Eugen Gremelsbacher, Bildberichter Fallschirmjäger A.O.K (formerly XI. Flieger.Korps), Heinkel 'Zwilling' and Gotha Go 242 transfer flight from France to Sicily

 

To bolster their forces preparing to defend the Allied landings in Sicily, the Germans organised an ‘air bridge’ to bring in reinforcements. On 17 July 1943, 16 Gotha Go-242 gliders from Luftlandegeschwader 2 (with the heavy equipment of the 1st parachute division: 1.Fallschirm-Jäger.Division) departed the huge airfield at Istres in southern France for Italy, landing at Torre di Faro (Sicily) between 20 and 27 July 1943 after a stop in Naples. The photo-report in ECPA-D file 11FLG F 1396/7 by PK photographer Eugen Gremelsbacher depicts a Heinkel He-111 ‘Zwilling’ tug on the transfer flight between France (Istres) and Italy (Naples-Pomigliano). Each Heinkel towed two Gotha Go-242 gliders and carried the heavy equipment (eg 2cm Flak 38) of 1. Fallschirm-Jäger-Division.

Below; He 111 Z coded 'DG+DX' taxying in after landing in Naples. Note three of the five engines already shut down.

The reporter on board the Heinkel followed the progress of the mission from the empty starboard cockpit of the Zwilling and photographed the crew: bombardier, radio-navigator, pilot and co-pilot. As the transfer mission drew to a close, the aircraft flew over Vesuvius before landing on the runway at Naples-Pomigliano airfield. The port of Naples is not far from the airfield, and the reporter took a shot of the docks, cranes and a medieval tower. In the shade of the Naples airfield buildings, paratroopers from the 1 Fallschirm-Jäger-Division were photographed recovering after the trip. The glider pilots had to destroy the Gotha Go-242s in Sicily.

 

Eugen Gremelsbacher was an Uffz. and photographic reporter for the Fallschirmjäger A.O.K (formerly XI. Flieger Korps). He was born on 13 March 1911 in Elbing (Westpreußen) and died on 08 March 1944 on the Eastern Front (see report reference FALLAOK F2024 for his grave) after being wounded the previous day. He is buried in Perwomaisk cemetery, grave N°24, row 8 (source Bundesarchiv). He filed photo reports from France (Orange, Istres) and Italy (Naples, Torre di Faro in Sicily, Livourno region in Tuscany). As Gremelsbacher died over 80 years ago, his photographs are 'out of copyright' and are in the 'public domain'. See here for more on this.

RAD 'Arbeitsmann' on airfield guard duty -Instapic #18

  

RAD 'Reichsarbeitsdienst' (labour service) personnel were often employed as airfield 'guards'. Here an 'Arbeitsmann' on airfield guard duty somewhere in the West from an ECPA-D PK photo 'reportage' on the activities of the RAD. (from the DAA files). The second image shows a close-up of the 'Dienststellenabzeichen' on the left upper arm. 

SS Fallschirmjäger Btl. 500 Drvar May 1944, "Rösselsprung" - ebay photo find #380

 

 "Rösselsprung" was a failed German airborne and ground operation aimed at capturing or killing the Yugoslav Partisan leader Marshal Josip Broz ('Tito') in the Bosnian town of Drvar. Launched on 25 May 1944, the 'airborne' part of the assault was carried out by the SS-FJ battalion 500 - some 340 paratroopers were transported on board 34 DFS 230 gliders, the remainder of the battalion jumping from TG 4 Ju 52 Transporter. Meanwhile the town of Drvar was also bombed by the Luftwaffe. The gliders were towed by Hs 126 and Ju 87 tugs. A number of these images appeared in subsequent German newpaper reports - almost certainly taken by PK Berichter. In the end the operation was a failure - the area was well-defended by strong partisan forces while German intelligence regarding Tito's exact location was faulty. 

This was the image of victory that was publicized. These F-J paras show off their trophies including the flags of the Allied Mission. The rifle of the man in the middle has a grenade launcher on its muzzle.

296 Verlag set to close

 

Some sad news. According to the email that just dropped, Dr Kurt Braatz is closing his 296 Verlag at the end of the year. 296 Verlag has produced some marvellous titles over the years and some of the best Luftwaffe memoirs and biographies bar none. I'm assuming that this news means there will be no English-language translation of Jules Meimberg's book - my 'favourite' Luftwaffe memoir - or any of the other '296' memoirs and biographies in fact - Josten, Krupinski, Cescotti etc etc. Small consolation, up to year's end (20 December) all remaining stock while available is price-dropped - just 15 euros per volume (63% off listed). Wolfrum, Zorner and Drewes are now OOP.

296 catalogue overview and orders here

 

An extract from Roderich Cescotti's "Langstreckenflug" on this blog - flying the Do 217 M-11

Dewoitine D.520s and Arados in JG 105, Chartres

 

A line-up of D.520s with a single Ar 96 of JG 105 in early 1944. The story of JFS 5/JG 105 from June 1941 to June 1944 is told in Avions issue No. 253 (July/August 2023). 

The numbers of machines and pilots lost during 1944 is notable, no doubt the result of short-cuts in training programmes, the employment of non-German types, Allied bombing raids on French airfields and RAF fighter sweeps. During February 1944 there was an accident or incident every day of the month  - on 6 February a strafing attack destroyed two  D.520s and on the 9th a D.520 was shot down by 166 Sqn Typhoons**. During March 1944 Chartres was bombed on the 2nd (six D.520s damaged or destroyed), raided by RAF Typhoons of 174 Sqn on the 16th and bombed again on 27 March (five D.520s destroyed). During April 1944 there were over 60 accidents and incidents with an important bombing raid on April 10. In total, some 51 aircraft were damaged or written off during the month. The last mention of a D.520 in JG 105 was 20 April 1944 - by now spare parts were likely at a premium and none of the D.520s went back to Germany with the unit, a transfer that got underway on 7 June.

Click on the image for a wide-screen view.

A closer view of the two D.520s nearest the camera 'yellow 77' and 'yellow 76'. The spires of the cathedral in Chartres can be seen in the background.

**

"..During a 'Ranger' to the Chartres area on 9 February, Plt Off D. Erasmus of 266 Sqn claimed a Bf 109 shot down. This was in fact a Dewoitine D.520, an ex-Armée de l´Air fighter taken over by the Luftwaffe and used by JG 105, which was based at Chartres. D.520 No 483 was shot down and Uffz. Woll was killed. Four days later (on 13 February 1944) Sqn Ldr G.B. Warnes of 263 Squadron, also a Typhoon unit, claimed another Bf 109 in the same area. Again this was a D.520 of JG 105 - No 664 in which Uffz. Bartl was killed. It is interesting to note that at this time the Luftwaffe operated four such Jagdgeschwader in France, which would continue to operate until August 1944 (sic), when there was a general withdrawal back to Germany. The other units were JG 101 at Pau, JG 103 at Chateauroux and JG 107 at Nancy."

 In '2nd TAF' by Shores and Thomas

more SG Fw 190s - ebay photo find #379

on offer here

Fw 190 F-8 "White 12" / USA marking "G*K4" W.Nr 583234, 4./SG 2, Kitzingen, May. 1945...

Hans Ring, Luftwaffe victory claims

 

Hans Ring was one of the leading Luftwaffe victory claims researchers during the 60s and 70s. This image was taken from a 1961 issue of Jägerblatt, the article was entitled 'Were our victory claims too high?'  It shows Ring (standing), and from left, Hans Otto Boehm, Col. Ray Toliver and Ernst Obermaier in Munich in September 1961. Boehm was an early 'President' of the German fighter pilots association (Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger). He died in 1964. If Ring is still with us then he must almost certainly be in his 90s.

Also on this blog;

Han's Ring review of Walther Dahl's memoir 'Rammjäger', April 1962

Axis Wings Volume 2 - Chandos Publications

 

Volume 2 of 'Axis Wings' is here! Volume I received high praise and Volume 2 should be no different. The 'Luftwaffe and co-belligerent air forces compendium' once again draws on the talents of some well known names in the Luftwaffe research and writing community (eg, Beale, Arthy, Hermann, Steenbeck etc) and has been put together by the same editorial 'experts' largely responsible for the reputation that  Classic Publications enjoys. A Chandos masterstroke!

Volume 2 is another densely-packed issue consisting of 184 A-4 pages between stiff card covers and a nice thick spine. At a guess, word count must be north of 100,000 - there's an incredible amount of reading here. Production values, maps, photos, Swiatlon profile artworks, the quality goes without saying. If there is one noticeable innovation in Vol 2 then it seems that the editor has included a range of features covering more technical themes as well as the 'usual' operational and biographical articles; Dietmar Hermann on the DB 603-engined versions of the Fw 190, Martin Streetly details the history and development of the various Luftwaffe AI search radar 'families' while Gordon Slater covers the history of the Ruhrstahl X-4 air-to-air missile and Martin Frauenheim writes about the achievements of German rocket pioneer Reinhold Tiling - the images of  the Klemm monoplane with two metre long rockets slung under the wings are noteworthy! And not forgetting Huib Ottens on Siegfried Knemeyer, of the RLM's Technical Department.. 

Volume 2 also has something of an Eastern Front 'flavour'. Biographical articles cover leading Eastern Front nightfighter Gustav Francsi (rare images of NJG 100 Ju 88s, profile artwork and a full claims list) while Alexander Steenbeck has Part II of the life of Fritz Krey of SG 2. There is a lengthy piece on JG 54 pilot Hans-Helmut Habermehl - a first-to-last fighter pilot - covering pre-war training to his death in April 1945 via a forensic examination of his log-book, including the court martial!

Operational features focus on a range of subjects. One of the best is the coverage of the activities of close-range recce unit NAGr. 4 over the Eastern Front . The reader will probably find himself wondering what purpose battlefield reconnaissance served at all when three German armies were wiped out in the first ten days of Bagration, including Busch's  3rd Panzerarmee around Vitebsk. Any orders to fall back arrived far too late - reluctantly issued given Hitler's 'fester Platz' policy. Bagration - launched on 22 June 1944 - was an immense Soviet offensive, involving 1.2 million men, which resulted in the 1,000 km long front held by Heeresgruppe Mitte literally imploding. Author Arthy details the daily sorties flown by NAGr. 4 pilots deep behind the lines, where they observed ".. the heart-wrenching sight of cut-off German troops attempting to flee westwards.." On occasion they even got into dogfights with Soviet aircraft. Eighty kms south of Vitebsk at Orscha there was a crushing defeat for Kurt von Tippelkirch's 4th Armee just four days into the offensive and a similar fate awaited 9th Army even further south along the front around Mogilev/Bobruisk. On the morning of 30 June, Staka 1./NAGr. 4, Hptm. von Kamptz spotted around 5,000 men from 4. Panzerarmee trapped on the wrong side of the Beresina river (near Beresino) and organised a supply drop. Almost certainly these men - or those that survived - were among the 57,000 German POWs that Stalin had parade miserably through Moscow on 17 July. For this reader the 'Bagration' map on p137 (Nahaufklarungsgruppe 4 area of operations, June-July 1944) is superb, one of the best I've seen anywhere (credited to 'The Map Archive') In fact maps are a strong suite of this publication. There's another good one in Nick Beale's Me 262 recce ops feature, while the colour reproduction of those Me 262 images is also particularly fine. There are two 'interactive' features - the 'Photo Album' section at eight pages invites comment and additional info - photos are reproduced large in most instances across the page - while Volume 2 has a 'Reader Feedback' page and a page devoted to book reviews which is most welcome. I wonder whether the editor would consider covering some 'older' volumes?

 To conclude, a couple of points that struck this reviewer;  

1/ I'm no graphic designer but I am struggling to see the reasoning behind the contents listing on the front jacket/cover. Surely you need to save some 'surprises' for the potential purchaser or just 'hint' at what might be inside to draw in the enthusiast 'sitting on the fence' as my friend Simon put it?  But then again I imagine that 'Axis Wings' sells out quickly enough as it is, quick enough for that to not really be an issue. And as has been pointed out to me, journals such as International Air Power Review or World Air Power always had a cover contents listing - even if it was the rear cover in the case of those two journals. This makes for a very 'reader-friendly' publication - the reader can do a quick check of the contents just by pulling it from the shelf..

2/ I'm not sure that 3-4 pages (in total) of bibliographic references/footnotes are what I want to see in a journal - that 'space' could be used for another feature. Not every article has them of course so why not perhaps group together all references/acknowledgments etc on a single page right at the end of the book? 

Needless to say these are minor gripes and I'm sure the editor and manager have thought long and hard about aspects such as these when compiling their publication. I've read that the success of 'Axis Wings' very much depends on how well the journal is received, so do go and get a copy before you miss out! Judging by the inside back cover the good news is that 'Axis Wings Vol 3' is in preparation. And if you missed Volume I  - covered elsewhere on this blog - a limited reprint means that copies are available from Chandos right now. As I've said before any new publication from Chandos is an 'event' and 'Axis Wings 2' is no exception!

Chandos Publications are here

Hasso von Zieten and crew, II./NJG 101 -archive photo scan #34

 

Fw. Hasso von Zieten of II./NJG 101 (left) with his crew, BF (radio operator) Hubert Ungerbock and BM (flight mechanic) Fritz Hohensee in front of their Me 110 G nightfighter during conversion training in October 1944.

From Graz, Austria, Von Zieten was a Ju 52 transport pilot before being posted to 5./NJG 101 during April 1944 in Parndorf. From here Nachteinsätze were flown in the Bf 110 G and then the Ju 88 G even during their conversion training which lasted until the end of the year. Shortly before Christmas 1944 Von Zieten and crew were sent to Griesheim (Darmstadt) to fly a sortie during the Bodenplatte operation - possibly a night ground attack sortie on New Years Eve or as 'Lotse' (guide) for the fighter pilots on the morning of 1.1. 45 itself. At least two II./NJG 101 crews were shot down over Belgium. The fledgling nightfighters then returned to Parndorf before being posted to Unterschlauersbach (Nuremberg). From here II./NJG 101 - including the aces Herbert Ludwig, Hans Rasper, etc - continued to fly operational sorties until the end. Most of these were flown as Nachtschlachter against American road columns pressing into southern Germany. 

Hasso & Fritz survived the war. Hasso emigrated to Canada in 1952 and met Fritz again at the 40th Battle of Britain anniversary air show in Toronto, 1980. Von Zieten died in December 1986 aged 71. 

Gustav 'gunboats' - archive photo scan #33

 

..this Gustav has apparently just been ferried in to JG 301, location unknown - other views in the series show a background of pine trees and note the Fw 190 nose left. Note 'TS +..' Stkz and the mid-fuselage (yellow) band (recalling the 'infamous' 'TS+MB' machines). The 'tall tail' with typical late-war finish, looks to be a replacement item. 

The inscription adjacent to the fuel filler triangle reads " W=12 ", also repeated on the front face of the prop blades.. click on the image to view large.

and from Dr. Jochen Prien;

" ..This is Bf 109 G-6, WerkNr. 163 048, which was issued to 7./JG 301 at Gross Sachsenheim in April 1944, becoming „white 7“. Its further career at III./JG 301 is not known (to me), before it was assigned to I./JG 104, where it was badly damaged ( 65 % ) in a crash landing owing to engine failure on 13 August 1944, the pilot getting away unscathed. The marking at this time was still „white 7“. It was probably not repaired owing to the extent of the damage. There is a very similar Bf 109 G-6 – „black 6“ of 8./JG 301 published in JFV 13/I p 492.. "

I./JG 27 gunboats at  Fels am Wagram defending the southern borders

Fw 190 in JG 26 - archive photo scan #32

 

An early JG 26 Fw 190 - an enlargement from a Nicolas Grebert image previously published in the author's " La Jagdgeschwader 26 - Histoire de quelques aérodromes de la Luftwaffe dans le nord de la France.." Note the aircraft shelter in the background. If this is Wissant/Audembert, about 23 km south of Calais, then the remnants of these are still visible from the road that runs alongside the field. 

Click on the image to view large..

A modellers guide to the Ju 88 G-6 - John McIllmurray with David E. Brown

 

I just learnt that John McIllmurray's new e-book on the Ju 88 G-6 is available to purchase and download from KLP Publishing. So that's exactly what I've just done...While I'm not really a big fan of e-books I did purchase KLP's ebook on building the Revell 32nd scale  Me 262 night fighter, which was very well done, and I knew that John and David's publication on the Ju 88 G-6 would be a 'must-buy'!  Small disclaimer here - the Luftwaffe blog provided a big chunk of text for the 'Nachtschlachter' chapter of John and David's ebook.  After all, what 'traditional' publisher in their right mind would produce a 1,031 page volume on a single Luftwaffe night fighter aircraft type in colour?  (not to mention an additional 135 pages of losses, victory claims, plans and artworks in separate files..) And while I probably won't be building a 32nd scale G-6 anytime soon (..although I might feel inspired to try..), I will be studying the 'Crow Collection' Ju 88 G-6 photo archive and the loss and claims lists. And unlike some Ju 88 specialists, John is a draughtsman so his plans and artworks are likely to be spot on. Well done John and David ! And kudos to Del and Paul for making available what must be virtually the entirety of their extensive Ju 88 G-6 photo collections which are mostly scanned in very large, reproduced over the full (screen) page and 'zoomable'. And to Kevin for creating such a professional product, great to look at, easy to purchase and download, just click on the image to go straight to the KLP order page

Price by the way is AUD..not USD...

 

Also on this blog

Zerstörer- und Nachtjagdverbände book series by Paul Stipdonk & Michael Meyer

Building the Zvezda Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd with AIMS resin 

Hasegawa Junkers Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd

Theo Boiten - Nachtjagd combat archive - Biographies

 

Theo Boiten's comprehensive operational history of the German night fighter force is now concluded with a final volume of 'Biographies'. Rather than 'review' this last indispensable tome in the series - this blogger contributed extensively to the original 'Nachtjagd War Diaries' (Red Kite, 2008) - I've reposted an appreciation of Theo's work published by Andy Saunders in his 'Iron Cross' journal, because (1) I can only agree with every word Andy has written and (2) I really couldn't have put it any better myself, especially that last sentence!

Ju 88 G-series nightfighters - Dragon Ju 88 G-6 in 48th by VolkerR

 

The G-series were the first Ju 88 variants not based on the Ju 88 bomber ‘A’ fuselage. Re-designed and streamlined, the Ju 88 G-series had a new 'nose' and omitted the A-series' Bola ventral defensive gun position and featured a single ‘fish-eye’ armoured defensive weapon mount in the rear cockpit. It was fitted with the enlarged squared-off vertical fin/rudder tail unit/rear fuselage of the Ju 188 (making it slightly longer than the C-series) - this was an attempt to compensate for the increased torque of the BMW 801 D-2 radials which "due to manufacturing difficulties" (Becker, p75) did not rotate in opposing directions. The wing had the extended tips with enlarged ailerons and the tailplanes also had extended tips.  As with the C-series there was no 'standard' armament fit, although the 'G' usually toted a quartet of cannon in a ventral weapons tray.  See John McIllmurray's new 'Modellers guide to the Ju 88 G-6' for discussion and drawings on the location and variations  in the G-6 of the 'Schräge Musik'. The G-6 used the Jumo 213 in-line engine with the characteristic raised supercharger intakes.

Above; Ju 88 G-1 with ventral Waffenbehälter (‘weapons gondola’) toting MG 151/20 cannon. Probably an NJG 2 machine, autumn 1944. Below; another NJG 2 Gustav, note Totenkopf death's head painted on the ventral gondola and open cockpit access hatch. Pilot is Lt. Johannes Strassner..

Below; one of the most modern nightfighters in the Luftwaffe's fleet was this G-6 'C9+AR' (WNr. 623211) used by 21-victory NJG 5 ace Hptm Werner Hopf to desert to Switzerland on the night of 30 April 1945 in a flight from Lübeck-Blankensee to Dübendorf. Note nose-mounted FuG 218 VR  Neptun AI radar and associated tail-warning antenna on the enlarged 'Ju 188' vertical fin..

Above;  the dark camo finish and bomb racks indicate the nature of  Hopf's last sorties around Berlin - night ground attack sorties against Soviet troops. Also on board Hopf's aircraft were two fellow officers, two women and a child. Hopf was a former Staffelkapitän of 8./NJG 5 and had been awarded the DKiG..



Ju 88 G-6 coded 'B4+SA', W.Nr. 623363 of 4./NJG 3 (formerly Nachtjagdstaffel Norwegen) which landed at Bredakra, Sweden on May 8, 1945. The aircraft had been ordered to fly to Kurland from Trondheim and assist in the evacuation of encircled German forces but landed in Sweden. Crew was Hptm. Werner Hüschens and Ofw. Sebastian Falk.  Dragon 48th build of 'B4+SA' by VolkerR. Read his report below.

by VolkerR

" ...This Ju88 G-6 is equipped with FuG 218 which looks quite different from the usual FuG 220. It was quite difficult to scratchbuild the radar antenna. The basic "cross" is from the old Revell Me262 Nightfighter kit. Unfortunately the dipoles could not be used because they are at a different angle. So I tried to scratchbuild the dipoles from metal rod but failed miserably. Then I ordered the Master FuG218 which is perfect, but does not contain the basic "cross". So I drilled tiny holes in the Revell part and it turned out ok. Decals are from the AIMS Ju88 Nightfighter sheet. 'B4+SA' was not equipped with rear warning radar, so I had to extend the rudder (like it was used on the Ju188) with plastic and putty. 'B4+SA' was stationed in Norway and on May 8, 1945 it was ordered to help in the evacuation of German troops from the Kurland pocket. On the flight from Norway the aircraft encountered engine problems and diverted to Sweden (or the crew considered that a better idea). Note the cockpit framing was not RLM 66, but 76. You can also see the type of green overspray over the 76/75 factory paint and the black underside of the starboard wing..."

Also on this blog;

Kärcher de-icing equipment in the Ju 88 G-1  

Uffz. Heinz Vinke 5./NJG 2 - first 'kill'

 

A night fighter and his prey. Uffz Heinz Vinke (left) of 5./NJG 2 with his radio operator Uffz Karl Schödel sits proudly on a wing of Whitley Z9280 of 77 Squadron. They shot the aircraft down at 22:58 on 27 February 1942, just north of Driesum (north-east of Leeuwarden). Pilot S/Ldr Leslie H.W. Parkin, co-pilot Sgt Douglas J. Sandin, radio operator st Sgt Wilfred Whittam and tail gunner Sgt Edmund S. Ayton were killed in the crash. Navigator Sgt R.C.S. Hancock managed to save himself with his parachute and ended up in captivity. It was Vinke's first victory. When, on 26 February 1944, during a search for a missing German aircraft off  Dunkirk, Vinke was shot down by two 198 Sqn Typhoons and killed, he had scored a total of 52 night victories. Schödel had already been killed on the night of 17-18 August 1943, when Vinke's Bf 110 was shot down by a Serrate-equipped Beaufighter during an RAF attack on the V-weapons site at Peenemünde. Vinke spent twenty hours adrift in his dinghy. He was the only survivor from his crew.

Aces and pilots of JG 51, part 18 - correspondence from Günther Schack (1)

 

Günther Schack (12 November 1917 – 14 June 2003) is usually credited with 174 victories in 780 combat missions, all claimed in the East.

Born in Bartenstein in Eastern Prussia, Schack joined the Luftwaffe in 1939. He had previously applied to join the Luftwaffe in 1937 but was declared 'unfit' following an earlier sports injury that had left one leg 3 cm shorter than the other. He reapplied on the invasion of Poland as " I did not feel that I was a cripple.." This time he was accepted and following flight training, he was posted to 7./JG 51 in March 1941, based in St. Omer (northern France) flying the Bf 109 F. 

"..  my training lasted until February 1941. When I arrived at Jagdgeschwader Mölders on the Kanalfront I had never taken off from a concrete runway and only ever got airborne directly into the wind. With just a little side (cross) wind I veered sharply off the runway to the left. As I cut the throttle, the port gear left broke off and I spun around onto the port wing  ..my first ground-loop..('Ringelpietz'). I was a 'young  buck' and Gefreiter and this happened twice. My career as a fighter pilot was almost over before it had begun. Instead of 'washing me out' they sent me back home  -  'um starten zu lernen..' - to learn how to take off... of course 'das Ausbrechen' was not just down to 'cross winds' but the prop torque which we had not been told how to manage with the rudder.  ..[..] As a 'Bruchpilot'  I was tasked with lots of ferry flights and only occasionally flew sorties during the period when it was relatively easy to rack up victories. Then I flew around 200 sorties as a Rottenflieger and had very little chance to shoot down enemy aircraft..."

Schack claimed his first victory the day after the launch of Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. On 23 July 1941 his Gruppe was at Orsha, approximately 100 kilometres southwest of Smolensk, and flew combat air patrols along the Dnieper in the area between Mogilev and Zhlobin. That day he shot down a Tupolev SB bomber northeast of Babruysk and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) on 10 August 1941.

In October 1941, German forces launched the strategic offensive named Operation Typhoon which resulted in the Battle of Moscow. Schack claimed his second victory during this offensive when he shot down a Petlyakov Pe-2 bomber northeast of Yukhnov. On 23 October, he bailed out of his burning Bf 109 F-2 (WNr. 9189) following aerial combat in the vicinity of Kaluga. He achieved his third victory after 100 combat missions, on 10 November 1941. On 30 July 1942, he flew his 250th combat mission. That day, he also damaged Bf 109 F-2 (WNr. 8117) in a ground collision during a 'sharp start' (emergency takeoff) at Dugino in the Novoduginsky District. In October, III Gruppe predominantly flew combat air patrols in the vicinity of Rzhev where the German 9th Army was deployed.Schack claimed his 18th aerial victory on 15 October, an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft shot down west of Bely.

" ..I preferred to go after the bombers since they were 'easier' to shoot down than fighters which rarely flew straight and level - and I wasn't a particularly good shot. This was the 'problem' I had with the Me 109  -  the onboard armament was mounted centrally along the flight axis so to hit anything you had to be a decent shot.  '...Ich war mit der 109 kein besonders guter Schutze..' Things changed decisively for me with the arrival of the Fw 190 at the front - you didn't necessarily have to have the enemy in the gun sight to hit them..."

During November 1942, III. Gruppe converted to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 at Jesau, present-day Juschny, located southeast of Königsberg. Because Luftwaffe units were already stretched in the combat area of Army Group Center, fighting in the Battles of Rzhev, conversion was done in rotation, one Staffel at a time. The first units converted were the Gruppenstab (headquarters unit) and 7. Staffel while 8. and 9. Staffel were still engaged over the left flank of Army Group Center. In total, III. Gruppe received a complement of 41 Fw 190 A-2s and Fw 190 A-3s. On 16 December, the first elements of 7. Staffel arrived at Dugino. The next day, on his first mission on the Fw 190, Schack shot down five Soviet Pe-2 bombers in the vicinity of Sychyovka. Six weeks later, on 29 January 1943, Schack almost repeated this on a Junkers Ju 87 escort mission, when his Schwarm encountered eight Soviet Pe-2  crossing the German lines at Novosil. Within five minutes all eight were shot down including four by Schack.

" .. I'm not really what you would consider a typical Me 109 pilot as I scored most of my victories flying the Fw 190. I flew over 700 combat sorties, some 600 of these in the Me 109, so my 'kill' ratio in the Fw 190 was much better, 90 kills in around 100 sorties.. by the time the Fw 190 arrived in the East I  had acquired a lot of experience, I knew the trade craft of war better...on two occasions I downed four bombers in one sortie with the Fw 190..."

He claimed his 100th  in September 1943 and was awarded theRK on 29 October 1943. Schack was appointed Staffelkapitän of 9. Staffel and received the EL on 20 April 1944 following 133 aerial victories. In December 1944, he was appointed GKr. I./JG 51.

(to be continued..)

Also on this blog;

Aces and pilots of JG 51

JG 53 Friedrich, JG 26 Fw 190 -archive photo scan #31

 

'white 8' of II./JG 53 with yellow cowl and spinner somewhere in Holland prior to Barbarossa. Note rough over-painting of the yellow areas. A single click on the images for a wide view.

Fw 190 A-5 of the Stab./JG 26 being prepared for a sortie in its 'shelter'. Electric starter cart plugged in.