Zellot was born on 6 October 1920 in
Spittal an der Drau in
Carinthia of the
Republic of Austria. In 1941, he was posted
Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53—53rd Fighter Wing) where he was assigned to 1.
Staffel (1st Squadron). On 6 June, I.
Gruppe moved to
Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield. Following a maintenance overhaul of the aircraft, I.
Gruppe moved to an airfield named Krzewicza located near
Międzyrzec Podlaski, approximately west of
Brest, from 12 to 14 June.
Operation Barbarossa and Malta On 22 June, the
Geschwader crossed into Soviet airspace in support of
Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the
Eastern Front. I.
Gruppe took off on its first mission at 3:40 am, escorting
Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers. On the second mission of the day which took off at 9:10 am, again escorting Ju 87 dive bombers, Zellot claimed his first aerial victory when he shot down a
Polikarpov I-16 fighter. Supporting the German attack, the
Gruppe moved to
Pruzhany on 25 June, to
Baranavichy on 29 June, to
Hostynne the next day, reaching
Dubno on 5 July. Here, Zellot claimed his second aerial victory on 6 July. In December 1941, I.
Gruppe was moved to Mediterranean air bases at
Gela in Sicily where they fought in the aerial battles of the
Siege of Malta.
Eastern Front In early May 1942, I.
Gruppe was transferred back to the Eastern Front. Prior to the relocation, the
Gruppe received a full complement of 41 factory new
Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 aircraft at Schwäbisch Hall before heading for
Prague Ruzyne Airfield on 28 May. The following day, I.
Gruppe flew to
Kursk. There, the
Gruppe supported the German
4th Panzer Army in its advance towards
Voronezh during
Case Blue, the 1942 strategic summer offensive in
southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942.
Squadron leader and death On 19 August 1942, Zellot was appointed
Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 2.
Staffel of JG 53, replacing
Hauptmann Klaus Quaet-Faslem who was transferred. On 23 August, German forces launched the
Battle of Stalingrad with the
16th Panzer Division, and elements of the
3rd Motorized Infantry Division and
60th Motorized Infantry Division crossing the
Don near
Vertyachy. That day, Zellot claimed four aerial victories in support of the German attack. However, earlier on the same day of his appointment on 19 August 1942, his Bf 109 G-2 (
Werknummer 14189—factory number) was shot-up by a Soviet fighter, probably the
Yakovlev Yak-1 flown by future ace Boris M. Vasilyev (929 IAP). Zellot was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () on 3 September 1942 following his 75th aerial victory. On 10 September 1942, Zellot was
killed in action while engaged in a low-level attack on Soviet troops northwest of Stalingrad, shot down by anti-aircraft fire. He bailed out at low altitude, insufficient for his parachute to open, and was killed. According to Prien, Zellot may have been shot down by
friendly fire. His Bf 109 G-2 (
Werknummer 13487) had its tail blown off and crashed east of Vertyachy. At the time oh his death, he was the most successful fighter pilot of I.
Gruppe of JG 53. Zellot was temporarily succeeded by
Oberleutnant Friedrich-Karl Müller as commander of 2.
Staffel. In parallel, Müller who was officially heading 1.
Staffel of JG 53. ==Summary of military career==