Rybin, Y. Luftwaffe ace Walter Schuck researched / Christer Bergstrom, Yuriy Rybin. - Sweden : [s. l.], 2019. - 190 p. : ill.

WALTER SCHUCK Airacobra pilots o f 255 IAP/VVS SF discuss an air combat with Me 109s o fIII./JG 5, Vayenga-1 in May 1944. on the ships fired straight into the mass of aircraft. Involving almost a hundred planes, the combat raged for fifteen very intense minutes. When it was over, III./ JG 5 had recorded another great “shooting party”. With­ out sustaining any own losses, the Germans claimed to have shot down ten “Bostons” (misidentifications for Il-4s, since 9 GMTAP had lost its last remaining A-20s the previous day), ten P-40s, nine Il-2s and eight Airacobras. Schuck’s contribution to this total was one 11-2 and three Kittyhawks. Whereas 46 ShAP recorded a loss of four of its twelve Il-2s in this combat, dupli­ cate claims on the German side brought the number of claimed Il-2s to nine. The three Kittyhawks which were credited to Schuck in this combat appear to have made it back to base, since the only Kittyhawk lost in this engagement was the plane piloted by Mladshiy Leyt­ enant Andrey Kovalenko. It was reported shot down by Unteroffizier Artner. When Ehrler and Artner took off later that day to find the wreck, they located it some seven miles southwest of Hamningsberg. In fact, the wreck still lies there. O f the claims for eight shot down Airacobras - including two each by Major Ehrler, Ober­ leutnant Franz Dorr, and Feldwebel Neumann - three can be found in 255 IAP’s loss list. By scoring five vic­ tories in the air battle on 26 May 1944, Major Ehrler brought his total tally to 155. In air battles of such magnitude, overclaiming is almost inevitable. The Soviets claimed to have shot down ten Me 109s during the convoy battles on 25-26 May 1944, but actual German fighter losses were nil. At Petsamo, the men of JG 5 felt the effects of the Soviet air attacks against their supply convoys. The sweet days of fairly luxury rations were gone, and the pilots swore to fight even harder to protect their badly needed supply transports. The next German supply convoy was despatched three weeks later. In the night of 14/15 June, the ships left the port of Kirkenes and set out for Liinahamari on the Petsamojoki’s outlet. The first Soviet attack against the ships was made by eight Kittyhawk fight­ er-bombers o f 78 IAP/VVS SF, escorted by a similar number of Airacobras from 2 GIAP/VVS SF. The convoy was covered by a thick smoke screen, and the Soviet aircraft became involved in a bitter air com­ bat where Schuck claimed two Kittyhawks. All ships reached Liinahamari safely, but in the evening, 46 ShAP sent twelve Il-2s - covered by twenty-seven Yak- 7Bs, Airacobras and Kittyhawks - to attack the port. While Oberleutnant Dorr brought a group o f Me 109s to engage the Shturmoviks, Schuck’s Staffel held 78 IAP’s Kittyhawks occupied. At 1911 hours, Schuck claimed one o f them shot down - recorded as his 98th victory. At 1913 hours followed the next, No. 99. One minute later, and Walter Schuck’s 100th victory was a fact. Then at 1915 a fourth Kittyhawk ended up as Schuck’s 101st victory.