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

WALTER SCHUCK during their combat missions. Schuck’s collection of bottles probably was the largest individual collection in the whole unit, partly because his great successes in air combat in recent time, and partly because he was no big drinker. “I think I would prefer to sleep,” Schuck tried with a weak voice. “Okay, go ahead,” Norz said with a broad smile, and handed Schuck one of the three glasses which he had filled with brandy. “Prost, Kamerad,” Oberleutnant Gloeckner said and emptied his glass. Early next morning, Schuck had a quite brutal awak­ ening. The whole unit was scrambled! With a haze cov­ ering his eyes, his whole body in pain and his stomach in rebellion, Schuck tumbled outside. It felt like he received a blow when the bright sunshine hit his tired and red eyes. Somehow, Schuck managed to get into the cockpit of his Me 109. Close by, Gloeckner, still in his pyjamas, climbed onto the wing of his Me 109. If his mind had been clearer, Schuck would have realized from the beginning that he was totally unfit for flying. But now it was only after he had taken off that his stomach convinced him that flying a combat mission perhaps was not such a bright idea. How he managed to land, he could not understand. In any case, Schuck man­ aged to spend the rest of the day in bed. An unforgettable photograph of Rudi Gloeckner, dressed in his pyjamas and a leather jacket, climbing out of his Me 109 after the flight, bears witness of this incident. The men of the 10th Staffel were quite happy to have an easy going “chap” like Schuck as their Staffelkapitan. He allowed them to call him “Du” and Walter instead of the more formal “Sie”. Under Schuck’s influence, they heard Jazz music from BBC London and Stockholm Motala day and night. The German “Soldatensender”, soldiers’ radio, in Vadso, also played music for the troops, but mainly German topical songs which Schuck and his mates found boring. On one of those days, the woman who was responsible for the Vadso “ Soldatensender's” music programme came to see her listeners. The meet­ ing with the men of Schuck’s Staffel in Petsamo was a shock to the poor woman. They booed at her, cursed the music she played, and with a few expletives made it clear to her that the kind of music she played could suit old ladies but not men who wanted something “strong” to make them feel brave before the combat. The whole atmosphere in Schuck’s Staffel became very relaxed, eventually even more than just a bit too relaxed. It did not take long before Schuck was ordered to report to Major Ehrler. “I am disappointed with you,” Ehrler said. “Maybe it was a mistake to assign you as a Staffelkapitan. Under your command, the Staffel has deteriorated into a mot­ ley crew with lacking discipline and all kinds of exces­ sive behaviour. I demand an explanation.” It did not strike Schuck as a surprise. He had seen it all and knew that what Ehrler said was true. “Herr Major, ” he answered. “It was my idea to set the men free so that they would feel strong, but I admit that it was a mistake. I will correct my Staffel.” Ehrler agreed to give Schuck one more chance. He wanted to know what Schuck planned to do. Schuck said that he would bring his men to a drill exercise. He asked the Geschwaderkommodore to order two officers to lead the NCOs in a drill. Major Ehrler agreed. The next morning the men of the 10th Staffel were very surprised to find that immediately after breakfast they were ordered to line up in full war equipment, including steel helmet and rifle. Schuck gave the instruc­ tions: “Fifteen minutes drill exercise, then forty-five min­ utes of kit cleaning!” A Hauptmann took command of the Oberfeldwebels and Feldwebels, and a Leutnant of the Unteroffiziers, while Hauptfeldwebel Boring-Schulte took charge of the enlisted men. Then commenced one of the harshest drill exercises the flabbergasted men had ever experi­ enced. Schuck had asked the drill leaders to have the men “more in vertical position with their noses down in the mud than standing on their feet”. When the fifteen minutes was over, the muddy and exhausted men of the Staffel were lined up in front of Schuck. His orders were: “Enlisted men - to the barracks for kit cleaning! Herr Hauptmann, Herr Leutnant, please carry on with the drill exercise with your groups!” For another forty-five minutes the two officers bullied the shocked NCOs until they almost fainted. Afterward Schuck lined up the whole Staffel again. He dismissed the enlisted men, and then he addressed the NCOs in a very serious, threatening voice: “You sorry bastards, you have all let me down,” he said while his eyes narrowed. “You have hung me out in front of the Kommodore and you have done it deliber­ ately! I gave you some freedom, and that was how you rewarded me! Well, I can tell you that there will be no more of that! From now on, this is a strict military unit. From now on, I am to be addressed as Leutnant Schuck. There will be no more ‘Du’\ You have exploited my kindness long enough!” With those words, he turned his back on the NCOs of his Staffel and walked to the command post. From that moment, his Staffel started to work again. There were a number o f cases of excessive behav­ iour which Schuck had to deal with. In the barrack where the enlisted men were quartered, someone was stealing alcohol. A trap was arranged. A bottle was placed below a pillow in such a way that it was vis­ ible. Then a string was attached to the bottle, and it led to the man who had his bed by the switch. In the middle o f the night, the man who slept next to the switch woke up by a jerk in the string. He was pre­ pared, and immediately turned on the light. The two thieves were caught red-handed. They were brought before Schuck. Instead of sending them to a military