Geiger, August, born 06-05-1920 in Überlingen,
near Lake Constance, the son of a typographer, grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Following graduation from school, he joined the military service in 1939 and was trained to fly Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter. He became a German Luftwaffe night fighter ace and recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
during World War II. German Nightfighters A. Geiger (right) H. Luetje (left)
The Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Geiger claimed 53 aerial victories, all of the them at night. Geiger joined Hermann Goering’s (did you know) Luftwaffe in 1939 in the 8th Squadron of the the Nachtgeschwader I
, old age Night Fighters I, under command of Oberst Wolfgang Falckas
, as a leutnant. Falckas survived the war and died age 96 on 13-03-2007. World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 01-09-1939, when German forces invaded Poland. Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF)
attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, Generalmajor Josef Kammhuber
had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.Geiger is really an Ace and received the Iron Cross first class, in 1943. Promoted to Oberleutnant he becomes Hauptmann of the 7th Squadron and in the night of 29-03-1945 he shoot 5 opponents. Total skills 22 now, he is awarded with the Ritterkreuz and promoted to Hauptmann and commander of the III Group of the Squadron in Twente, Netherlands (see About).







Death and burial ground of Geiger, August.












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