Gordon Gollob
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| Gordon Gollob | |
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| 16 June 1912 - 8 September 1987 | |
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| Place of birth | Graz |
| Place of death | Sulingen |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Service/branch | Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1933-1945 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | ZG 76, JG 3, JG 54, JG 77, Luftflotte 5 |
| Commands | II./JG 3, JG 77, Jafü 5 and General der Jagdflieger |
| Awards | Ritterkreuz mit Eichenlaub, Schwertern und Brillianten |
Gordon MacGollob (16 June 1912 - 8 September 1987) was an Austrian fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe from 1938 to 1945) during World War 2. His name comes from the fact his father was originally Scottish. He changed it to become more "Germanic" sounding on joining the military. He rose to the position of General der Jagdflieger, and was one of only 27 to receive the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds. Gollob was credited with 150 victories achieved in 340 missions. He recorded 144 victories over the Eastern front.
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[edit] Early life
Gollob was born in Graz. In 1933 he joined the Austrian Bundesheer as an officer cadet, and the year after he completed his flying training. He rose to command a training unit, the Schulstaffel A. When Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938, Gollob joined the Luftwaffe with the rank of Oberleutnant. On 15 March 1939 Gollob was posted to the 3./ZG 76[1] flying the Bf 110 twin-engined fighter.
[edit] World War 2
ZG 76 was stationed on the Polish border and took part in Fall Weiss, the invasion of Poland from 1 September 1939. Gollob scored his first victories over Poland, and continued his success when ZG 76 took part in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight.
On 8 April 1940 Gollob was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./ZG 76. The unit took part in Operation Weserübung and Gollob had two more victories over Norway. Later that year Gollob shot down a Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. He was then given night fighter training and assigned to II./JG 3 on 7 September. JG 3 was stationed on the Channel Front, and saw much action. On 9 October Gollob was appointed Staffelkapitän of 4./JG 3.
In 1941 the unit was transferred east to take part in Operation Barbarossa. A few days after the invasion started, on 27 June, Gollob was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 3, and promoted to Hauptmann. Against the weak Soviet Air Force Gollob proved quite successful, downing 18 enemy aircraft in the month of August alone. On 18 September he was awarded the Ritterkreuz for his 42 victories. In October he had an impressive 37 victories, including 9 in one day on 18 October. On 26 October he was awarded the Eichenlaub after reaching 85 victories. In December Gollob was pulled of frontline service, and was transferred to a testing unit, to help with the development of the next version of the Bf 109.
After a brief spell at the Stabschwarm of JG 54 Gollob, now a Major, assumed command over JG 77 as Geschwaderkommodore on 16 May 1942. JG 77 was tasked with supporting the hard fighting over the Kerch straits on the Crimean peninsula. The JG 77, led by such able experten as Gollob and Heinrich Bär leading I./JG 77, "took over" the air space over the Kerch-Taman area. Intense rivalry ensued between Gollob and Bär, each striving to outperform the other. On 20 May Gollob reached his victory number 100. On 23 June he was awarded the Schwerter, after his tally had risen to 107. Only two months later he reached 150 victories, becoming the Luftwaffe's highest scoring pilot at that point. For this he was awarded the Brillianten to his Ritterkreuz on 29 August, only number 3 to receive such honours.
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 Russian formation. Then they started climbing in spirals, carefully maintaining their position beneath the enemy formation. Before the peacefully flying Russians had even suspected any mischief, the two planes at the bottom of their formation had been shot down and the two Germans were gone."[2]
[edit] High command
On 1 October 1942, now an Oberst, Gollob was posted to the staff of Jagdfliegführer 3[3] on the Channel Front, and on 15 October he was appointed Jagdfliegführer 5, being responsible of the tactical fighter command over northwestern France.
In April 1944 Gollob was transferred to the personal staff of General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland, to advise on the development of the jet aircraft projects. He had a falling out with Galland however, and was transferred to Kommando der Erprobungstellen, or HQ of test units. In November Gollob was appointed commander of the Jäger-Sonderstab - or special fighter commando - for the Ardennes offensive. In January 1945 Gollob was appointed General der Jagerflieger, following Galland's sacking by the OKL after the costly Operation Bodenplatte.
[edit] Controversy
Gollob was very pro-Nazi, and was often thought poorly of by his fellow pilots. Johannes Steinhoff said about Gollob in an interview first printed in World War 2 Magazine in February 2000:
"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." [1]
Gollob was regarded as a competent pilot, but a poor leader due to his eagerness to impress superiors and his unhealthy competitive spirit.
[edit] After the war
After being released from captivity following the surrender, Gollob made a living as a contributor to Aircraft Magazines and lecturing. In 1948 he became a foreman of the Party of Independence in Austria. From 1951 he started working for a company making motors and vehicles. He had two sons and a daughter with his wife. Gollob died in Sulingen, Diepholz, Lower Saxony on 7 September 1987.
[edit] Notes
- ^ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization
- ^ Prien. JG 77, p. 1018
- ^ A Jagdfliegführer, or Jafü, was the commander of the Fighter forces of a Luftflotte. For more details see Luftwaffe Organization
[edit] References
- Jochen Prien(1993). Jagdgeschwader 77, (ISBN 3-923457-19-7)
- World War 2 Magazine interview with Johannes Steinhoff
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Werner Mölders | Adolf Galland | Gordon Gollob | Hans-Joachim Marseille | Hermann Graf | Erwin Rommel | Wolfgang Lüth | Walter Nowotny | Adelbert Schulz | Hans-Ulrich Rudel | Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz | Herbert Otto Gille | Hans-Valentin Hube | Albert Kesselring | Helmut Lent | Sepp Dietrich | Walter Model | Erich Hartmann | Hermann Balck | Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke | Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer | Albrecht Brandi |
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| Preceded by Major Gotthard Handrick |
Commander of Jagdgeschwader 77 Herz As May 16, 1942-September 30, 1942 |
Succeeded by Major Joachim Müncheberg |
