Anton Döbele

Anton Döbele (16 November 1910 – 11 November 1943) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. On 11 November 1943, Döbele was killed in a mid-air collision with an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft, at the time of his death he was credited with 94 victories claimed in 458 combat missions. He was posthumously promoted to an officers rank and awarded the Knight's Cross on 26 March 1944.

Career
Döbele was born on 16 November 1910 in Ehrensberg, present-day part of Bad Waldsee, at the time in the Kingdom of Württemberg within the German Empire. As an Unteroffizier (Staff Sergeant), he volunteered for service in the Condor Legion and participated in the Spanish Civil War with the ground staff. Following flight training, Döbele was posted to the Ergänzungsgruppe, a supplementary training group, of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in late 1940. Döbele claimed his first aerial victory on 28 July 1941 when he shot down a Chyetverikov MDR-6 aerial reconnaissance flying-boat near the island Ösel.

On 9 March 1942, the Ergänzungsgruppe of JG 54 was disbanded and the pilots were transferred to I. Gruppe (1st group) of JG 54. In consequence, Döbele assigned to 1. Staffel (1st squadron) of JG 54. At the time, 1. Staffel was commanded by Oberleutnant Heinz Lange and part of I. Gruppe of JG 54, which was headed by Hauptmann Hans Philipp. The Gruppe was based at Krasnogvardeysk and was fighting in the siege of Leningrad. Here, Döbele claimed a Polikarpov I-16 fighter shot down on 17 March. Döbele then served as a fighter pilot instructor before returning to JG 54. He then joined Walter Nowotny, his wingman Karl Schnörrer, and Rudolf Rademacher, forming a team known as the "chain of devils" (Teufelskette) or the Nowotny Schwarm, which during the course of the war was credited with 524 combined aerial victories, making them the most successful team in the Luftwaffe. Following his eighth aerial victoriy claimed on 13 January 1943, Döbele was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class (Eisernes Kreuz erster Klasse) on 3 February.

Operation Citadel
In early July, I. Gruppe of JG 54 was ordered to move to Oryol, in the southern sector of Army Group Centre, where it fought in Operation Citadel which initiated the Battle of Kursk. Subordinated to Luftflotte 6 (Air Fleet 6), the Gruppe began relocating on 2 July and arrived at the airfield name Panikowo, a makeshift airfield created for the attack on the Kursk salient, on 4 July. The next day, the Wehrmacht launched Operation Citadel and I. Gruppe supported the attack of the 9th Army on the northern sector of the salient, escorting bombers of Kampfgeschwader 4, 51 and KG 53 (KG 4, KG 51—4th, 51st Bomber Wing), as well as Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers of Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing) to their target areas. That day, I. Gruppe claimed 59 aerial victories, including a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter by Döbele in the vicinity of Maloarkhangelsk. On 6 July, I. Gruppe targeted the airspace near Ponyri and during multiple combat missions claimed 29 aerial victories which included two Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 and three Lavochkin La-5 fighters shot down by Döbelle, making him an ace-in-a-day. The following morning, Döbele claimed a Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter shot down.

Battle at Kharkiv, Smolensk and Nevel
On 9 August, I. Gruppe was ordered 400 km south to Poltava Airfield where they were placed under the control of Luftflotte 4 (Air Fleet 4). The reason for this was a response to the successful Soviet Belgorod–Kharkiv offensive operation following the Battle of Kursk. On 11 August, Nowotny was temporarily appointed commander of I. Gruppe, a position he held until 15 September when he was officially assigned as Gruppenkommandeur. The next day, the Gruppe flew multiple combat air patrols and fighter escort for Ju 87 dive bombers in the area west of Kharkiv. That day, Döbele shot down a La-5 and a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter. On 31 August, Döbele was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) and the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 13 September.

On 11 September, Döbele was nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Five days later, Nowotny submitted a report, requesting that Döbele be promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) for bravery before the enemy. At the time, Döbele had flown 418 combat missions and had been credited with 80 aerial victories to date. On 22 September, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 54, Major Hubertus von Bonin, seconded the request, arguing that Döbele was an exceptional fighter pilot and leader.

On 23 October, during the Battle of Nevel, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Vitebsk where they supported Army Group Centre. Flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 (Werknummer 7082—factory number) on 11 November 1943 at 10:42, Döbele was killed in a mid-air collision with an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft east of Vitebsk. At his funeral, the guard of honour was made up of Rademacher, Schnörrer, Fritz Tegtmeier, and Otto Kittel, with Nowotny and von Bonin giving an eulogy. Posthumously, Döbele was promoted to Leutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944. He is interred at the German War Cemetery at Vilnius-Vingio.

Aerial victory claims
According to Spick, Döbele was credited with 94 aerial victories claimed in over 458 combat missions. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 93 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 25 Ost 1956". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 sqmi. These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 x in size.

Awards

 * Iron Cross (1939)
 * 2nd Class (March 1942)
 * 1st Class (3 February 1943)
 * Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 September 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot
 * German Cross in Gold on 31 August 1943 as Oberfeldwebel in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54
 * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54