Otto Kittel

From The Air Combat Wiki

The fourth highest scoring ace of all time with Sturmoviks as a speciality.

Otto Kittel was born on 21 February 1917, in Kronsdorf, in the then Austrian Sudetenland. Fascinated with flight at an early age, he joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 at age 22. After completing his training in January 1941, Kittel was posted to the 2nd Staffel JG 54 Grünherz, based at Jever in northern Germany with the rank of Unteroffizier.

Kittel scored quickly and shot down a SB-2 and Yak-1 on his very first mission, which also happened to be the opening day of Operation Barbarossa. It was on June 30, 1941, near Dunaburg, that Kittel would encounter the Russian aircraft known as the 'cementer' or 'butcher' to the German ground troops - the Il-2. The standard tactics of the Il-2 'Sturmovik' was to come in at low level and race across the German positions, bombing and strafing (with 20mm cannon) as they went. The Il-2 was immune to the traditional method of attack used by fighters (rear-quarter attack) because of its armor. The only vulnerable spot was the oil cooler located on the underside. This is what Kittel did and he managed to down two of the beasts on this day.

In July 1942, he was married, by means of a long-distance ceremony called 'Ferntrauung', a German wartime policy.

As time progressed, Kittel became so proficient at downing Il-2's, he became known to the German ground troops of Army Group North as the 'butcher-killer'. On 19 February 1943, Feldwebel Kittel scored his 39th victory, which also happened to be JG 54's 4,000th of the war. Kommodore Trautloft personally congratulated Kittel and said the following: "I have instructed that you're no longer to be assigned as wingman. Instead you're to be sent on 'freie Jagd' on your own whenever there's an opportunity."

After achieving his 47th victory on 15 March 1943 (while flying Fw 190 A-4), Kittel made an emergency landing 60 kilometers (37 miles) behind Russian lines. After landing on an open icy field, he immediately set out for some woods he saw at 2 kilometers distance. Sitting in the woods for a short break, he searched his pockets and found three "Drops" and two cigarette packets, but no matches. He also had a gun, a clock and a compass. In his haste to leave his landing site, he had forgotten his supplies and his gloves. Bitterly cold and underclothed, he crossed the frozen Ilmen Lake and after three days without food, reached the German troops. He returned to 2.JG 54 at the end of May after a period of hospitalisation. On 18 March 1943, he was promoted to Oberfeldwebel and received the German Cross in gold.

In the next several months, there would be several 'opportunities' for Kittel to raise his score. On 29 October 1943 he received the Knights Cross for the 123 victories he had achieved. This award was quickly followed by the Oakleaves to the Knights Cross on 11 April 1944, at which time Kittel's score stood at 152. Finally, on 25 November 1944, the swords decoration was added to his Knights Cross for bravery in the face of the enemy and 230 victories. He was also promoted to Oberleutnant at this time.

On 16 February 1945, four Fw 190 A-8 led by Oberleutnant Otto Kittel took off from an airbase in the Kurland pocket. The mission was free hunting over the frontline area near Dzukste. After only seven minutes the German fighters spotted fourteen Il-2s that were bombing and shooting rockets at German troops from an altitude of 450 feet. Oberleutnant Kittel radioed an attack order. The Il-2 Sturmoviks were flying in a row, one after another, and Kittel attacked from the right hand side. His wingman Renner wrote: "Flying at a distance of about 300 feet from Kittel I saw him dive beneath and behind an Il-2 and attack it. Behind us two other Il-2s pulled up sharply. In the next moment an explosion was seen in his cockpit and the aircraft started to descend." Kittel's Fw 190 tore into the ground with its starboard wing, caught fire, and then exploded.

In the end, the long time adversary of Kittel finally got him. Otto Kittel flew 583 combat missions and scored 267 kills, including at least 94 Il-2, making him the fourth highest scoring ace of all time.