Operation Citadel

In early July, I. Gruppe of JG 54 was ordered to move to Oryol, in the southern sector of Army Group Centre, where it fought in Operation Citadel which initiated the Battle of Kursk. Subordinated to Luftflotte 6 (Air Fleet 6), the Gruppe began relocating on 2 July and arrived at the airfield name Panikowo, a makeshift airfield created for the attack on the Kursk salient, on 4 July.^[9] The next day, the Wehrmacht launched Operation Citadel and I. Gruppe supported the attack of the 9th Army on the northern sector of the salient, escorting bombers of Kampfgeschwader 4, 51 and KG 53 (KG 4, KG 51—4th, 51st Bomber Wing), as well as Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers of Sturzkampfgeschwader 1 (StG 1—1st Dive Bomber Wing) to their target areas. That day, I. Gruppe claimed 59 aerial victories, including a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk fighter by Döbele in the vicinity of Maloarkhangelsk.^[10] On 6 July, I. Gruppe targeted the airspace near Ponyri and during multiple combat missions claimed 29 aerial victories which included two Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 and three Lavochkin La-5 fighters shot down by Döbelle, making him an ace-in-a-day.^[11] The following morning, Döbele claimed a Yakovlev Yak-7 fighter shot down.^[12]

Battle at Kharkiv, Smolensk and Nevel

On 9 August, I. Gruppe was ordered 400 kilometers (250 miles) south to Poltava Airfield where they were placed under the control of Luftflotte 4 (Air Fleet 4). The reason for this was a response to the successful Soviet Belgorod–Kharkiv offensive operation following the Battle of Kursk.^[13] On 11 August, Nowotny was temporarily appointed commander of I. Gruppe, a position he held until 15 September when he was officially assigned as Gruppenkommandeur.^[14] The next day, the Gruppe flew multiple combat air patrols and fighter escort for Ju 87 dive bombers in the area west of Kharkiv. That day, Döbele shot down a La-5 and a Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter.^[15] On 31 August, Döbele was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) and the Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe (Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe) on 13 September.^[8]

On 11 September, Döbele was nominated for the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). Five days later, Nowotny submitted a report, requesting that Döbele be promoted to Leutnant (second lieutenant) for bravery before the enemy. At the time, Döbele had flown 418 combat missions and had been credited with 80 aerial victories to date.^[16] On 22 September, the Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 54, Major Hubertus von Bonin, seconded the request, arguing that Döbele was an exceptional fighter pilot and leader.^[17]

On 23 October, during the Battle of Nevel, I. Gruppe moved to an airfield at Vitebsk where they supported Army Group Centre.^[18] Flying Focke-Wulf Fw 190 A-4 (Werknummer 7082—factory number) on 11 November 1943 at 10:42, Döbele was killed in a mid-air collision with an Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft east of Vitebsk.^{[19][20][Note 2]} At his funeral, the guard of honour was made up of Rademacher, Schnörrer, Fritz Tegtmeier, and Otto Kittel, with Nowotny and von Bonin giving an eulogy.^[23][24] Posthumously, Döbele was promoted to Leutnant and awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944.^[25][26] He is interred at the German War Cemetery at Vilnius-Vingio.^[27]

Aerial victory claims

According to Spick, Döbele was credited with 94 aerial victories claimed in over 458 combat missions.^[28] Mathews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 93 aerial victory claims, all of which claimed on the Eastern Front.^[29]

Victory claims were logged to a map-reference (PQ = Planquadrat), for example "PQ 25 Ost 1956". The Luftwaffe grid map (Jägermeldenetz) 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 360 square miles (930 km²). These sectors were then subdivided into 36 smaller units to give a location area 3 km × 4 km (1.9 mi × 2.5 mi) in size.^[30]

Awards

• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class (March 1942)^[8]
  • 1st Class (3 February 1943)^[56]
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 13 September 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot^[57]
• German Cross in Gold on 31 August 1943 as Oberfeldwebel in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54^[58]
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 26 March 1944 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54^{[59][Note 9]}