Reinhard Seiler

Reinhard Seiler (30 August 1909 – 6 October 1989) was a Nazi German Luftwaffe Major and ace of the Spanish Civil War and World War II, commander of Jagdgeschwader 104 and a winner of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves; for the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success. Reinhard Seiler was credited with 100 victories during World War II, over the course of about 500 combat missions. He recorded an additional 9 victories during the Spanish Civil War.

Childhood and early career

Seiler was born on 30 August 1909 in Rawitsch, in the Province of Posen, at the time a Prussian province of the German Empire and now in Poland. He was the son of Justizoberwachtmeister, a police officer at court. He joined the newly created Luftwaffe in 1935 and was promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) on 20 April 1937. After completing his pilot training, he was sent to Spain with the Condor Legion, and served with 2. Staffel (2nd squadron) of Jagdgruppe 88 (J/88—88th Fighter Group).

On 26 August 1937, the Condor Legion attacked ships in the harbor of Gijón. Flying fighter escort to the bombers, Seiler claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a Polikarpov I-15 fighter. He claimed his second aerial victory on 4 September, a Polikarpov I-16 shot down over Asturias. On 30 October, command of the Condor Legion transferred from Generalmajor Hugo Sperrle to Generalmajor Hellmuth Volkmann. Volkmann reorganized J/88, placing 2. Staffel under the command of Oberleutnant (First Lieutenant) Joachim Schlichting. Seiler claimed his third aerial victory on 29 November.

When Seiler returned to Germany, he was credited with nine aerial victories and was one of the leading fighter pilots of the Condor Legion. For his service in Spain, he was awarded the Spanish Cross in Gold with Diamonds (). He was promoted to Oberleutnant on 1 April 1939.

After his return from Spain, Seiler was appointed the Staffelkapitän (Squadron leader) of the newly established 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 70 (JG 70—70th Fighter Wing) on 15 July 1939. The Staffel was based at Herzogenaurach, equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 D-1 and subordinated to the I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51—51st Fighter Wing) under the command of Major Ernst Freiherr von Berg.

World War II

World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Seiler's unit was kept back and on 13 September, it formed the nucleus of the newly created I Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) which had been placed under command of Major Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel. In consequence, Seiler's 1. Staffel was renamed 1. Staffel of JG 54. On 1 November, the Gruppe was transferred to Böblingen to patrol the southernmost region of the French-German border.

He scored his first victory of the war on 10 January 1940, shooting down a French reconnaissance Potez southwest of Freiburg. He scored a second victory on 7 April west of Strasbourg. However he scored no further in the subsequent Battle of France, when his unit covered the Panzer advance through the Ardennes forests and later over the Dunkirk bridgehead. Pulled out early, back to occupied Netherlands as the campaign wound down, I./JG 54 was then one of the first units to re-occupy the Pas de Calais, in early August 1940 in anticipation of the upcoming Battle of Britain. On a bomber escort mission over Dover on 5 August 1940, Seiler claimed his third aerial victory, shooting down a Supermarine Spitfire over the English Channel. He was then shot down in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-4 and severely injured. Taking to his parachute over the English Channel, Seiler was rescued and hospitalized, but was out of action for over 6 months. On 1 December 1940, Seiler was promoted to Hauptmann (captain).

Invasion of the Soviet Union

Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941. In the fortnight prior, JG 54 had been moved to an airfield in Lindenthal near Rautenberg, East Prussia, present-day Uslowoje in Kaliningrad Oblast. Tasked with supporting Army Group North in its advance through the Baltic states towards Leningrad, the unit began combat operations shortly afterwards.

On the opening day of the campaign (22 June 1941) he shot down 3 aircraft, thereby doubling his score, and as his unit leap-frogged to new airbases across the Baltic States over the next few weeks his score continued to rise. By the end of September, he had 33 victories and his unit had finally settled down, establishing itself at Siverskaya, (about south of Leningrad). He had been awarded the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe () on 20 August recognizing his leadership and combat success.

On 1 October 1941, Seiler was appointed Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III. Gruppe of JG 54. He replaced Hauptmann Arnold Lignitz who had been posted as missing in action after he had been shot down over Leningrad the day before. Command of his former 1. Staffel was then passed to Oberleutnant Heinz Lange. At the time, III. Gruppe was also based at Siverskaya.

Despite surrounding the city, it could not be taken so Hitler decided instead to besiege it. For the next three years, JG 54 would stay, essentially, encamped outside the city interdicting the supply lines and intercepting the frantic attempts of the Russians to lift the siege in offensive after offensive.

Seiler himself remained as Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 54 for nearly one and a half years. He was awarded the German Cross in Gold () on 15 October then the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 20 December 1941, having flown 200 missions. In spring 1942 Geschwaderkommodore (Wing Commander) Hannes Trautloft had the idea for fighter interceptions of Soviet night-harassment raids on moonlit nights. A great success, they claimed 56 victories for no losses. Seiler was the most successful pilot in these missions, scoring 16 night-victories between March and June 1942 and he was also promoted to Major in June. Throughout 1942, JG 54 continued to cover the north: the Leningrad siege and Demyansk fronts. In December though, Seiler took his III./JG 54 to Smolensk in the centre, and then soon after in early 1943 rotated back to the west as part of Adolf Galland's mis-guided plan to swap units between the western and eastern fronts in exchange for I./Jagdgeschwader 26 (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing).

"Defence of the Reich"

Re-equipping instead onto Bf 109G-4s, they spent 6 weeks on the Channel Front. Unused to operating at higher altitudes and in large formations, JG 26 Geschwaderkommodore Josef Priller refused to declare the unit ready for operations. Finally in March, they were transferred back to Oldenburg in northern Germany for further training and to stay on Defence of the Reich duties. Fittingly perhaps, with the unit's first successes on 17 April, unit commander Seiler scored his one and only Viermot (4-engine bomber) kill. However, he was already under orders to return to the Leningrad Front. On 1 May, Seiler was made the new Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of JG 54, flying the Focke-Wulf Fw 190. He replaced Hauptmann Gerhard Koall who temporarily led the Gruppe after Major Hans Philipp was transferred to take command of Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1—1st Fighter Wing) fighting in Defence of the Reich.

Eastern Front

Unseasonably bad weather limited operations for the next few months and then all attention was turned to the main 1943 offensive - Operation Citadel against the Kursk salient. Seiler's I./JG 54 was transferred in June to Orel to join the fighter cover over the northern attack. On the opening day of the offensive, 5 July, he scored 5 victories to take his tally to 97. The following day he scored a further two kills. Eager to reach the magic 'century', he chased and shot down a Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters from the 30 GvIAP (Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment—Gvardeyskiy Istrebitelny Aviatsionny Polk). However immediately afterward he was himself shot and forced to bail out badly wounded over enemy territory east of Ponyri, midway between Orel and Kursk. He was the 44th Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark. He was declared unfit for further combat duties.

In recognition of his long service and command in JG 54, Seiler was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves () on 2 March 1944. The presentation was made by Adolf Hitler on 4 April 1944 at the Führerhauptquartier (Führer Headquarter) at the Berghof in Berchtesgaden. Also present at the award ceremony were Gerhard Barkhorn, for the Swords to his Knight's Cross, and Erich Hartmann, Walter Krupinski, Kurt Bühligen, Horst Ademeit, Hans-Joachim Jabs, Dr. Maximilian Otte, Bernhard Jope and Hansgeorg Bätcher from the bomber force, and the Flak officer Fritz Petersen, all destined to receive the Oak Leaves.

Later in the year, on 8 August, he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of the fighter-pilot training unit Jagdgeschwader 104 and served in this position until it was disbanded on 28 April 1945, just days before the end of World War II.

Later life

Released from Allied captivity in 1946, Seiler died on 6 October 1989 at the age of , in the town of Grafengehaig near Kulmbach, in Bavaria.

Summary of career

Aerial victory claims

According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Seiler was credited with 100 aerial victories during World War II. Spick lists Seiler with 9 aerial victories during the Spanish Civil War and further 100 during World War II. Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found documentation for 109 aerial victory claims, plus three further unconfirmed claims. This number includes 9 claims during the Spanish Civil War, 96 on the Eastern Front, and 4 on the Western Front, including one four-engined bomber.

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 00254". 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 ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Seiler an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day.   This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed by Prien, Stemmer, Rodeike, Bock, Mathews and Foreman.
Claim (total)	Claim (nocturnal)	Date	Time	Type	Location	Claim (total)	Claim (nocturnal)	Date	Time	Type	Location
Spanish Civil War
– 2. Staffel of Jagdgruppe 88 – Spanish Civil War — August 1937 – February 1938
1		26 August 1937	—	I-15		6		7 February 1938	—	SB-2
2		4 September 1937	—	I-16		7		7 February 1938	—	SB-2
3		29 November 1937	—	I-16		8		22 February 1938	—	I-15
4		12 January 1938	—	SB-2		9		22 February 1938	—	I-15
5		22 January 1938	—	I-16
World War II
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – "Phoney War" — 13 September 1939 – 9 May 1940
1		10 January 1940	12:15	Potez 63	south of Colmar	2		7 April 1940	—	M.S.406	west of Strasbourg
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Action at the Channel and over England — 26 June – 23 September 1940
3		5 August 1940	09:15	Spitfire	English Channel
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Operation Barbarossa — 22 June – July 1941
4		22 June 1941	05:55	SB-2	northeast of Kowno	6		22 June 1941	05:58	SB-2	west of Kowno
5		22 June 1941	05:57	SB-2	north of Kowno
– 1. Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Operation Barbarossa — July – 1 October 1941
7		6 July 1941	10:18	SB-3	Ostrov	21		15 August 1941	19:00	I-18	north of Vitino
8		6 July 1941	10:24	SB-3	northwest of Baraki	22		8 September 1941	16:03	I-16	north of Djeskoje Selo
9		6 July 1941	17:34	SB-3	southwest of Ostrov	23		8 September 1941	16:45	I-153	south of Wladimirskoje
10		7 July 1941	10:31	SB-3	northeast of Ostrov	24		9 September 1941	09:05	I-16	southeast of Krasnoye Selo
11		7 July 1941	11:00	SB-3	Ostrov	25		9 September 1941	09:35	I-18 (MiG-1)	south of Marijino
12		7 July 1941	19:15	I-18 (MiG-1)	north of Ostrov	26		9 September 1941	17:15	I-16	northeast of Krasnogvardeysk
13		22 July 1941	18:05	I-18 (MiG-1)	north of Krasnoye Selo	27		11 September 1941	11:15	I-18 (MiG-1)	Nowa
14		22 July 1941	18:08	I-18 (MiG-1)	southwest of Krasnoye Selo	28		17 September 1941	12:30	I-18 (MiG-1)	south of Lewaschewo
15		31 July 1941	16:55	I-18 (MiG-1)	northwest of Krasnoye Selo	29		21 September 1941	17:05	I-18 (MiG-1)	south of Leningrad
16		31 July 1941	19:50	I-18 (MiG-1)	north of Pulkowa	30		23 September 1941	13:21	I-153	north of Kolpino
17		13 August 1941	05:32	I-16	Molskowitzi	31		24 September 1941	10:12	I-15?Template:Refn
18		13 August 1941	11:00	I-18 (MiG-1)	north of Witino	32		26 September 1941	05:55	I-18 (MiG-1)	southeast of Leningrad
19		15 August 1941	14:45	I-18 (MiG-1)	south of Wochonowo airfield	33		29 September 1941	15:58	I-16	west of Shlisselburg
20?Template:Refn		15 August 1941	14:46	I-16	Wochonowo airfield
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Operation Barbarossa — 1 October – 5 December 1941
34		5 October 1941	17:00	I-15	west of Ust-Starawjanka	39		25 October 1941	16:44	I-153?Template:Refn	north of the bend of the Neva
35		11 October 1941	15:40	I-15	north of Oranienbaum	40		29 October 1941	11:07	I-26 (Yak-1)	southwest of Gorka
36		24 October 1941	14:02	I-18 (MiG-1)	Mursinka	41		1 December 1941	09:55	R-10 (Seversky)	north of Kobona
37		24 October 1941	14:08	I-18 (MiG-1)	Szalaski	42		1 December 1941	14:25	I-180 (Yak-7)	southwest of Koretschi
38		25 October 1941	16:42	I-153	north of the bend of the Neva
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 6 December 1941 – 20 February 1942
43		7 December 1941	12:15	I-180 (Yak-7)	west of Kobona	45		26 January 1942	11:55	I-26 (Yak-1)	southeast of Grjadi
44		26 January 1942	08:50	I-18 (MiG-1)	Osmaskij	46		26 January 1942	12:00	I-26 (Yak-1)	east of Dora
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 1 May 1942 – 3 February 1943
47		29 May 1942	13:30?Template:Refn	I-180 (Yak-7)	PQ 00254, mal Muschkino west-southwest of Shlisselburg	65	13	26 June 1942	00:17?Template:Refn	R-5	east of Kretschno
?Template:Refn		29 May 1942	11:30	Yak-7		66	14	27 June 1942	23:48	R-5	southwest of Mostki
48	1	11 June 1942	23:35	R-5	east of Mjasnoj Bor	67	15	27 June 1942	24:00	R-5	south of Mostki
49	2	12 June 1942	00:30	R-5	east of Mjasnoj Bor	68		1 August 1942	18:34	Pe-2	PQ 90453, west-southwest of Terwolowo northeast of Volosovo
50		12 June 1942	16:08	MiG-3	PQ 19251, south of Orelje southeast of Spasskaya Polist	69		2 August 1942	16:55	Yak-1	PQ 00164, Aleksandrowka southeast of Leningrad
51		12 June 1942	16:10?Template:Refn	MiG-3	north of Orelje	70		11 August 1942	17:55	MiG-3	PQ 29711, northwest of Beresko northeast of Staraya Russa
52	3	14 June 1942	22:45	R-5	PQ 19152, west of Spasskaya Polist southwest of Spasskaya Polist	71		11 August 1942	17:58	MiG-3	PQ 29712, northwest of Beresko northeast of Staraya Russa
53	4	14 June 1942	23:15	R-5	PQ 19134, northwest of Kretschno vicinity of Spasskaya Polist	72		20 August 1942	17:17	Yak-1	PQ 00421, east of Kolpino Pushkin-Mga
54	5	15 June 1942	23:20	R-5	east of Kretschno	73		30 August 1942	13:42	I-16	PQ 00143, north of Uljanka southwest of Leningrad
55	6	15 June 1942	23:30?Template:Refn	Yak-1	east of Orelje	74		1 September 1942	12:25	MiG-3	PQ 10211, north of Lawrowo west of Volkhov
56	7	15 June 1942	24:00	R-5	east of Kretschno	75		5 September 1942	12:15	Il-2	PQ 00412, south of Kolpino east of Pushkin
57	8	16 June 1942	00:20	R-5	Prijutino	76		5 September 1942	12:25	Il-2	PQ 00281, northeast of Kretschmino west of Mga
58		20 June 1942	19:28	P-40	east of Mal. Opotschiwalowo	77		11 September 1942	08:42	MiG-3	PQ 01774, southeast of Pjesk west-northwest of Volchov
59	9	22 June 1942	23:05	PS-84	Kretschno	78		21 September 1942	11:15	Yak-1	PQ 10244, northeast of Shelannoje east-southeast of Shlisselburg
60	10	22 June 1942	23:08	PS-84	east-northeast of Mjasnoj Bor	79		28 October 1942	11:53	LaGG-3	PQ 28112, east of Topolywa northwest of Demyansk
61		23 June 1942	21:13	Yak-1	east of Mjasnoj Bor	80		29 October 1942	10:33	LaGG-3	PQ 18261, Werschinasee east-southeast of Staraya Russa
62	11	25 June 1942	23:41?Template:Refn	R-5	east of Kretschno	81		31 October 1942	07:28	Il-2	PQ 18263, southwest of Gertschizy east-southeast of Staraya Russa
63	12	25 June 1942	23:50	R-5	east of Kretschno	82		14 November 1942	11:32	LaGG-3	PQ 20143, Twadnowo west-southwest of Volkhov
64	?Template:Refn	26 June 1942	00:15?Template:Refn	R-5	east of Kretschno
– Stab III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Western Front — 27 March – 28 April 1943
83		17 April 1943	13:04	B-17	Bremen
– Stab I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 – Eastern Front — 1 May – 6 July 1943
84		27 May 1943	19:58	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 10752 south of Lyuban	93♠		5 July 1943	12:20	P-39	PQ 35 Ost 63563, northeast of Ponyri northwest of Maloarkhangelsk
85		12 June 1943	07:18	MiG-3	PQ 36 Ost 10114, southeast of Shlisselburg	94♠		5 July 1943	12:25	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 63573, west of Ponyri southwest of Maloarkhangelsk
86		19 June 1943	21:07	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 20111 west of Volkhov	95♠		5 July 1943	12:27	MiG-3	PQ 35 Ost 63714 southwest of Maloarkhangelsk
87		21 June 1943	15:27	LaGG-3	northeast of Novaya Ladoga northeast of Volkhov	96♠		5 July 1943	18:29	Il-2	PQ 35 Ost 63624 northeast of Maloarkhangelsk
88		21 June 1943	15:43	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 21123, Wolchowstroj Lake Ladoga	97♠		5 July 1943	18:35	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 63654 east-northeast of Maloarkhangelsk
89		21 June 1943	19:59	La-5	PQ 36 Ost 20272, northwest of Wolchowstroj west of Volkhov	98		6 July 1943	08:20	La-5	PQ 35 Ost 63534 northwest of Maloarkhangelsk
90		22 June 1943	02:18	Il-2	PQ 36 Ost 00621 southeast of Gatchina	99		6 July 1943	14:21	LaGG-3	PQ 35 Ost 63572 southwest of Maloarkhangelsk
91		23 June 1943	20:10	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 01841, east of Uglowo	100		6 July 1943	14:36	P-39	PQ 35 Ost 63593 south-southwest of Maloarkhangelsk
92		24 June 1943	07:07	LaGG-3	PQ 36 Ost 20122, north of Wolchowstroj west of Volkhov

Awards

• Spanish Cross in Gold with Swords and Diamonds (6 June 1939)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (20 January 1940)
  • 1st Class (30 July 1940)
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (20 August 1941)
• German Cross in Gold on 15 October 1941 as Hauptmann in the 1./Jagdgeschwader 54
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • Knight's Cross on 20 December 1941 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 54
  • 419th Oak Leaves on 2 March 1944 as Major and Gruppenkommandeur of the I./Jagdgeschwader 54

Promotions

20 April 1937:	Leutnant (second lieutenant)
1 April 1939:	Oberleutnant (first lieutenant)
1 December 1940:	Hauptmann (captain)
1 March 1943:	Major (major)