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

WALTER SCHUCK Maintenancefo r Schuck’s “Yellow 9 ”. Walter Schuck searches the sky for enemy aircraft. aircraft - it was the pilot who bailed out. Starshiy Leyt­ enant Popovich’s parachute enveloped while his aircraft went deeper and deeper until it finally exploded in the tundra far below. Popovich came down on the Soviet side, near the road to Murmansk, and was sent to hos­ pital with burns. When Schuck landed, a large group of men were waiting for him. It turned out that the pilots and the mechanics had betted on his chances. The mechanics had been sure that Schuck would succeed, but the pilots had dismissed his chances. “Never in a lifetime, never,” was what they had said. While they were standing there, watching the scene high in the sky, the airfield’s commander had arrived to see what was going on. “What’s all the fuzz about?” he asked. “The reconnaissance Spitfire is in the air,” the men answered. “So? And what am I supposed to do about that?” he asked. “Schuck and Gayko are up to hunt it down!” The airfield commander watched the whole combat with his binoculars. He felt that if the Spitfire would be destroyed, the Soviets would no longer be able to detect the precious supply convoys. Afterward, the men who had stayed on the ground told Schuck that the airfield commander had been so moved when he saw the Spitfire getting shot down that he started to cry ofjoy. Schuck was celebrated as a hero. The airfield com­ mander hugged him and would never let go of him. Of course Schuck was very pleased because he had man­ aged to defeat the legendary Spitfire. But what actually made him most happy was to see the how the officers - having lost the bet - had to hand over chocolate, ciga­ rettes and alcohol to the enlisted men of the ground crew. Later, even General Kammhuber came to talk to Schuck about the Spitfire incident. “Tell me, how did you get the idea to hunt the Spit­ fire?” Kammhuber asked. “After all, it is forbidden to hunt single reconnaissance aircraft because of the fuek shortage.” “Herr General,” Schuck replied. “We only received a report about approaching enemy aircraft.” “Oh, come on, I am not a fool,” Kammhuber replied, and then he turned to his aide: “Hurry up! Bring forward the champagne!” The word that Schuck had shot down twelve Soviet aircraft in less than twenty-four hours rapidly spread far. However, the destruction of the reconnaissance Spitfire would not bring any relief to the hard-pressed German supply convoys. On the night between 19 and 20 June, another Soviet reconnaissance pilot spotted the next German convoy, consisted of five steam ships, south of Vardo. Shortly afterward, the escort ship UJ 1209 was sunk by a Soviet submarine. On 22 June, 46 ShAP’s Il-2s managed to hit another escort ship without sustaining any losses to JG 5. However, when the Soviets attacked T