II./186 (T) initially consisted of two squadrons, 4./186 (T) equipped with the Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber,[Note 1] and 6./186 (T).

[4] World War II in Europe began on Friday, 1 September 1939, when German forces invaded Poland.

[5] In the early morning hours of 1 September, 5./186 (T) flew its first combat missions, providing fighter protection for 4./186 (T) attacking the naval base of the Polish Navy at Hel and for the old German battleship Schleswig-Holstein bombarding the Polish military transit depot at Westerplatte in the Free City of Danzig on the Baltic Sea.

[6] The next, II./186 (T) flew further bomber escort missions and was withdrawn from this theater on 6 September, relocating to Hage, East Frisia.

[7] On 10 May 1940, the opening day of the Battle of France, Kaiser claimed two Dutch Fokker D.XXI fighters shot down.

[9] Following the decision by Adolf Hitler to halt work on the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin,[10] II./186 (T) was redesignated and became the III.

Gruppe was withdrawn from this theater of operations and relocated to Döberitz where it was tasked with fighter protection of Berlin.

[13] In November, JG 77 was ordered to the English Channel to continue fighting the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the aftermath of the Battle of Britain.

Gruppe was moved to Bucharest and was located in the sector of Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South).

[20] That evening, the pilots and ground crews were briefed of the upcoming invasion of the Soviet Union, which opened the Eastern Front.

[21] In November 1941, Oberst Werner Mölders, the General der Jagdflieger, personally directed fighter and dive bomber operations on the Crimea.

[22] Kaiser later recalled: "He positioned himself off to one side of-and some distance away from-the last Il-2 in a formation of six.

While attacking a second P-40, his Bf 109 G-2 (Werknummer 10640—factory number) was hit in the engine and oil cooler, resulting in a forced landing near Mersa Matruh, in a location approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) south of the Via Balbia.

The authors Shores, Massimello and Guest speculate if the claim relates to the previous day combat.

[33] In late January, Kaiser was transferred to Ergänzungsgruppe Süd (Supplementary Fighter Group South) as an instructor.

The Luftwaffe doctor had grounded him as unfit for combat operations and had him flown on a Heinkel He 111 to the airbase Bordeaux-Mérignac at the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux in France where Ergänzungsgruppe Süd was based.

[37] On 22 November, Kaiser who was then flying with the Gruppenstab of I. Gruppe, claimed a Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down near Subiaco.

[39] According to the authors Prien and Rodeike, this transfer was considered a disciplinary action, a measure for redemption in combat.

The authors state, that particularly Oberstleutnant Johannes Steinhoff, the commander of JG 77 at the time, had a number of pilots transferred for redemption in defense of the Reich combat, this measure included pilots Kaiser, Major Heinrich Bär, Hauptmann Lutz-Wilhelm Burckhardt, Leutnant Reinert, and Oberfeldwebel Alexander Preinfalk.

[40] On 11 April, the USAAF Eighth Air Force sent 917 heavy bombers against the German aircraft industry in Oschersleben, Bernburg, Halberstadt, Sorau, present-day Żary, Poland, Cottbus and Arnimswalde, present-day Załom, Poland.

[41] On 22 April, the USAAF Eighth Air Force sent 803 heavy bombers against German ground transportation, primarily targeting the marshaling yard in Hamm.

[42] On 6 August 1944, Kaiser was severely wounded during aerial combat with Spitfire fighters north of Paris.

[43] During the escape from his burning aircraft, he collided with the ruder, breaking his right thigh in multiple places.

[44] Following World War II, Kaiser reentered military service in the Bundeswehr as an Oberstleutnant in the West German Air Force, at the time referred to as the Bundesluftwaffe.

[48] Spick also lists him with 68 aerial victories, 42 of which on the Eastern Front, claimed in approximately 1,000 combat missions.