World War II in Europe had begun on Friday, 1 September 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.[5] By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) 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.[6]
On 29/30 July, RAF Bomber Command targeted Hamburg.[13] The RAF lost 30 aircraft in the attack, including the Wellington bomber Z1570 from the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) No. 75 Squadron shot down by Geiger near Neuenhaus. The following night, Bomber Command sent 291 bombers to Saarbrücken. In defense of this attack, Geiger shot down the Whitley bomber Z9230 from No. 138 Squadron west-northwest of Rijssen.[14] He received the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 19 October 1942.[4]
Squadron leader
Geiger was appointed Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of the 7. Staffel of NJG 1 on 5 January 1943.[7] Geiger claimed his first aerial victory with 7. Staffel on 1 March 1943. At 23:52, he claimed a Halifax bomber 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) northwest of Zutphen.[15] That night, the RAF Bomber Command attacked Berlin with 302 aircraft. Geiger's victim may have been Halifax W7877 from No. 35 Squadron.[16] This Halifax, with an almost intact H2Sground scanning radar system, allowed the Germans to analyze the radar. This led to the development of the FuG 350 (FuG—Funkgerät) Naxos radar detector, which allowed the night fighters to home on to the H2S emitting signals.[17]
On the night of 29/30 March 1943, Geiger became an "ace-in-a-day", in this instance an "ace-in-a-night", taking his total to 20 aerial victories. That night, he claimed one Halifax, two Wellington and three Avro Lancaster bombers.[18] On his first mission of the night at 22:52, he shot down Wellington bomber HE182 from the 431 (Iroquois) Squadron near Ahaus. He then claimed Wellington bomber HE385 from No. 196 Squadron at 23:15 near Barchem. On his second mission, Geiger claimed Halifax bomber BE244 from No. 51 Squadron returning from Berlin and was intercepted near Vorden. He then shot down Lancaster bomber ED596 from No. 106 Squadron which came down near Delden at 04:27. His last aerial victory of the night was over Lancaster bomber W4327 from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) No. 460 Squadron which came down near Kloosterhaar in Twenterand.[19][Note 4]
Geiger was promoted to Oberleutnant (first lieutenant) on 1 April.[4] On 1 May, Geiger downed Halifax DT471 of 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron flown by H P Atkinson. Atkinson, and one other crewmember died.[21] The RAF bombed Duisburg on the night of 12/13 May, losing 34 of the 572 bombers making the attack.[22] Defending against this attack, Geiger claimed three aerial victories.[23] He shot down a Halifax bomber from No. 35 Squadron and another one from No. 77 Squadron, plus the Wellington bomber HE321 from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) 428 Ghost Squadron.[24] Geiger was awarded with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) on 22 May 1943, the nomination had been submitted for 26 aerial victories claimed earlier. The presentation was made by Generalmajor Kammhuber.[25]
On the night of 23/24 May, Geiger shot down two Lancaster bombers.[26] One of which was Lancaster bomber W4984 from the RAAF No. 460 Squadron shot down near Emmen. Bomber Command had sent 829 bombers to Dortmund of which 38 did not return.[27] On the night of 12/13 June, Bochum was attacked by Bomber Command and 24 of 503 bombers were shot down. Geiger was credited with destroying Lancaster ED584 from No. 49 Squadron near Raalte.[28] On 1 July, he was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and received the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 31 August 1943.[29] That night Geiger claimed his 44th victory over Stirling EH961 from No. 196 Squadron. Sergeant J. Griffiths and two other members of the seven man crew were killed. Crew member and gunner Sergeant C P Pierce was among the youngest fatalities in the RCAF in 1943, aged 18.[30]
According to Spick, Geiger was credited with 53 nocturnal aerial victories claimed in an unknown number of combat missions.[35] Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 51 nocturnal victory claims.[36] Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Geiger with 48 claims, plus two further unconfirmed claims.[37]
Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ♠ (Ace of spades) indicates those aerial victories which made Geiger an "ace-in-a-day", a term which designates a fighter pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day or night.
This and the ! (exclamation mark) indicates aerial victories listed in Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 but not in Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.
This and the ? (question mark) indicates information discrepancies listed in Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945 and in Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims.
^According to Obermaier he was credited with 54 aerial victories.[2]
^Flight training in the Luftwaffe progressed through the levels A1, A2 and B1, B2, referred to as A/B flight training. A training included theoretical and practical training in aerobatics, navigation, long-distance flights and dead-stick landings. The B courses included high-altitude flights, instrument flights, night landings and training to handle the aircraft in difficult situations. For pilots destined to fly multi-engine aircraft, the training was completed with the Luftwaffe Advanced Pilot's Certificate (Erweiterter Luftwaffen-Flugzeugführerschein), also known as the C-Certificate.
^According to Chorley, one of his victims may have been Lancaster ED391 of No. 460 Squadron RAAF. Flight Sergeant David Harold Victor Harlick and his crew died.[20]
^According to Mathews and Foreman, this claim was with 9. Staffel.[38]
^ abAccording to Mathews and Foreman, this claim was unconfirmed.[38]
Chorley, W. R (1996). Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War: Aircraft and crew losses: 1943. Midland Counties Publications. ISBN978-0-9045-9791-2.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer[in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
Foreman, John; Parry, Simon; Mathews, Johannes (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN978-0-9538061-4-0.
Listemann, Phil H. (2015). The Handley Page Halifax Mk. I. Philadelphia: Casemate Publishers and Book Distributors. ISBN978-2918590-48-4.
Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 2 G–L. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN978-1-906592-19-6.
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN978-3-87341-065-7.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN978-3-931533-45-8.
Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN978-3-931533-08-3.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
Stockert, Peter (2007). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 5 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 5] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. OCLC76072662.