Hptm. Josef 'Jupp' Pützkuhl, Eastern Front nightfighter ace - new Nachtjagd/Luftwaffe aces books from Casemate,

 

Brief extract from a Jägerblatt article detailing the career of Hptm. Josef' Jupp' Pützkuhl, an Eastern Front nightfighter ace with NJG 100. 

The text describes how a 'wilde Sau' Bf 109 - running out of fuel - landed on top of his Ju 88 at the runway threshold in the darkness as he was waiting to get airborne (lighting extinguished due to prowling Mosquitos). Although apparently uninjured, he was trapped for an hour in his wrecked Ju 88 along with his BF Hänschen Klug  before being extricated. Post-war he served for several years in the Bundeswehr before becoming a film/TV actor! 

 According to Kracker he had one victory in the West, a Lancaster on 14 April, 1943. His first known Soviet victory was an R-5 on the night of 16-17 July, 1943.He claimed a PS-84 on the night of 19-20 July, 1943. The majority of his victories though were claimed during a brief period in June-July 1944, his Staffel detached to operate independently around Pinsk, as detailed in my 'Nachtjagd Ost' article  published in "Luftwaffe fighters -combat on all Fronts 2" (Mortons, 2023). His exploits included six Il-4s near Pinsk on the night of 5-6 July, 1944. An extract from August Fischer's book 'Bis der Wind umsprang';

“..the front moved nearer and nearer.. The advancing Russians were pushing our Würzburg radar trains back to areas from where they had set out when first deployed. Just five days ago, Oblt. Josef Pützkuhl (3./ NJG 100) had flown in from Pinsk..[..]…in only a few nights operations he had downed some twenty enemy aircraft - in one night, six Russian machines had fallen to bursts from his slanting armament (July 5/6, 1944); only Wittgenstein had accomplished a similar feat on the Eastern Front prior to this…”

The last 'kill' in his logbook was an Il-4 10 km E of Warka on the night of 25-26 July, 1944...

New Nachtjagd aces books from Casemate,  Volume I (40-43)  is available now, Vol II (43-45) is due at the end of the month...