World War II
Georg-Peter Eder joined the Luftwaffe as Fahnenjunker at the age of 17 in 1938. In the beginning of April 1939 Eder enrolled in the aviation academy at Berlin-Gatow. His first combat appointment was to 1 Staffel, Jagdgeschwader 51 (JG 51) on 1 September 1940. He flew all through the Battle of Britain but did not claim any victories.
In May 1941 he joined 4./JG 51 and claimed his first aircraft, a Spitfire, on 7 May. Eder then flew with JG 51 in the opening months of the campaign on the Eastern Front, destroying two Russian aircraft on 22 June. However, on 24 July he was shot down and slightly wounded. On 22 August, after 10 victories, Eder fighter collided with a Junkers Ju 52 on the ground at Ponjatowska, suffering a skull fracture.
After recovery, Eder served as a flight instructor with Jagdfliegerschule 2 at Zerbst from November 1941 to November 1942.
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