Just after 1000 hours on the morning of July 13, 1943, four Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 fighters of II./JG 54, led by Oberfeldwebel Otto Kittel, were scrambled from strip alert at Orel, on the German Eastern Front in Russia, approximately 220 miles (360 kilometers) south-southwest of Moscow.
Operation “Zitadelle”
A massive German offensive on the Eastern Front, ordered by Hitler and codenamed Operation “Zitadelle” (Citadel), had commenced on July 5, 1943. Now in its ninth day, the German advance was faltering and was destined to collapse into a reversal and retreat under the sheer weight of Soviet counterattacks. Hitler called a stop to the offensive on July 17 and the Germans never recovered from the setback. The battle encapsulated a contest for air superiority and air support of the ground forces. For the Luftwaffe pilots, life on the Eastern Front was becoming much harder, and their chances of surviving and of achieving high scores as fighter pilots were considerably reduced.
Sturmovik killer
It was at this turning point in the war, on the morning of July 13, 1943, in the midst of this massive battle, that Oberfeldwebel (equivalent of a Master Sergeant in the USAF) Otto Kittel, “Bruno” to his many Luftwaffe friends, led his “Schwarm” of four Fw 190 bull-nosed fighters in a rapid climb to 3,000 meters (10,000 feet).
They had been scrambled because German troops and tanks in their sector were being subjected to another attack by Soviet Air Force Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmoviks, the Russians’ heavily-armored, closesupport ground-attack aircraft. The Grünherz (Green Hearts) of JG 54, as they were known to the Wehrmacht soldiers because of their unit badge, were yet again needed to fight off a Soviet air attack within view of the German troops.
Otto Kittel was already an acknowledged “Experten,” as the Luftwaffe called its aces, with 66 confirmed victories, all with
