Walter "Gulle" Oesau (28 June 1913 – 11 May 1944) was a German fighter pilot during World War II. A fighter ace, he served in the Luftwaffe from 1934 until his death in 1944. He rose to command Jagdgeschwader 1, which was named in his honor after his death.
He served with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War with the Jagdgruppe 88. He claimed nine aircraft during the campaign, becoming one of only 28 people to earn the award of the Spanish Cross in Gold and Diamonds.
At the start of World War II, Oesau was given command of a fighter group within Jagdgeschwader 20. The group took part in the Invasion of Poland, later moving to the Western Front as the redesignated III Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 51. Oesau operated on both the Western and Eastern Fronts.
He returned to operations as commander of Jagdgeschwader 1. He was killed in action on 11 May 1944 aged 30. JG 1 was given the name "Oesau" in his honor.
Walter "Gulle" Oesau was born to a bank director in Farnewinkel near Meldorf, Germany on 28 June 1913. He joined the German Army (Heer) in October 1933 and served in the Second Artillery Regiment as an enlisted soldier. After being transferred to a Luftwaffe transport unit, he undertook flying training in 1934 as a cadet (Fahnenjunker) at the Luftwaffe Academy (Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule) in Hanover. Upon completion of his training he was assigned to Jagdgeschwader 132, as a Leutnant. The unit was re–designated as Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" in May 1939.
Oesau started his operational career with the Condor Legion, along with future contemporary aces such as Werner Mölders and Adolf Galland. He was one of the first to join 3. Jagdgruppe 88 in Spain in April 1938. The Staffel, commanded by Werner Mölders, took part in the Spanish Civil War where Oesau claimed nine victories, flying 130 combat missions. For this he received the Spanish Cross (Spanienkreuz) in Gold with Diamonds. He was also wounded in this conflict which earned him the Spanish Wound Badge.
He also received the Medalla de la Campaña and the Medalla Militar.
On 1 March 1939 Oesau joined the Headquarters Flight (Stabsschwarm) of I./JG 2. By 15 July 1939 Oesau was promoted to Oberleutnant and given command of 2./JG 20. On 15 July 1939, I./JG 20 was activated in Döberitz initially consisting of two Staffeln drawn from JG 2. Prior to the invasion of Poland I./JG 20 was transferred to Strausberg on 26 August 1939. From there, the group was transferred to Sprottau (modern Szprotawa) anticipating an attack from the Polish Air Force. A week later the group moved to Brandenburg. On 21 February 1940, the unit was relocated to Bönninghardt under the control of JG 51. It continued to operate in this fashion until the end of the Battle of France. On 4 July it was re–designated III./JG 51. Oesau served as Staffelkapitän of 7./JG 51.
Oesau got his first World War II victory during the Battle of France on 13 May 1940, when he claimed a French Curtiss P-36 Hawk over Halsteren in the Netherlands, earning him the Iron Cross 1st class (Eisernes Kreuz 1. Klasse). On 31 May, he claimed three Spitfires during a patrol North West of Dunkirk and next day he claimed a Bristol Blenheim. On 13 June 1940, he shot down the last French aircraft kill claimed by JG 51, a French Amiot bomber. By the end of hostilities in France on 25 June, his World War II tally stood at 5 (13 including Spanish kills).
Following the Battle of France, the Luftwaffe started its attacks on Channel convoys as a prelude to the Battle of Britain. The primary task of JG 51 during this time was to provide fighter escort to these bomber missions. The commander of JG 51, Oberst Theo Osterkamp established a policy of unrestricted combat air patrol (freie Jagd) of fighter Staffeln providing loose protection rather than close escort to the bombers, actively seeking out Royal Air Force fighters. On 7 July 1940 Oesau claimed one Spitfire.
On 10 July 1940, the first major clashes of the Battle of Britain occurred in a phase known as the Kanalkampf. 20 Bf 109s of III./JG 51 led by Hauptmann Hannes Trautloft and 30 Messerschmitt Bf 110 C of I./Zerstörergeschwader 26 escorted 20 Dornier Do 17 bombers of II./Kampfgeschwader 2 attacking a large convoy off Folkestone. Oberleutnant Oesau was leading 7./JG 51.
Trautloft noticed three of a flight of six intercepting Hurricanes of No. 32 squadron higher than the escorts, attempting to intercept the bombers. Soon they were joined by four squadrons of British fighters: No. 56 Squadron, No. 111 Squadron, No. 64 Squadron and No. 74 Squadron. Oesau was able to claim three Spitfires. Two 7./JG 51 aircraft crash landed in France. British losses show that no Spitfire was lost or destroyed in the ensuing battle. Only one No. 32 Hurricane, piloted by Pilot Officer Higgs, was destroyed in a collision with one of the Do 17s and only one other Hurricane was damaged. It is possible Oesau was responsible for damaging Higgs' Hurricane, causing him to lose control. Two Spitfires landed with light damage while a third was also slightly damaged and force-landed at RAF Manston. Over claiming of enemy losses was rife on both sides during the battle.
On 19 July, III./JG 51 were confronted by Defiants of No. 141 Squadron south of Folkestone. As the German pilots were now aware of the Defiant's lack of forward armament, they soon gained the advantage in combat and claimed 11 Defiants shot down in 8 minutes. Oesau was credited with one Defiant, taking his score to 19. He was the first one of JG 51 to reach double digits in World War II. RAF losses record six Defiants destroyed and two damaged.
On 18 August 1940, III./JG 51 escorted Dorniers attacking Hornchurch airfield. Intercepted by Hurricanes over Kent, Oesau claimed one Hurricane shot down as his 20th victory, earning him the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) two days later, the first pilot of JG 51 to be thus honored. On 24 August 1940, Trautloft took over as Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 54, and Oesau replaced him as Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG 51 while command of 7./JG 51 went to Oberleutnant Hermann Staiger. By October 1940, Oesau had a total score of 48 (including 26 Spitfires).
On 10 November 1940, Oesau succeeded Wilhelm Balthasar as Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3. In consequence, command of III. Gruppe JG 51 was handed to Hauptmann Richard Leppla. With 39 victories he was currently the 4th highest scoring fighter pilot behind Helmut Wick, Werner Mölders and Adolf Galland. On 5 February 1941, the RAF flew "Circus" No. 3 targeting the airfield at Saint-Omer. That day, Oesau shot down the Hurricane piloted by Sergeant H. D. Denchfield from No. 610 Squadron over Desvres, France. This was his 40th aerial victory. Oesau was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) next day. It also earned him a second entry in the Wehrmachtbericht. In early 1941, JG 3 returned to Germany to replace their Messerschmitt Bf 109 'Emils' with the new 'F' variant (Friedrich). However, Oesau disliked the Bf 109 F and kept flying his 'Emils' for some time. JG 3 returned to France in May 1941 and Oesau added two more kills on 16 May and 28 May bringing his total to 51.
The Gruppe relocated to an airfield at Moderówka on 18 June where the Gruppe concluded their last preparations for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital Kiev. Oesau shot down his first Soviet aircraft on 24 June, and by 30 June 1941 had reached his 60th victory, downing a Tupolev SB bomber. Next day he downed three more SB bombers near Lvov (modern Lviv, Ukraine). This earned him his 3rd entry in the Wehrmachtbericht. On 10 July 1941, Oesau claimed 5 more aircraft and two more kills by 11 July 1941. On 12 July 1941, he shot down 7 Soviet aircraft in one sortie. In the five weeks since moving to the Eastern Front, Oesau was credited with 44 Soviet aircraft downed. He became the third pilot to reach 80 victories, the 80th kill an Ilyushin DB-3 bomber. He was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub und Schwertern) on same day. He was the third person to earn the Swords. He was again then wounded, receiving heavy splinter injuries in face and knee. A fortnight later he was transferred to the Western Front to take over JG 2.