Anton Mader

Eastern Front

In preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, II. Gruppe was moved to Bucharest and was located in the sector of Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South). II. Gruppe arrived in Bucharest on 15 June.^[9] Five days later, III. Gruppe moved to Roman.^[10] That evening, the pilots and ground crews were briefed of the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front.^[11]

On 7 November 1942, II. Gruppe received orders to immediately transfer to the Mediterranean theater.^[12]

North Africa

The first elements of II. Gruppe arrived in North Africa on 5 December where it was based at Zarzur airfield, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Tripoli. Mader's Gruppenstab (headquarters unit) arrived in North Africa on 13 December, initially based at Tripoli and then moved to Zarzur.^[13][14] On 7 March 1943, Mader left North Africa and JG 77 for a short vacation prior to taking on a new assignment.^[15]

Wing commander

On 1 April 1943, Mader was tasked with the formation of the newly created Jagdgeschwader 11 (JG 11—11th Fighter Wing) and became its first Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander). At first, Major Johannes Steinhoff had been considered for this position.^[16][17] Command of II. Gruppe of JG 77 was given to Hauptmann Siegfried Freytag who had already severed as acting commander since 7 March.^[18] Mader claimed his first aerial victory in defense of the Reich on 19 May. That day, the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) attacked Kiel and Flensburg. That day, JG 11 claimed seven Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers shot down, including one by Mader, for no losses of their own.^[19] Two days later, the USAAF VIII Bomber Command, later renamed to Eighth Air Force, attacked Wilhelmshaven and Emden in northern Germany. German radar spotted the approaching bombers in an area north of Terschelling. Defending against this attack, Mader claimed a B-17 bomber shot down.^[20] On 26 July, USAAF bombers attacked Hamburg for the second time while second formation headed for the Continental AG rubber factory in Hanover. The bombers came under attack by JG 11 in the area of Husum after they had dropped their bombs on Hanover between 12:00 and 12:43. In this aerial battle over sea, Mader claimed a B-17 shot down.^[21]

On 23 October, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, the commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, visited Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) at Deelen Air Base near Arnhem. In consequence, all the pilots of JG 1 were summoned to the airfield.^[22] Mader and Major Hermann Graf, who had recently been appointer Geschwaderkommodore of JG 1 also attended the meeting. En route from Jever, Mader and Graf were nearly shot down by a flight of two de Havilland Mosquitos over the North Sea Coast, while flying in an unarmed Messerschmitt Bf 108.^[23] In early November, Mader was relieved of command and sent on vacation. In consequence, command of JG 11 was given to Graf. Replacing Mader with Graf, was a decision not well received by Oberst Max Ibel, the commander of the 2. Jagd-Division (2nd Fighter Division).^[24][25]

On 28 January 1944, Mader succeeded Oberstleutnant Hubertus von Bonin, who had been killed in action on 15 December 1943, as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing).^[26] Mader took command of JG 54 on 15 February. At the time, the Geschwaderstab (headquarters unit) was based at Wesenberg, an airfield near Rakvere in northern Estonia. Here, JG 54 was under control of Luftflotte 1 and subordinated to the 3. Flieger Division (3rd Air Division), supporting German forces fighting in the Battle of Narva.^[27]

In the fall Mader fell ill and had to transfer command of JG 54 to Oberst Dietrich Hrabak on 1 October.^[28] After hospitalization, Mader attended staff training at the Luftkriegsschule Berlin-Gatow, the air war school in Gatow. Mader was then posted to the staff of the General der Jagdflieger (General of Fighters), an office held by Oberst Gordon Gollob. In late April 1945, Mader, along with Gollob's staff, was taken prisoner of war by US forces in Austria.^[29]

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Mader was credited with 86 aerial victories.^[31] Spick also lists him with 86 aerial victories, 61 on the Eastern Front and 25 on the Western Front, claimed in an unknown number combat missions.^[32] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 78 aerial victory claims. This figure includes 73 aerial victories on the Eastern Front and five over the Western Allies, including three four-engined heavy bombers.^[33]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 72263". 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 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[34]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class^[30]
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 15 September 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur^[61]
• German Cross in Gold on 2 January 1942 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 77^[62]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 July 1942 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 77^{[63][Note 9]}
• Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
  • Decoration of Honour in Gold (1964)^[29]
  • Grand Decoration of Honour (1970)^[29]