Gordon Gollob Gordon Max Gollob ( 16 June 1912 , Vienna – 8 September 1987 ) was an Austrian - born Nazi German fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe from 1938 to 1945 during World War II . A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat . He rose to the position of " General der Jagdflieger " , and was one of only 27 to receive the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade the Oak Leaves , Swords and Diamonds was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . At the time of its presentation to Gollob it was Germany ' s highest military decoration . Gollob was credited with 150 aerial victories — that is , 150 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft — achieved in 340 missions . He recorded 144 victories over the Eastern front . Gollob was the first pilot in aviation history to claim 150 aerial victories . Early life . Gollob was born in Vienna . In 1933 he joined the Austrian Bundesheer as an officer cadet , and the year after he completed his flying training . He rose to command a training unit , the " Schulstaffel A " . When Austria was annexed by Germany in 1938 , Gollob joined the Luftwaffe with the rank of " Oberleutnant " . On 15 March 1939 Gollob was posted to the 3 . / Zerstörergeschwader 76 ( ZG 76 ) flying the Bf 110 twin - engined fighter . World War II . ZG 76 was stationed on the Polish border and took part in Fall Weiss , the invasion of Poland from 1 September 1939 . Gollob scored his first victories over Poland , and continued his success when ZG 76 took part in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight . On 8 April 1940 , Gollob was appointed " Staffelkapitän " of 3 . / ZG 76 . The unit took part in Operation Weserübung and Gollob had two more victories over Norway . Later that year Gollob shot down a Spitfire during the Battle of Britain . He was then given night fighter training and assigned to II . / Jagdgeschwader 3 ( JG 3 ) on 7 September . JG 3 was stationed on the Channel Front , and saw much action . On 9 October Gollob was appointed " Staffelkapitän " of 4 . / JG 3 . In 1941 the unit was transferred east to take part in Operation Barbarossa , the code name for Germany ' s invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II . A few days after the invasion started , on 27 June , Gollob was appointed " Gruppenkommandeur " of II . / JG 3 , and promoted to " Hauptmann " . Against the weak Soviet Air Force Gollob proved quite successful , downing 18 enemy aircraft in the month of August alone . On 18 September he was awarded the " Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes " for his 42 victories . In October he had an impressive 37 victories , including 9 in one day on 18 October . On 26 October he was awarded the " Eichenlaub " after reaching 85 victories . In December Gollob was pulled of frontline service , and was transferred to a testing unit , to help with the development of the next version of the Bf 109 . After a brief spell at the Stabschwarm of Jagdgeschwader 54 ( JG 54 ) Gollob , now a " Major " , assumed command over Jagdgeschwader 77 ( JG 77 ) as " Geschwaderkommodore " on 16 May 1942 . JG 77 was given the task of supporting the hard fighting over the Kerch straits on the Crimean peninsula . The JG 77 , led by such able experts as Gollob and Heinrich Bär leading I . / JG 77 , " took over " the air space over the Kerch - Taman area . Intense rivalry ensued between Gollob and Bär , each striving to outperform the other . On 20 May Gollob reached his victory number 100 . On 23 June he was awarded the " Schwerter " , after his tally had risen to 107 . Only two months later he reached 150 victories , becoming the Luftwaffe ' s highest scoring pilot at that point . For this he was awarded the " Brillanten " to his " Ritterkreuz " on 29 August , only number 3 to receive such honours . An anonymous JG 77 pilot described Gollob ' s methods ; " Gollob flew from Kerch together with his wingman . They positioned themselves at a low altitude beneath a Soviet formation . Then they started climbing in spirals , carefully maintaining their position beneath the enemy formation . Before the peacefully flying Soviets had even suspected any mischief , the two planes at the bottom of their formation had been shot down and the two Germans were gone . " High command . On 1 October 1942 , now an Oberst , Gollob was posted to the staff of " Jagdfliegerführer 3 " on the Channel Front , and on 15 October he was appointed " Jagdfliegerführer 5 " , being responsible of the tactical fighter command over northwestern France . In April 1944 Gollob was transferred to the personal staff of General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland , to advise on the development of the jet aircraft projects . In September he had a falling out with Galland however , and was transferred to " Kommando der Erprobungstellen " , or HQ of test units . In November Gollob was appointed commander of the " Jäger - Sonderstab " - or special fighter commando - for the Ardennes offensive . In January 1945 Gollob was appointed " General der Jagerflieger " , following Galland ' s sacking by the OKL after the costly Operation Bodenplatte . Controversy . Gollob was an ardent Nazi , and was often thought poorly of by his fellow pilots . Johannes Steinhoff said about Gollob in an interview first printed in World War II Magazine in February 2000 : " Well , I will say this , then I will say nothing else about Gollob . Losses soared under his leadership everywhere he went , much like Göring in the first war . He placed leaders in command of units not because of their competence , but due to their loyalty to the Nazi Party , which were very few in the Jagdwaffe . " Gollob was regarded as a competent pilot , but a poor leader due to his eagerness to impress superiors and his unhealthy competitive spirit . After the war . After being released from captivity following the surrender , Gollob made a living as a contributor to Aircraft Magazines and lecturing . In 1948 he became a foreman of the " Federation of Independents " in Austria . From 1951 he started working for a company making motors and vehicles . He had two sons and a daughter with his wife . Gollob died in Sulingen , Diepholz , Lower Saxony on 7 September 1987 .