Anton Mader

Anton Mader (7 January 1913 – 19 February 1984) was a German pilot during World War II. He claimed 86 victories and was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross. He commanded the fighter wing Jagdgeschwader 54 in 1944.

Early life and career

Mader was born on 7 January 1913 in Castelnuovo, at the time in the Kingdom of Dalmatia of Austria-Hungary, present-day Kaštel Novi in Dalmatia, Croatia. He was the son of an Imperial and Royal Kapellmeister, a leader of a musical ensemble, who later served in the Austrian Armed Forces.

In 1933, Mader was conscripted into the Austrian Armed Forces serving with Alpenjägerregiment 10, the 10th Alpine Mountain Regiment. He then attended the military academy at Enns and the Theresian Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt. Promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant), he was transferred to Fliegerregiment 2, the 2nd Flight Regiment of the Austrian Air Force. Following the Anschluss in March 1938, the forced incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany, Mader was transferred to the Luftwaffe (the Nazi German Air Force) holding the rank of Oberleutnant (first lieutenant). On 1 April, a newly formed I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 138 (JG 138—138th Fighter Wing) stationed in Wien-Aspern also referred to as the "Wiener-Jagdgruppe" ("Vienna fighter group") was created, largely staffed with former Austrian Air Force personnel. There, Mader was made Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3. Staffel (3rd squadron) of JG 138. On 1 May 1939, his unit I. Gruppe of JG 138 was re-designated and became I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 76 (JG 76—76th Fighter Wing). Initially equipped with the Fiat CR.32, 3. Staffel received the Messerschmitt Bf 109 B. The Gruppe was reequipped with the Bf 109 E-1 and E-3 in 1939. That year, command of 3. Staffel transferred to Oberleutnant Franz Eckerle.

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. In preparation of the invasion, I. Gruppe of JG 76 had been moved to an airfield at Stubendorf, present-day Izbicko in Poland, on 17 August 1939 and supported the German advance on the central and southern sectors of the front.

On 24 September 1940, Mader was appointed Staffelkapitän of 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing). He succeeded Oberleutnant Otto Bertram who was transferred.

The Gruppenkommandeur of II. Gruppe of JG 77, Hauptmann Helmut Henz, was killed in action on 25 May 1941. In consequence, Mader was given command of the Gruppe. Command of 1. Staffel of JG 2 was given to Leutnant Ulrich Adrian. In July 1941, SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich briefly served in II. Gruppe under the command of 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. Five days later, III. Gruppe moved to Roman. That evening, the pilots and ground crews were briefed of the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front.

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). Command of II. Gruppe of JG 77 was given to Hauptmann Siegfried Freytag who had already severed as acting commander since 7 March.

On 28 January 1944, Mader succeeded Oberstleutnant Hubertus von Bonin, who had been killed in action on 15 December 1943, as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 54. In the fall Mader fell ill and had to transfer command of JG 54 to Oberst Dietrich Hrabak on 1 October. 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.

Later life and service

Mader was released from captivity in June 1945. He then worked as a courier for the Embassy of the United States in Vienna. In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state. Mader joined the Austrian Air Force, referred to as the Österreichische Luftstreitkräfte, holding the rank of Oberstleutnant. He served with the Fliegerführungskommando (Air Command) and was promoted to Oberst in the general staff in 1961 and to Brigadier in 1966. Mader died on 19 February 1984 at the age of in Vienna, Austria.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Mader was credited with 86 aerial victories. 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.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 72263". 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
This and the # (hash mark) indicates those aerial victories listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock without an explicit sequence number.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Balke, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim	Date	Time	Type	Location
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" – At the Channel and over England — 26 June 1940 – 21 June 1941
1	24 September 1940	09:45	Spitfire	east-southeast of London	2	7 October 1940	16:57	Spitfire	north of Portland
– II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – 5 December 1941
#	2 July 1941	17:50	I-16		#	12 August 1941	15:27	I-16
#	6 July 1941	12:43	I-16		#	12 August 1941	15:28	I-16
#	11 July 1941	17:40	I-16		#	22 August 1941	09:10	Il-2
#	27 July 1941	14:53	MiG-3		#	1 September 1941	09:37	MiG-3
#	12 August 1941	12:20	R-10 (Seversky)		#	2 September 1941	09:55	R-5
According to Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike and Bock, Mader claimed two undocumented aerial victories in the timeframe 22 August to 5 September 1941. These two claims are not listed by Mathews and Foreman.
16	6 September 1941	14:38	Il-2		24	15 October 1941	15:20	MiG-3
17	7 September 1941	16:35	I-16		25	17 October 1941	11:15	I-16
18	8 September 1941	14:38	Seversky		26	19 October 1941	15:06	I-16
19	10 September 1941	15:50	MiG-3		27	21 October 1941	15:20	I-5
20	20 September 1941	11:00	MiG-3		28	21 October 1941	15:21	I-5
21	6 October 1941	11:45	LaGG-3		29	22 October 1941	11:45	R-5
22	9 October 1941	13:30	V-11 (Il-2)		30	24 October 1941	15:09	I-15
23	15 October 1941	08:35	MiG-3
– II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Eastern Front — 17 March – 30 April 1942
31	19 March 1942	15:28	I-301 (LaGG-3)		34	24 March 1942	12:58	DB-3
32	22 March 1942	17:30	I-61 (MiG-3)		35	27 March 1942	16:24	I-16
33	23 March 1942	11:53	I-153
– II. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 77 – Eastern Front — 1 May – 7 November 1942
36	4 June 1942	12:10	LaGG-3		50	25 August 1942	17:33	Il-2?	PQ 72263 east-northeast of Tim
37	8 June 1942	16:47	MiG-1	PQ 35392, Sevastopol	51	5 September 1942	17:17	Il-2	PQ 83754 southeast of Livny
38	8 June 1942	16:49	MiG-1	PQ 35392, Sevastopol	52	11 September 1942	16:02	Il-2	PQ 92724 northwest of Sloboda
39	14 June 1942	14:51	I-153		53	15 September 1942	08:45	LaGG-3	PQ 92321 north of Voronezh
40	14 June 1942	14:52	I-16		54	15 September 1942	13:08	LaGG-3	PQ 92471 southeast of Voronezh
41	6 August 1942	18:07	Douglas DB-7	PQ 82151 northwest of Voronezh	55	15 September 1942	17:14	Il-2	PQ 82432 west-northwest of Voronezh
42	6 August 1942	18:09	Douglas DB-7	PQ 82122 northwest of Voronezh	56	16 September 1942	08:40?Template:Refn	Douglas DB-7	PQ 92372 south of Voronezh
43	6 August 1942	18:11	Douglas DB-7	PQ 83763 south-southwest of Yelets	57	16 September 1942	08:51	Douglas DB-7	PQ 92372 south of Voronezh
44	12 August 1942	09:33	LaGG-3	PQ 83881 north-northwest of Voronezh	58	16 September 1942	14:40?Template:Refn	LaGG-3	PQ 92381 south-southeast of Voronezh
45	12 August 1942	16:05?Template:Refn	LaGG-3	PQ 83833 south-southeast of Yelets	59	18 September 1942	17:06?Template:Refn	MiG-1	PQ 92294 north of Voronezh
46	13 August 1942	08:06	Douglas DB-7	PQ 92332 east-northeast of Voronezh	60	18 September 1942	17:16	Il-2	PQ 92312 northwest of Voronezh
47	13 August 1942	08:25	MiG-1	PQ 92321 north of Voronezh	61?Template:Refn	18 September 1942	17:20	MiG-1	PQ 92311
48	23 August 1942	14:21	LaGG-3	PQ 82892 southwest of Voronezh	62	22 September 1942	15:31	MiG-1	PQ 92141 north of Voronezh
49	25 August 1942	17:30	Il-2?Template:Refn	PQ 82452 west-northwest of Voronezh	63	31 October 1942	13:55	Il-2	PQ 92774 west-northwest of Sloboda
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 11 – Defense of the Reich — 1 April – 31 December 1943
64	19 May 1943	13:23	B-17	northeast of Arenberg	66	26 July 1943	13:21	B-17	west of Papenburg
65	21 May 1943	12:56	B-17	PQ 05 Ost 75/7/2
– Stab of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 28 January – 30 September 1944
67	25 February 1944	14:05	LaGG-3	PQ 26 Ost 70822 southwest of Narva	75	17 July 1944	16:44	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost HR-2/3
68	6 March 1944	14:37	Il-2	PQ 26 Ost 88162 vicinity of Pskov	76	17 July 1944	16:53	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost HR-2/6
69	7 March 1944	14:04?Template:Refn	Pe-2	PQ 25 Ost 69622 north of Dorpat	77	24 July 1944	16:36	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost TQ-6/4
70	7 March 1944	14:07?Template:Refn	Pe-2	PQ 25 Ost 79532 Lake Peipus	78	5 August 1944	17:00	La-5	PQ 25 Ost JH-7/5
71	2 April 1944	16:00	Il-2	PQ 26 Ost 8836	79	7 August 1944	15:16	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost KM-7/9
72	3 April 1944	12:35	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 88352 vicinity of Selo	80	7 August 1944	15:40	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost KN-9/1
73	24 June 1944	19:25	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost 79551 vicinity of Ostrov	81	15 August 1944	17:06	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost LK-7/5
74	17 July 1944	16:43	Il-2	PQ 25 Ost GR-9/1	82	26 August 1944	13:50	La-5	PQ 25 Ost JN-6/6

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
• Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 15 September 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur
• German Cross in Gold on 2 January 1942 as Hauptmann in the II./Jagdgeschwader 77
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 23 July 1942 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the II./Jagdgeschwader 77Template:Refn
• Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
  • Decoration of Honour in Gold (1964)
  • Grand Decoration of Honour (1970)