Reinhard Kollak

Reinhard Kollak (28 March 1915 – 6 February 1980) was a Luftwaffe night fighter 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.

Reinhard Kollak was the highest scoring non commissioned Nachtjagd pilot who, together with his Bordfunker Hans Herman, was credited with 49 victories in over 250 missions, all at night.

Career

Kollak was born in East Prussia, in March 1915 and began his military career by joining the Reichswehr. In 1935, Kollak was transferred to the Luftwaffe where he trained as a fighter pilot. Upon completion of his training in the spring of 1940, Kollak was posted to the I./ZG 1 Zerstörergeschwader 1 and participated in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. In October 1940 Kollak was posted to the newly formed 1./NJG 1.

Night fighter career A map of part of the Kammhuber Line. The 'belt' and night fighter 'boxes' are shown. Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, the majority of RAF attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense ground-controlled interception system (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 of 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.

Kollak claimed his first-night victory while flying as a Feldwebel with I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing), when he shot down an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley medium bomber in the early hours of 17 June 1941 in the vicinity of Hasselt. He remained with I./NJG 1 when it was redesignated 7./NJG 4 in May 1942 and on the night of 24/25 August 1942, shot down a Short Stirling heavy bomber as his tenth victory. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 12 April 1943. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross following his 29th aerial victory. The presentation was made by General Kammhuber on 29 August 1943 at the St. Trond airfield to both Kollak and Major Walter Ehle, the Gruppenkommandeur of II./NJG 1.

Kollak was the most successful pilot of III./NJG 4. Hans Herman joined the Luftwaffe in 1938 and served as Kollak's Bordfunker until the war's end.

Post war

After the war, Reinhard found it difficult to adjust to civilian life before he rejoined the newly founded Bundeswehr in 1956, and retired in 1967 as a Hauptfeldwebel. On 6 February 1980, he was murdered at the age of in Bad Godesberg.

Summary of career Aerial victory claims According to Aders, Kollak was credited with 49 nocturnal aerial victories. Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 49 nocturnal victory claims. Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, also listing Kollak with 49 claims.

Chronicle of aerial victories Claim Date Time Type Location Serial No./Squadron No. – 1. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 1 17 June 1941 02:26 Whitley vicinity of Hasselt 2 26 July 1941 04:22 Whitley west of Courcelles 3 6 August 1941 00:07 Wellington northeast of Maastricht 4 6 August 1941 00:40 Wellington northwest of Marche 5 6 August 1941 01:35 Whitley northeast of Liège 6 7 August 1941 03:38 Wellington southeast of Wavre 7 28 September 1941 22:45 Wellington northeast of Malvoisin 8 12 October 1941 21:44 Stirling south of Charleroi – 7. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 9 12 August 1942 01:57 Stirling east of Namur 10 25 August 1942 01:46 Stirling Leuze, northwest of Mons Stirling W7572/No. 149 Squadron RAF 11 17 September 1942 00:34 Stirling southwest of Gembloux 12 17 September 1942 01:20 Lancaster 13 19 September 1942 22:59 Stirling northeast of Revigny-sur-Ornain 14 10 March 1943 01:59 Lancaster north of Witry-lès-Reims 15 10 March 1943 02:30 Lancaster Taguebec 16 11 March 1943 22:00 Halifax west of Malmaison 17 11 April 1943 04:16 Stirling northwest of Sainte-Geneviève 18 15 April 1943 02:11 Lancaster east of Reims 19 16 April 1943 23:53 Lancaster north of Northeim – 1. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 – 20 12 June 1943 00:41 Halifax south of Haamstede 21 12 June 1943 01:00 Wellington north of Westkapelle Wellington HZ355/No. 429 Squadron RAF 22 12 June 1943 01:24 Lancaster west of Poortvliet – 7. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 23 25 June 1943 01:11 Halifax south of Roermond 24 25 June 1943 01:39 Stirling south of Leuven 25 4 July 1943 00:55 Wellington north of Liège 26 4 July 1943 01:28 Halifax northwest of Liège 27 4 July 1943 02:30 Halifax southeast of Brussels – 8. Staffel of Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 – 28 24 August 1943 01:16 four-engined bomber northwest of Berlin 29 28 August 1943 00:42 Lancaster southwest of Verdun 30 28 August 1943 03:46 four-engined bomber north-northeast of Amiens 31 18 November 1943 21:19 Stirling northeast of Châlons-sur-Marne 32 18 November 1943 21:40 Stirling northeast of Châlons-sur-Marne 33 24 February 1944 21:40 Lancaster southeast of Metz 34 24 February 1944 21:57 Lancaster Metz 35 24 February 1944 22:10 Lancaster southeast of Metz 36 26 February 1944 00:28 four-engined bomber east of Vervins 37 2 May 1944 00:35 Lancaster south of Beaumont 38 2 May 1944 00:41 Lancaster southwest of Châteaudun 39 4 May 1944 00:26 southwest of Châlons-sur-Marne550 Sqn, Lancaster LL826 BQ-H 40 8 May 1944 00:36 four-engined bomber northeast of Romorantin-Lanthenay 41 13 June 1944 00:22 four-engined bomber Formerie 42 13 June 1944 00:35 four-engined bomber north of Rouen 43 13 June 1944 00:40 four-engined bomber north of Rouen 44 15 July 1944 01:54 four-engined bomber Bar-le-Duc 45 15 July 1944 02:05 four-engined bomber east of Saint-Dizier Lancaster LL837/No. 550 Squadron RAF 46 19 July 1944 01:30 four-engined bomber Romilly-sur-Seine 47 19 July 1944 01:49 four-engined bomber area south of Châlons 48 19 July 1944 01:55 four-engined bomber Bergères-lès-Vertus 49 19 July 1944 02:05 four-engined bomber Saint-Dizier

Awards Flugzeugführerabzeichen Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe in Gold Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 28 September 1941 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot German Cross in Gold on 12 April 1943 as Oberfeldwebel in the 7./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 29 August 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 8./Nachtjagdgeschwader 4