Otto Kittel


Otto "Bruno" Kittel was a World War II Luftwaffe flying ace. He flew 583 combat missions on the Eastern Front, claiming 267 aerial victories, making him the fourth highest scoring ace in aviation history. Kittel claimed all of his victories flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190 against the Red Air Force.

Kittel joined the Luftwaffe in 1939, at the age of 22 and flew his first combat missions in 1941. In spring 1941, he joined Jagdgeschwader 54 supporting Army Group North on the Eastern Front. Kittel claimed his first victory on 22 June 1941, the opening day of Operation Barbarossa. Kittel took time to amass his personal tally of aerial victories. By February 1943, he reached 39 kills, relatively insignificant when compared with some other German aces. In 1943, his tally began to increase when JG 54 began to operate the Fw 190. Kittel earned the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 October 1943, for reaching 120 aerial victories. By the time he was awarded the decoration he had a tally of 123 victories. Many of the Soviet aircraft shot down by Kittel were IL-2 Shturmoviks.
During the remainder of World War II, Kittel was credited with 144 more aerial victories and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. On 14 or 16 February 1945, flying his 583rd combat mission, Kittel was shot down and killed by the air gunner of a Shturmovik. Kittel was the most successful German fighter pilot to be killed in action.

Personal life

Kittel was born on 21 February 1917 in Sudeten Silesia, Austria-Hungary. After working briefly as an auto mechanic, Kittel joined the Luftwaffe in 1939. Kittel married his fiancé, Edith, in June 1942; the couple had a son, born in 1945.
Fascinated with flight at an early age, after working briefly as an auto mechanic Kittel joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 at the age of 22. He began his training as a non-commissioned officer completing his training on 12 February 1941, Kittel was posted to JG 54 based at Jever, Germany. He was assigned to 2 Staffel JG 54 at the rank of Unteroffizier. Kittel took time to perfect his marksmanship and air tactics were deplorable in the beginning. During his training and early career Hannes Trautloft and Hans Philipp became a role model and offered Kittel advice about his techniques.

Kittel formed a friendship with Philipp, who often shared advice about aerial combat. Philipp later served as a pastor when Kittel married his fiancé, Edith, in June 1942 at Krasnogvardeysk, after she had travelled into occupied Soviet territory to be with him. The couple had a son, Manfred, who was born in 1945.

World War II

Kittel's first operations were air superiority missions in support of the German invasion of Yugoslavia, including the bombing of Belgrade. For Operation Barbarossa, JG 54 was moved to East Prussia, in early June 1941. The unit supported Army Group North in its advance through the Baltic states towards Leningrad. On 24 June 1941, Kittel claimed his first two aerial victories, two Tupolev SB-2 bombers.

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941. In the fortnight prior, JG 54 had been moved to an airfield in Lindenthal near Rautenberg, East Prussia, present-day Uslowoje in Kaliningrad Oblast. Tasked with supporting Army Group North in its advance through the Baltic states towards Leningrad, the unit began combat operations shortly afterwards. On 24 June 1941, Kittel claimed his first two aerial victories, two Tupolev SB-2 bombers, shot down during an early morning mission. On 30 June 1941, he downed his first Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik. His third victory earned him the Iron Cross, Second Class. By that time, the German advance had taken JG 54 to Staraya Russa, just south of Leningrad, and they would remain there for nearly two years. On 24 August Kittel had surpassed the 5-victory mark with his sixth victory to establish himself as an ace.
By winter 1941–1942, he had 11 victories and was awarded the Iron Cross First Class in October 1941. In mid-March, Kittel claimed two Shturmoviks for his 13–14 aerial victories but his Bf 109 suffered damage and Kittel returned to base, resisting the urge to chase more and risk his life. His motto was to get back in one piece and avoid risks: "Take the safe route and avoid ill-considered and wild offensive tactics". In the end that alone produced success, risking himself for a single victory was not Kittel's way. Within two months, his tally had risen to 17 and in May 1942, Kittel claimed two more victories: a bomber and a fighter, in one sortie. During the combat, he became involved in a dogfight with two experienced opponents; the Soviet pilots tried to force him into a trap, one chasing the other in an attempt to cut him off. Kittel's aircraft was fired on several times and hit but he managed to shoot down one of the Soviet fighters and make his escape. His tally had risen to 19 by May 1942. On 19 February 1943, Kittel achieved his 39th victory. Kittel when missing over Soviet territory for two weeks and was presumed a prisoner of war but returned to German lines.
During the fighting in 1943, JG 54 took part in the spring battles over the Crimea Peninsula, Vyazma-Bryansk, Vitebsk, Kharkov, Orsha and Orel regions. During the Battle of Kursk, Kittel's unit escorted Junkers Ju 87 Stukas of a dive bomber wing commanded by Hans-Ulrich Rudel. On 14 September 1943, Kittel claimed his 100th aerial victory, a Yakovlev Yak-9 fighter. The 53rd Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark, he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 October 1943. On 1 November 1943, Kittel was promoted to the rank of Leutnant.
In early April 1944, Kittel achieved his 150th aerial victory. On April 14, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves for his 152nd aerial victory, claimed on 12 April. Kittel received the Oak Leaves from Adolf Hitler at the Berghof on 5 May 1944. In May 1944, the 2 wing was transferred to augment the 3rd group of JG 54 fighting on the Western Front to provide air defence over Germany against Allied aerial attacks. In August 1944, Kittel was appointed squadron leader. Kittel was credited with his 200th aerial victory on 23 August 1944. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords on 25 November 1944.
On 14 or 16 February 1945, Kittel took off with his wing flying Fw 190 to engage a formation of 14 Shturmovik aircraft over the Courland Pocket. His wingman later reported that his aircraft was hit, descended towards the ground on fire and crashed in flames. The site of the crash is believed to have been south-west of Džūkste in Latvia.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 265 aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. All of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front. Victory claims were logged to a map-reference, for example "PQ 44793". The Luftwaffe grid map covered all of Europe, western Russia and North Africa and was composed of rectangles measuring 15 minutes of latitude by 30 minutes of longitude, an area of about. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 × 4 km in size.

Awards