Gerhard Koall

Gerhard "Knall" Koall (7 June 1912 – 27 April 1945) was a 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, and its variants were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Gerhard Koall was killed on 27 April 1945 after being hit by Soviet anti-aircraft fire near Anklam. During his career he was credited with 37 victories, 35 on the Eastern Front and 2 during the Invasion of Yugoslavia.

Early life and career Koall was born on 7 June 1912 in Königsberg in the Kingdom of Prussia of the German Empire. Today it is Kaliningrad in Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. Koall, who was nicknamed "Knall" , joined the military of the Luftwaffe in 1935. Initially serving as an aerial observer, he was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) in August 1939. Following fighter pilot training at the air combat school in Fürstenfeldbruck, Koall was posted to Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) in January 1941 where he was assigned to 7. Staffel (7th squadron).

World War II On Friday 1 September 1939, German forces had invaded Poland starting World War II in Europe. In January 1941, III. Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 54, the Gruppe to which Koall's 7. Staffel was subordinated, was commanded by Hauptmann Arnold Lignitz while 7. Staffel was headed by Oberleutnant Günther Scholz. The Gruppe had been withdrawn from combat operations at the English Channel and had relocated to Dortmund Airfield on 4 December 1940 for a period of rest and replenishment. On 5 February 1941, III. Gruppe returned to combat on the English Channel.

On 29 March, the Gruppe was ordered to Graz-Thalerhof in preparation for the Balkans campaign. Operating from an airfield at Deta, III. Gruppe escorted bombers and dive bombers attacking Belgrade on 6 April. That day, Koall claimed a Royal Yugoslav Air Force Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter shot down, his first aerial victory. The next day the Gruppe moved to Pécs, known as Fünfkirchen to the Germans. Flying from Fünfkirchen to the combat area near Banja Luka, Koall claimed a PZL P.11 aircraft shot down. On 20 April, III. Gruppe was withdrawn from combat operation, relocating to Belgrad-Semlin. On 4 May, the Gruppe began its transfer to Airfield Stolp-Reitz in Pomerania, present-day Słupsk, by train, arriving at Stolp-Reitz on 10 May.

War against the Soviet Union At Stolp-Reitz, JG 54 upgraded their aircraft to the Bf 109 F-2. For the next four weeks, the pilots familiarized themselves with the new aircraft before on 15 June, III. Gruppe was ordered to Blumenfeld in East Prussia, present-day Karczarningken in the Kaliningrad Oblast, in preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. During the upcoming invasion, JG 54 would be deployed in the area of Army Group North, was subordinated to I. Fliegerkorps (1st Air Corps) and supported the 16th and 18th Army as well as the Panzer Group 4 in their strategic objective to reach Leningrad. On 22 June, the first day of the invasion, Koall made a belly landing at Łódź, renamed by the Nazis to Litzmannstadt, which damaged his Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8230—factory number).

On 23 February 1942, Koall was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel of JG 54. He replaced Hauptmann Hans Schmoller-Haldy who had been wounded in combat that day. The Staffel was subordinated to I. Gruppe of JG 54 which was headed by Hauptmann Hans Philipp.

In mid-April 1943, a newly formed Jabostaffel (fighter bomber squadron) was formed and labeled 13.(Jabo) Staffel of JG 54 and placed under the command of Koall. This Staffel was then became the 10.(Jabo) Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 26 on 31 May before it became the 4.(Jabo) Staffel of JG 54 on 1 July. Initially, the Jabostaffel was based at Gatchina and was equipped with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-5. The unit flew its first combat missions on 10 May. While serving in the Jabostaffel, Koall was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 17 October.

Group commander and death In late-February 1944, Koall succeeded Hauptmann Siegfried Schnell as Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of IV. Gruppe of JG 54 after Schnell had been killed in action on 25 February. In parallel, his former 4.(Jabo) Staffel was integrated into IV. Gruppe, thus becoming the newly formed 12. Staffel of JG 54. Command of this Staffel initially remained vacant until Oberleutnant Rudolf Klemm was appointed on 5 June. On 26 May, command of IV. Gruppe was passed on to Major Wolfgang Späte and Koall transferred to I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 101. On 10 October, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . In January 1945, Koall was given command of II. Gruppe of Ergänzungs-Jagdgeschwader 1, a fighter pilot training unit.

On 25 April 1945 during the Battle of the Oder–Neisse, Koall was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of IV. Sturmgruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). He replaced Oberleutnant Oskar Romm who had been severely injured the day before. The next day, the Sturmgruppe retreated from Prenzlau to an airfield at Greifswald. On 27 April, Koall was killed in action when his Fw 190 was shot down by Soviet anti-aircraft artillery near Anklam. Command of the Sturmgruppe was then given to Hauptmann Günther Schack on 1 May.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to Obermaier, Koall was credited with at least 38 aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions. With the exception of two claims over Yugoslavia, all of his aerial victories were claimed on the Eastern Front. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 37 aerial victory claims. This number includes 35 claims on the Eastern Front and two over the Western Allies in Yugoslavia.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 1011". 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 in size.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Claim Date Time Type Location – 7. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Balkan Campaign — 29 March – 3 May 1941 1 6 April 1941 17:15 Bf 109 2 7 April 1941 14:25 PZL P.11 – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941 3 23 June 1941 11:50? I-15? 6 24 July 1941 17:20 SB-2 west of Dno 4 7 July 1941 08:02 SB-3 7 19 November 1941? 08:40? PS-84 5? 14 July 1941 16:15 DB-3 8 30 November 1941 10:15 I-16 ? 23 July 1941 11:50 SB-2 – Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 20 February 1942 9 27 February 1942 10:30 P-40 Krupitschina/Poroschki – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 23 February – 30 April 1942 10 13 March 1942 11:25 P-40 11 15 March 1942 11:50 I-16 – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 1 May 1942 – 3 February 1943 12 20 July 1942 19:05 I-180 (Yak-7) 18 26 September 1942 10:00 I-16 PQ 1011 13 20 July 1942 19:08 LaGG-3 19 15 January 1943 07:50 Hurricane PQ 00252 west-southwest of Shlisselburg 14 2 August 1942 13:00 I-180 (Yak-7) PQ 00154 south of Leningrad 20 15 January 1943 08:00 La-5 PQ 00233 west of Shlisselburg 15 2 August 1942 13:20 MiG-3 PQ 00161 southeast of Leningrad 21 15 January 1943 13:30 Il-2 PQ 10164southeast of Shlisselburg 16 24 August 1942 17:31 Yak-1 PQ 47842 south of Zubtsov 22 23 January 1943 13:49 Il-2 PQ 10153southeast of Shlisselburg 17 25 August 1942 08:00 Yak-1 PQ 47852 southeast of Zubtsov 23 23 January 1943 14:05 I-16 PQ 00262 southwest of Shlisselburg – 3. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 4 February – 17 April 1943 24 9 February 1943 09:15 I-16 PQ 36 Ost 00412 east of Pushkin 27 16 March 1943 07:12 LaGG-3 PQ 35 Ost 18242 southeast of Staraya Russa 25 9 February 1943 11:25 Spitfire PQ 36 Ost 00274 northeast of Pushkin 28 16 March 1943 07:15 La-5 PQ 35 Ost 18271 southeast of Staraya Russa 26 19 February 1943 11:22 La-5 PQ 36 Ost 00273 northeast of Pushkin – 4.(Jabo) Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 1 May – 31 December 1943 29 27 July 1943 08:20 LaGG-3 PQ 36 Ost 00263 southwest of Shlisselburg 31 7 September 1943 14:40 Il-2 PQ 35 Ost 18113 southwest of Staraya Russa 30 14 August 1943 06:48 LaGG-3 PQ 36 Ost 00431 southwest of Mga 32 7 September 1943 14:42 Il-2 Tuleblja - Aleksino – Stab IV. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 –Eastern Front — 26 February – 26 May 1944 33 25 March 1944 11:00 Yak-4 PQ 25 Ost 79243Lake Peipus 36 4 April 1944 16:00 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 88363 southwest of Selo 34 1 April 1944 09:30 Yak-9 southeast of Pleskau 37 20 May 1944 12:35 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 98724 southeast of Ostrov 35 4 April 1944 09:05 Il-2 PQ 25 Ost 88362 southwest of Selo

Awards Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 1 March 1943 as Hauptmann and Staffelkapitän German Cross in Gold o 17 October 1943 as Hauptmann in II./Jagdgeschwader 54 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 10 October 1944 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the IV./Jagdgeschwader 54