ebener began a military career, joining the "luftwaffe" on 17 november 1939. he was posted to "4/ jg 3" based on the eastern front. on 23 may he scored his first two victories when he shot down two russian polikarpov i-16 fighters. ebener reached his 10th victory on 30 july and his 20th on 17 december. from december until january 1943 he operated from within the stalingrad pocket. during four weeks he shot down 30 enemy aircraft. on 1 march 1943, he was transferred to "ergänzungs-jagdgruppe ost" to undertake a period of instructing.