shot down a ZKB-19—a German alias for the Polikarpov I-17 fighter, possibly a misidentified Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-1 or Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3—at 05:52 in the morning. On another mission that day, he claimed two Vultee V-11 attack aircraft shot down at 11:30 and 11:43.

The rapid advance of German ground forces required II. Gruppe to move to Lutsk on 5 July, then to Dubno that evening and to Miropol on 10 July. Flying missions east of Zhytomyr, Gollob claimed his 14th victory over a Polikarpov I-153 at 06:30 on 13 July 1941. A victory over a DB-3 at 11:42 and a further victory over a Tupolev SB-2 bomber at 11:44, both claimed on 16 July, took his total to 16 aerial victories. On 20 July 1941, II. Gruppe relocated from Miropol to Berdychiv. One day later, Gollob was awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) for 16 aerial victories. On 23 July 1941 at 16:35, Gollob claimed a Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bomber, his 17th aerial victory. That day, II. Gruppe received orders to turn over its remaining aircraft to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing). Gollob's Gruppe was re-equipped with the Bf 109 F-4. On 28 July, the pilots were flown to Krosno on a Junkers Ju 52 where they received a full complement of Bf 109 F-4s. After a single familiarization flight, they departed to Berdychiv and on the following morning they were transferred to Bila Tserkva. During the first days in August 1941, II. Gruppe flew missions over the combat areas along the Dnieper in support of the main German attack to encircle Soviet forces near Uman, approximately 200 km (120 mi) south of Kiev. Most II. Gruppe missions were subsequently in the greater Kiev area and to the north near Malyn, where Soviet forces were still holding onto the west bank of the Dnieper. Until 6 August 1941, II. Gruppe claimed five victories without loss. Two victories claimed on 5 August took Gollob's total to 20 aerial victories. He was victorious over a I-153 at 17:46 and a I-17 at 18:22.

On 7 August, II. Gruppe moved again, from Bila Tserkva the Gruppe moved to Signajewka, a forward airfield near Shpola. In the days to come, the Gruppe flew combat missions over the Dnieper, between Kaniv and Kremenchuk as well to the south. Flying from Signajewka for the next 10 days, II. Gruppe claimed 64 aerial victories, including 11 on 8 August, 7 on 9 August, 8 on 12 August and 27 on 17 August 1941, the Gruppe's most successful day of the entire 1941 summer campaign. In the same timeframe, Gollob increased his tally of aerial victories to 26. II. Gruppe had to relocate again to keep up with the German advance. On the afternoon of 17 August parts of the air elements flew to Kirovohrad-North airfield. Their primary mission was to protect the armored spearheads in the Dnipropetrovsk area. On 21 August 1941, II. Gruppe claimed 17 victories, five of which were by Gollob. This "ace-in-a-day" achievement, the first of six during his combat career, took his total to 33 aerial victories. On 25 August, III Army Corps took Dnipropetrovsk and captured the first bridgehead across the Dnieper. Until the end of August 1941, II. Gruppe primary objective was to help secure the bridgehead on the east bank of the Dnieper. In support of these battles, Gollob scored a I-17 on 22 August, a Polikarpov I-180 fighter aircraft on 24 August and a Tupolev TB-3 heavy bomber on 31 August 1941, taking his total to 36 aerial victories. On 1 September 1941, the 17th Army began crossing the Dnieper in force and II. Gruppe was moved to Myronivka. Flying from Myronivka was characterized by poor weather conditions with rain and fog, as a result operations were kept to a minimum. At the time, II. Gruppe's primary objective was the defense of the Dnieper crossing. In these defensive battles, Gollob score his 37th victory on 8 September. His opponent was classified as an I-26 fighter aircraft, later referred to as Yakovlev Yak-1. One day later, he claimed an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft. On 12 September weather conditions improved and flight operations increased. II. Gruppe flew missions in support of the armored spearheads as well as fighter escort missions for Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. That day, Gollob claimed two victories, an Il-2 and a I-26, taking his total to 40 aerial victories. On 13 September, the Gruppe claimed 20 victories over Soviet bombers and ground-attack aircraft, including a V-11 shot down by Gollob at 17:19. On 14 September 1941, the German airfield at Myronivka came under Soviet air attack. Following the attack, Gollob and his wingman Oberleutnant Walther Dahl managed to pursue the attackers, and both shot down one of them. This victory over an I-153 claimed at 05:47 in the morning took his total to 42 aerial victories. II. Gruppe was again forced to relocate, on 15 September it moved to an airfield at Kremenchuk. On 18 September, Gollob was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 42 victories. On 19 September 1941, II. Gruppe was tasked with strafing Soviet airfields in the Poltava area. That day, Gollob claimed his 43rd aerial victory over an R-5 at 13:55. He became an "ace-in-a-day" again on 28 September 1941 which took his score to 48 aerial victories. That day he had claimed three Pe-2s and two I-61s, a designation for the MiG-1 fighter aircraft.

On 30 September 1941, the Gruppe was temporarily transferred from the southern sector of the Eastern Front. Their new area of operation was Sechtschinskaja, approximately 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Roslavl. The Gruppe was then subordinated to the 2nd Air Corps under the command of General der Flieger Bruno Loerzer and was part of the preparations for Operation Typhoon, the planned assault on Moscow. All available German forces were concentrated under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock's Army Group Centre for the attack which began on 2 October 1941. In the first days of this campaign, II. Gruppe supported the advance northeast by 4th Panzer Group and the 4th Army towards Vyazma and Yukhnov. Predominantly flying escort missions for Ju 87 dive bombers and combat air patrols over the battle zone east of Desna, Gollob claimed one enemy aircraft shot down on 4 October and two more the following day, including his 50th aerial victory over a I-61.

Gollob claimed two Pe-2s shot down on 6 October, the first at 10:15 and the second two hours later. The following day, he was victorious over two further Pe-2s and one Il-2, taking his total to 56 aerial victories. On that night, the first snow fell, worsening road conditions. By 9 October German units had encircled major Soviet forces in two separate pockets at Vyazma and Bryansk. In support of German ground forces, II. Gruppe detached a Schwärme—two pairs of two fighter aircraft—to a forward airfield at Syevsk, approximately 100 km (62 mi) south of Bryansk. From 9 to 11 October the air elements operated from the Kirov and Oryol airfields, which had been captured by German forces on 3 October. Operating from these airfields, Gollob claimed his 57th and 58th victories on 10 October, both aircraft were I-61s shot down at 12:40 and 12:43. The missions on 11 October 1941 were II. Gruppe's last in support of Operation Typhoon. Orders had been received to transfer the air element and a small technical ground crew detachment, which was airlifted by several Ju 52s to Chaplynka. From there, the Gruppe participated in the Crimean Campaign, the conquest of the Crimean peninsula. The transfer began on 13 October, but due to bad weather conditions, it was only completed on 16 October. At Chaplynka, the Gruppe was placed under the command of the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) of Jagdgeschwader 77 (JG 77—77th Fighter Wing).

The first missions over the battle zone in front of Perekop and over the Crimea were flown on 17 October 1941, either flying Ju 87 escort missions or combat air patrols. On two separate missions that day, Gollob claimed two I-61s and one I-16 shot down. On 18 October 1941, the 11the Army began its attack on the Isthmus of Perekop and Ishun. II. Gruppe flew several combat air patrols that day and reported 16 aerial victories for the loss of two Bf 109s damaged in combat. Gollob alone accounted for nine of these 16 claimed victories. This was the third time he had become an "ace-in-a-day" and was the most successful day of his combat career. During the course of three combat missions, he increased his personal score to 70. That day he filed a claim for nine I-61s shot down, two at 07:18 and 07:20, five more at 10:05, 10:07, 10:19, 10:20 and 10:29 and two more at 14:46 and 14:48. On 19 October, Gollob again achieved "ace-in-a-day" for the fourth time, claiming a I-61 at 08:55, three P-2s at 12:36, 12:37 and 12:42, and another I-61 at 15:35. The next day, he was credited with one further I-61, taking his total to 76 victories. Two days later, on 22 October, Gollob made "ace-in-a-day" for the fifth time and surpassed eighty victories. That day he claimed three I-16s, one Pe-2 and one I-61. One day later, he claimed three aerial victories, all I-61s, and on 24 October, he was credited with his 85th victory after he shot down a I-153. Following this streak of 37 aerial victories in October 1941, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) after reaching 85 victories. He was the 38th member of the German armed forces to be so honored. Gollob, together with Oberleutnant Erbo Graf von Kageneck, received the Oak Leaves from Adolf Hitler personally at the Wolf's Lair, Hitler's headquarters in Rastenburg, present-day Kętrzyn in Poland, on 5 November 1941.

On 31 October 1941, II. Gruppe flew its last combat missions over the northern Crimea. The Gruppe was then ordered to return to Germany, to be stationed at the Wiesbaden-Erbenheim airfield where it arrived in early November. Prior to departure, all of the remaining aircraft where handed over to III. Gruppe of JG 77. Since the start of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, II. Gruppe had claimed 504 aerial victories for the loss of ten pilots killed or missing in action, and a further nine pilots who had been injured. In addition, 27 aircraft were lost or damaged beyond repair, a further 21 aircraft received heavy damaged and another 27 were lightly damaged. On 20 November 1941, Gollob was again posted to the central Erprobungstelle Rechlin primary Luftwaffe test facility. Gollob was replaced by Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Krahl as commander of II. Gruppe of JG 3. At Rechlin, he flew numerous test and comparison flights with the latest version of the Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft, as well as a variety of types which never went beyond a prototype variant.

In early 1942, the General der Jagdflieger (General of Fighters), Oberst (Colonel) Adolf Galland recommended Gollob for the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) position of Jagdgeschwader 77. Gollob was sent to the Geschwaderstab of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) as a commander-in-training under Major Hannes Trautloft. On 1 May 1942, Gollob was officially appointed Geschwaderkommodore of JG 77, replacing Major Gotthard Handrick. He took operational command of the Geschwader after he arrived on 16 May 1942. On the same day of his arrival, Gollob flew his first combat mission as Geschwaderkommodore. That day, he claimed his aerial victories 87 to 89, shooting down three Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter aircraft. Gollob's success continued the following day, when he was credited with three R-5s and one LaGG-3 destroyed.

JG 77 had been given the task of supporting the German ground forces in the Crimean Campaign over the Kerch Strait on the Crimean Peninsula. An anonymous JG 77 pilot described Gollob's methods; "Gollob flew from Kerch together with his wingman. They positioned themselves at a low altitude beneath a Soviet formation. Then they started climbing in spirals, carefully maintaining their position beneath the enemy formation. Before the peacefully flying Soviets had even suspected any mischief, the two planes at the bottom of their formation had been shot down and the two Germans were gone." On 18 May 1942, Gollob claimed his 94th to 96th aerial victories over Kerch and the Caucasus coast; all three were Polikarpov R-5 reconnaissance bombers. JG 77, led by Gollob, and its I. Gruppe, led by Hauptmann Heinrich Bär, were engaged in an intense rivalry, each striving to outperform the other, and both eager to achieve the century mark first. Bär claimed his 100th aerial victory on 19 May. That day, Gollob claimed three more R-5 shot down, taking his total to 99 aerial victories. One day later, on 20 May 1942, Gollob shot down two aircraft, a DB-3 and a LaGG-3, and thereby exceeded 100 aerial victories. He was the 10th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.

On 7 June 1942, German and Romanian forces began Operation Störfang, the final assault in the siege of Sevastopol, which resulted in the city's capture on 4 July 1942. On the first day of this operation, Gollob claimed his 102nd victory, a LaGG-3 shot down over Sevastopol. The attack on Sevastopol was still making slow progress on 9 June, largely due to the artillery deployed within the fortress. Over the battle zone, Gollob claimed a I-153 shot down that day. Gollob did not claim any further victories until 18 June. The fighting over Sevastopol was still ongoing and Gollob claimed an Il-2 and a LaGG-3 over the southern sector of Sevastopol. These two victories took his total to 105. On 21 June 1942, Gollob was credited with two victories over LaGG-3 fighter aircraft. For this achievement, on 23 June, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern), after his score had increased to 107 aerial victories. This was the 13th presentation of this award. On 1 July 1942, he was promoted to Major.

On 22 July 1942, the Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52—52nd Fighter Wing), Major Herbert Ihlefeld, was severely injured in a flight accident and had to surrender command during his convalescence. At the time, all three Gruppen of JG 77 were lent out to other units, and Gollob had time to spare, so temporarily took over command of JG 52 as acting Geschwaderkommodore. On this or one of the following days, he departed and flew to the Geschwaderstab of JG 52. On 28 June 1942, the Wehrmacht had initiated Fall Blau (Case Blue), the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia. The objective was to secure the oil fields of Baku as well as an advance in the direction of Stalingrad along the Volga River, to cover the flanks of the advance towards Baku. Tasked with aerial support of this offensive was Luftflotte 4 to which JG 52 was subordinated. By the time Gollob joined the Geschwader in late July 1942, the offensive had been renamed Operation Braunschweig and JG 52 was located at Rostov-on-Don. Gollob claimed his first victory with the Stab of JG 52 on 26 July 1942, a I-16 and his 108th in total. The next day, he shot down two I-153 biplane fighters. He claimed the first aerial victory of August 1942, his last month of combat operations, on 4 August over a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter aircraft. He was then credited with four victories on 6 August, two Il-2, one Yak-1 and one R-5 took his score to 115 aerial victories. He claimed one Yak-1 on each of the next two days. On 14 August, he was credited with two LaGG-3 and one Douglas A-20 Havoc, referred to as a Boston. For the last time in his combat career, Gollob achieved "ace-in-a-day" for the sixth time on 16 August 1941. That day he claimed two LaGG-3, two I-16 and one Il-2. His success as a fighter pilot continued, as he shot down two LaGG-3 on 17 August, three I-16 on 18 August, and two Il-2 and an I-153 on 19 August, taking his overall total to 133 aerial victories.

Following three victories on 20 August, two I-153 and a I-16, Gollob shot down two Bostons on 22 August. On 24 August 1941, he took his total to 142 aerial victories by claiming three LaGG-3 and one Boston. Over the course of the next four days, he scored one victory on each day, a Boston on 25 August, a Pe-2 on 26 August, a I-16 on 27 August, and another Boston on 28 August. After three victories over LaGG-3s and one Pe-2 on 29 August 1942, he reached 150 aerial victories and became the Luftwaffe's highest scoring pilot at that point. For this he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten) on 30 August. Gollob was the third member of the Wehrmacht and the third fighter pilot who had received this award. Fearing he would be lost in combat, Hitler imposed a flying ban on him. Der Adler, a biweekly Nazi propaganda magazine published by the Luftwaffe, also reported his actions in volume 19 of 1942. On 30 September 1942, Gollob was officially replaced in command of JG 77 by Hauptmann Joachim Müncheberg. Gollob was then posted to the Stab of Jagdfliegerführer 3 (Jafü 3—3rd Fighter Pilot Leader) at Brest-Guipavas on the English Channel Front.

On 15 October 1942, Gollob was made Jagdfliegerführer 3, responsible for tactical fighter command over northwestern France. Jagdfliegerführer 3 was renamed Jagdfliegerführer 5 (Jafü 5—5th Fighter Pilot Leader) on 6 September 1943. In this command position, he was promoted to Oberstleutnant (lieutenant colonel) on 20 April 1943, effective as of 1 April, and to Oberst on 1 May 1944. When he became Jafü 5 he frequently submitted reports to his superiors at the 5. Jagd-Division (5th Fighter Division) about the suitability of the Bf 109 on the Western Front. He indicated that in its present state the Bf 109 G-3 to G-6 were no longer adequate for service in the West and that the Fw 190 and Bf 109 were inferior to enemy aircraft. Learning about the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet-powered aircraft, Gollob became a strong advocate of it and its employment as fighter aircraft. Hitler had become interested in the idea of using the Me 262 in a fighter-bomber role, which contributed to the delays in preparing the aircraft for operational readiness as an interceptor.

"I appointed him to my staff and entrusted him with full responsibilities for the preparation and planning for operational employment of the Me 262 and Me 163. Gollob did not tackle the task to my satisfaction. He was interested only in the purely technical aspects, neglecting ground organization, the training of air- and groundcrews, setting up a communications network and the information of operational units. This caused considerable friction between Gollob, myself and my staff."
Adolf Galland, General der Jagdflieger

In April 1944, Gollob was transferred to the personal staff of General der Jagdflieger Galland, to advise on the development of the Me 262 jet and Messerschmitt Me 163 rocket aircraft projects. Gollob quarrelled with Galland in September and was transferred to Kommando der Erprobungstellen (headquarters of test units), which two years previously had been put under the command of Oberst Edgar Petersen. Gollob was also involved in the development and testing of the FuG 217 Neptun "J2" and FuG 218 Neptun "J3" airborne radar specifically for single-engined night fighters and air-to-air rockets, such as the R4M. In November 1944, Gollob was appointed commander of the Jäger-Sonderstab—or special fighter command—for the Ardennes offensive and the ill-fated Operation Bodenplatte. On 11 November, Reichsmarschall (Marshal of the Reich) Hermann Göring, the Commander-in-Chief of the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (Air Force High Command), organized a meeting of high-ranking Luftwaffe officers, including Gollob. The meeting, also referred to as the "Areopag" was held at the Luftkriegsakademie (air war academy) at Berlin-Gatow. This Luftwaffe version of the Greek Areopagus—a court of justice—aimed at finding solutions to the deteriorating air war situation over Germany. On 15 November, Gollob and Leutnant Karl Schnörrer, Hauptmann Heinz Strüning, Major Georg Christl, Major Rudolf Schoenert, Major Josef Fözö formed the guard of honor at Walter Nowotny funeral at the Zentralfriedhof in Vienna. Nowotny had been killed in action on 8 November while evaluating the Me 262 under combat conditions. The eulogy was delivered by Generaloberst Otto Deßloch.

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler had suggested to Hitler that he appoint Gollob as General der Jagdflieger. Himmler's intervention in Luftwaffe affairs had been an irritation to Göring. Himmler had ambitions to expand his influence and power base into the Luftwaffe. One aspect of this was to put jet fighter units under control of the SS and later, Göring ordered Galland to prepare a report on Gollob. Galland's conclusion was that Gollob required close supervision in a responsible post. In early January 1945, Göring summoned Gollob to Karinhall, Göring's estate northeast of Berlin, and read out selected excerpts from Galland's report to him and Gollob became infuriated with Galland. Göring then ordered Galland to Karinhall and informed him of his dismissal. During the meeting, Göring postponed his decision as to what position Galland would receive and sent Galland on vacation. News of Galland's dismissal soon spread, leading to the failed Fighter Pilots' Revolt, an insurrection of a small group of high-ranking Luftwaffe pilots, including Oberst Johannes Steinhoff who after the war became Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, aimed at re-instating Galland as General der Jagdflieger. On 31 January 1945, Gollob was officially appointed as General der Jagdflieger.

In his new role, Gollob worked with General der Flieger Josef Kammhuber, responsible for fighting against the enemy four-engined bombers, and SS-Obergruppenführer Hans Kammler, responsible for air armament and manufacturing of the Me 262. Gollob's objective was to deploy and arm the Me 262 as a defensive weapon against the Allied air offensive. Hitler's decision to use the Me 262 in a fighter bomber role had not been revised. Gollob gathered data and hoped to meet Hitler to convince him that the Me 262 was better suited as a fighter aircraft and not as a fighter bomber, but this meeting never occurred. On 7 April 1945, frustrated over the lack of progress made, Gollob submitted his written request to be released from office as General der Jagdflieger, but the request was not approved by Göring. Gollob left Berlin on 10 April 1945 after his staff had left for southern Germany. At that time he needed urgent hospitalization to treat his appendicitis. Gollob underwent surgery by Prof. Dr. Burghard Breitner at a hospital in Igls, in the present-day a borough of Innsbruck, eight days after his departure from Berlin. On 24 April, he was transferred to the Luftwaffe hospital at Kitzbühel, which was in the middle of the so-called Alpine Fortress. At Kitzbühel, he met with the last Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe, Generalfeldmarschall Greim and the female pilot Hanna Reitsch. Greim was convalescing from an injury sustained during a flight by Reitsch into the encircled city of Berlin on 26 April. At Kitzbühel, Gollob was taken prisoner of war by elements of the 36th Infantry Division of the United States Army under the command of General John E. Dahlquist. Shortly after, he was transferred into the custody of the US 42nd Infantry Division commanded by Major General Harry J. Collins.

On 1 June 1945, Gollob, who had been released on parole, was arrested by the Austrian Gendarmerie acting for the US authorities. From Kitzbühel, he was taken via Pass Strub, and other internment camps, to Ludwigsburg in Württemberg, and then flown to England. In England, he was held at Latimer and interrogated at the Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre regarding combat operations. He was released by US forces in 1946 and was then interned by the French authorities, as his home region of North Tyrol had become part of the French Occupation Zone. After release, Gollob made a living by contributing to aircraft magazines and lecturing.

In 1948, Gollob became General Secretary of the Federation of Independents (German: Verband der Unabhängigen, VdU), a right-wing political party in Austria. Gollob adhered to strongly German nationalist viewpoints. In June 1950 he caused a public scandal, when he spoke at a public rally held by the Styrian organization of the VdU in Graz. Gollob had criticized the anti-Nazi legislation and called the Austrian Government a "fake democracy". As a consequence the Styrian party organization was banned by the Austrian government to avoid a ban of the party as a whole by the Allied Council. For the same reason the party at first suspended and on 20 July 1950 expelled Gollob from the party. This resulted in a bitter strife between the party's factions. Gollob's expulsion was revoked. On 1 October 1950 he was elected to be one of the deputies of party leader Herbert Kraus. In 1951 Gollob moved to Germany.

"Well, I will say this, then I will say nothing else about Gollob. Losses soared under his leadership everywhere he went, much like Göring in the first war. He placed leaders in command of units not because of their competence, but due to their loyalty to the Nazi Party, which were very few in the Jagdwaffe."
Johannes Steinhoff, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee

Gollob and his wife Elisabeth Lüning, had married on 14 February 1943, and had two sons and a daughter. Their first son, Ulrik, was born on 30 November 1943 in Kitzbühel, their second son, Gerald was born on 9 January 1946, also in Kitzbühel, and their daughter Cornelia was born on 16 March 1954 in Sulingen. The family had moved to his wife's hometown of Sulingen. There, from November 1951, he started working in a sales role for the Klöckner Humboldt Deutz AG, a company making motors and vehicles. Until a myocardial infarction impeded his health in 1975, he regularly flew powered and glider aircraft. Gollob died in Sulingen, Diepholz, Lower Saxony on 7 September 1987.

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Gollob was credited with 150 aerial victories. Spick also lists Gollob with 150 aerial victories claimed in 340 combat missions, 144 of which were on the Eastern Front. He never lost a wingman in combat, nor was he shot down. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 146 aerial victory claims, plus five further unconfirmed claims. This number includes one claim over a Polish Air Force aircraft, five aerial victory claims on the Western Front, and 140 Soviet Air Forces piloted aircraft on the Eastern Front.

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Hauptmann Gordon Gollob poses with Messerschmitt Bf 110.

Eichenlaub award ceremony for Gordon Gollob and Erbo Graf von Kageneck.

Hauptmann Gordon Gollob wearing Eichenlaub.

Hauptmann Gordon Gollob wearing Eichenlaub.

23 September 1942 in Führerhauptquartier Vinnitsa, Ukraine: Major Gordon Gollob (Geschwaderkommodore Jagdgeschwader 77) receives the highest German award from Adolf Hitler (Führer und oberste Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht) as the third soldier of the Wehrmacht: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillanten (Knight's Cross of the Iron Crosses with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds). Gollob himself received the news from 30 August 1942, and he got the Brillanten after becoming the first pilot in history who reached 150 fliegerabschüsse (air victories)!

Gordon Gollob wearing Brillanten.

Gordon Gollob wearing Brillanten.

Gordon Gollob wearing Brillanten.

Source :
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