Английская Википедия:August Geiger (pilot)

August Geiger (6 May 1920 – 29 September 1943) was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a night fighter ace credited with 53 aerial victories making him the nineteenth most successful night fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Refn All of his victories were claimed over the Western Front in Defense of the Reich missions, the majority at night against the Royal Air Force's (RAF) Bomber Command and one daytime claim over a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.

Born in Überlingen, Geiger grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Following graduation from school, he joined the military service in 1939 and was trained to fly Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter. In mid-1941, he transferred to Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) where he became a night fighter pilot and claimed his first aerial victory on the night of 25/26 June 1942. Geiger was appointed squadron leader of 7. Staffel (7th squadron) of NJG 1 in January 1943. Following his 26th aerial victory, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 May 1943. Geiger was killed in action when he was shot down by an RAF night fighter on the night of 29 September 1943. He was posthumously bestowed with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.

Early life and career

Geiger was born on 6 May 1920 in Überlingen, near Lake Constance, which was part of the Republic of Baden during the Weimar Republic.Шаблон:Sfn He was the son of a typographer. After graduation from school and receipt of his Abitur (university entry qualification), Geiger joined the Luftwaffe on 15 November 1939 as a Fahnenjunker (cadet). Following flight training,^{[Note 1]} he was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 1 April 1941.Шаблон:Sfn

World War II

World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland. Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign.Шаблон:Sfn By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.Шаблон:Sfn

Night fighter career

Файл:Kammhuber Line Map - Agent Tegal.png

A map of part of the Kammhuber Line. The 'belt' and night fighter 'boxes' are shown.

In mid-1941, Geiger was posted as to 9. Staffel (9th squadron) of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing).Шаблон:Sfn^{[Note 2]} This Staffel was subordinated to III. Gruppe (3rd group) of NJG 1 under the command of Hauptmann Wolfgang Thimmig.Шаблон:Sfn He claimed his first aerial victory on 9 July 1941 over a Handley Page Halifax bomber shot down Шаблон:Convert south of Nijmegen at 23:32.Шаблон:Sfn The aircraft shot down was Halifax L9521 from the No. XXXV (Madras Presidency) Squadron on its mission to bomb the Leuna works.Шаблон:Sfn

Now flying with 8. Staffel of NJG 1, Geiger claimed his second aerial victory on the night 19/20 June 1942 when he shot down a Stirling bomber Шаблон:Convert southeast of Neuenhaus.Шаблон:Sfn That night, RAF bombers objective was Emden and lost 8 out of 191 aircraft, including Stirling R9352 from No. 15 Squadron to Geiger's attack.Шаблон:Sfn On 25/26 June, RAF Bomber Command sent over 1,000 bomber to Bremen. Luftwaffe night fighter pilots claimed 48 aerial victories, including three by Geiger. He was credited with shooting down the Vickers Wellington bomber R1078 from No. 11 Operational Training Unit near Rheine, the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber AD689 from No. 10 Operational Training Unit near Lingen, and the Short Stirling bomber N3754 from No. 7 Squadron.Шаблон:Sfn

On 29/30 July, RAF Bomber Command targeted Hamburg.Шаблон:Sfn The RAF lost 30 aircraft in the attack, including the Wellington bomber Z1570 from the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) No. 75 Squadron shot down by Geiger near Neuenhaus. The following night, Bomber Command sent 291 bombers to Saarbrücken. In defense of this attack, Geiger shot down the Whitley bomber Z9230 from No. 138 Squadron west-northwest of Rijssen.Шаблон:Sfn He received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Шаблон:Lang) on 19 October 1942.Шаблон:Sfn

Squadron leader

Geiger was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 7. Staffel of NJG 1 on 5 January 1943.Шаблон:Sfn Geiger claimed his first aerial victory with 7. Staffel on 1 March 1943. At 23:52, he claimed a Halifax bomber Шаблон:Convert northwest of Zutphen.Шаблон:Sfn That night, the RAF Bomber Command attacked Berlin with 302 aircraft. Geiger's victim may have been Halifax W7877 from No. 35 Squadron.Шаблон:Sfn This Halifax, with an almost intact H2S ground scanning radar system, allowed the Germans to analyze the radar. This led to the development of the FuG 350 (FuG—Funkgerät) Naxos radar detector, which allowed the night fighters to home on to the H2S emitting signals.Шаблон:Sfn

Файл:Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Ysselsteyn - August Geiger.jpg

German War Cemetery Ysselsteyn - August Geiger

On the night of 29/30 March 1943, Geiger became an "ace-in-a-day", in this instance an "ace-in-a-night", taking his total to 20 aerial victories. That night, he claimed one Halifax, two Wellington and three Avro Lancaster bombers.Шаблон:Sfn On his first mission of the night at 22:52, he shot down Wellington bomber HE182 from the 431 (Iroquois) Squadron near Ahaus. He then claimed Wellington bomber HE385 from No. 196 Squadron at 23:15 near Barchem. On his second mission, Geiger claimed Halifax bomber BE244 from No. 51 Squadron returning from Berlin and was intercepted near Vorden. He then shot down Lancaster bomber ED596 from No. 106 Squadron which came down near Delden at 04:27. His last aerial victory of the night was over Lancaster bomber W4327 from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 460 Squadron which came down near Kloosterhaar in Twenterand.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Refn

Geiger was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 April.Шаблон:Sfn On 1 May, Geiger downed Halifax DT471 of 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron flown by H P Atkinson. Atkinson, and one other crewmember died.Шаблон:Sfn The RAF bombed Duisburg on the night of 12/13 May, losing 34 of the 572 bombers making the attack.Шаблон:Sfn Defending against this attack, Geiger claimed three aerial victories.Шаблон:Sfn He shot down a Halifax bomber from No. 35 Squadron and another one from No. 77 Squadron, plus the Wellington bomber HE321 from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 428 Ghost Squadron.Шаблон:Sfn Geiger was awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Шаблон:Lang) on 22 May 1943, the nomination had been submitted for 26 aerial victories claimed earlier. The presentation was made by Generalmajor Kammhuber.Шаблон:Sfn

On the night of 23/24 May, Geiger shot down two Lancaster bombers.Шаблон:Sfn One of which was Lancaster bomber W4984 from the RAAF No. 460 Squadron shot down near Emmen. Bomber Command had sent 829 bombers to Dortmund of which 38 did not return.Шаблон:Sfn On the night of 12/13 June, Bochum was attacked by Bomber Command and 24 of 503 bombers were shot down. Geiger was credited with destroying Lancaster ED584 from No. 49 Squadron near Raalte.Шаблон:Sfn On 1 July, he was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and received the German Cross in Gold (Шаблон:Lang) on 31 August 1943.Шаблон:Sfn That night Geiger claimed his 44th victory over Stirling EH961 from No. 196 Squadron. Sergeant J. Griffiths and two other members of the seven man crew were killed. Crew member and gunner Sergeant C P Pierce was among the youngest fatalities in the RCAF in 1943, aged 18.Шаблон:Sfn

On 29 September 1943, Geiger was shot down by the Bristol Beaufighter VI of Wing commander Bob Braham of No. 141 Squadron RAF over the Zuiderzee, Netherlands.Шаблон:Sfn Geiger and his radio operator Feldwebel Dieter Koch managed to bail out of their Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 (Werknummer 5477—factory number), but both drowned.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn On 2 March 1944, Geiger was posthumously awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Шаблон:Lang), the 416th officer or soldier of the Wehrmacht so honored. He was buried at the German war cemetery Ysselsteyn (block M, row 4, grave 83) in the Netherlands.Шаблон:Sfn

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to Spick, Geiger was credited with 53 nocturnal aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions.Шаблон:Sfn Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 51 nocturnal victory claims.Шаблон:Sfn Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Geiger with 48 claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims.Шаблон:Sfn

Chronicle of aerial victories
Шаблон:Legend Шаблон:Legend Шаблон:Legend
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Serial No./Squadron No.
– III. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –Шаблон:Sfn
1?Шаблон:Refn	9 July 1941	23:32	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert south of Nijmegen Шаблон:Sfn	L9521/No. 35 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
– 8. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –Шаблон:Sfn
2	20 June 1942	02:22	Stirling	Шаблон:Convert southeast of Neuenhaus Шаблон:Sfn	R9352/No. 15 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
3	26 June 1942	01:20	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert northeast of Rheine Шаблон:Sfn	R1078/No. 11 Operational Training Unit Шаблон:Sfn
4	26 June 1942	01:30	Whitley	Шаблон:Convert northwest of Lingen Шаблон:Sfn	AD689/No. 10 Operational Training Unit Шаблон:Sfn
5	26 June 1942	01:58	Stirling	Шаблон:Convert northwest of Nordhorn Шаблон:Sfn	N3754/No. 7 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
6	28 June 1942	01:29	Wellington	north-northeast of LingenШаблон:Sfn	Z1619/No. 156 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
7	3 July 1942	02:49	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert northwest of Lochem Шаблон:Sfn	Z8579/No. 12 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
8	29 July 1942	02:35	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert north-northwest of Neuenhaus Шаблон:Sfn	Z1570/No. 75 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
9	30 July 1942	00:58	Whitley	Шаблон:Convert west-northwest of Rijssen Шаблон:Sfn	Z9230/No. 138 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
10	6 August 1942	01:35	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert south of Zwolle Шаблон:Sfn	W1215/No. 158 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
11	10 August 1942	04:34	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert south-southwest of Deventer Шаблон:Sfn
12	11 September 1942	00:02	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert east of Osterwieck Шаблон:Sfn
– 7. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 –Шаблон:Sfn
13	1 March 1943	23:52	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert northwest of Zutphen Шаблон:Sfn	W7877/No. 35 Squadron.Шаблон:Sfn
14	2 March 1943	00:37	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert west of Markelo Шаблон:Sfn
15	4 March 1943	11:33	B-17 Шаблон:Sfn
16♠	29 March 1943	22:52	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert southwest of Ahaus Шаблон:Sfn	HE182/431 (Iroquois) Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
17♠	29 March 1943	23:15	Wellington	west-northwest of Borculo Шаблон:Sfn	HE385/No. 196 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
18♠	30 March 1943	03:47	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert southeast of Zutphen Шаблон:Sfn	BE244/No. 51 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
19♠	30 March 1943	04:27	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert northeast of Deventer Шаблон:Sfn	ED596/No. 106 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
20♠	30 March 1943	04:46	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert northwest of LieveideШаблон:Sfn	W4327/No. 460 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
21	30 March 1943	23:00	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert north of Gemen Шаблон:Sfn
23	1 May 1943	03:21	Halifax	northwest of Nijmegen Шаблон:Sfn
24	5 May 1943	02:09	Halifax	west of ZwolleШаблон:Sfn
25	13 May 1943	02:06	Halifax	Vreden Шаблон:Sfn	No. 35 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
26	13 May 1943	02:06	Wellington	southwest of Oldenzaal Шаблон:Sfn	HE321/428 Ghost Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
27	13 May 1943	02:20	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert south of Hengelo Шаблон:Sfn	No. 77 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
28	24 May 1943	02:07	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert east of Meppel Шаблон:Sfn	W4984/No. 460 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
29	24 May 1943	02:30	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert east of DevemerШаблон:Sfn
30	13 June 1943	02:37	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert north-northeast of Raalte Шаблон:Sfn	ED584/No. 49 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
31	15 June 1943	01:44	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert southeast of Terlet Шаблон:Sfn	R5551/No. 106 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
32	23 June 1943	01:33	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert north of Wesel Шаблон:Sfn
33	23 June 1943	01:35	Wellington	Шаблон:Convert north of Rees Шаблон:Sfn	HZ312/429 (Bison) Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
34	23 June 1943	01:26	Stirling	Empe Шаблон:Sfn
35	23 June 1943	02:00	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert southwest of Steenwijk Шаблон:Sfn
36	23 June 1943	02:00	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert west of Volendam Шаблон:Sfn
37?Шаблон:Refn	10 July 1943	02:40	Halifax	Eprave, southeast of Dinant Шаблон:Sfn
38?^{[Note 3]}	14 July 1943	02:10	Lancaster	Forstes-VeneursШаблон:Sfn	DS690/115 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
39!	24/25 July 1943	Шаблон:Center	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert east of Cloppenburg Шаблон:Sfn
40	30 July 1943	01:25	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert southeast of Ahrensfelde Шаблон:Sfn
41	18 August 1943	02:08	Halifax	Шаблон:Convert northwest of Greifswald Шаблон:Sfn
42	18 August 1943	02:08	Lancaster	Шаблон:Convert south of Reinberg Шаблон:Sfn
43	28 August 1943	02:20	Stirling	Gerlachshausen Шаблон:Sfn
44	31 August 1943	23:28	Stirling	Шаблон:Convert south-southwest of Enschede Шаблон:Sfn
45	3 September 1943	23:50	Stirling	Шаблон:Convert southwest of Hanover Шаблон:Sfn
46	6 September 1943	00:24	Lancaster	Oppen Шаблон:Sfn	W4370/No. 12 Squadron Шаблон:Sfn
47	6 September 1943	00:45	Stirling	Rheinhausen Шаблон:Sfn
48	22 September 1943	22:35	Stirling	GestorfШаблон:Sfn
49	27 September 1943	22:10	Lancaster	Zuiderzee Шаблон:Sfn
50	27 September 1943	23:30	Halifax	near Munich Шаблон:Sfn
51	28 September 1943	00:01	Halifax	south Papenburg Шаблон:Sfn

Awards

Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 19 October 1942 as Leutnant and pilotШаблон:Sfn
German Cross in Gold on 31 August 1943 as Hauptmann in the 1./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1Шаблон:Sfn
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
- Knight's Cross on 22 May 1943 as Oberleutnant and Staffelkapitän of the 7./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn
- 416th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn

Promotions

1 April 1941:	Leutnant (second lieutenant)Шаблон:Sfn
1 April 1943:	Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)Шаблон:Sfn
1 July 1943:	Hauptmann (captain)Шаблон:Sfn

Notes

Шаблон:Reflist

References

Citations

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

Шаблон:Refbegin

Шаблон:Refend

Шаблон:Top German World War II night fighter aces Шаблон:Subject bar

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[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[Note 3]

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