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

WALTER SCHUCK Leutnant Schuck and a Hauptmann o f the Mountain Troops at Petsamo. court, he punished them with hard labour on the air­ field. One man detected that the daily ration of40 grammes of butter was in fact only 38 grammes for everyone. He complained to Schuck, who investigated the case. It was discovered that the man in charge for the partitioning of the butter systematically sliced off two grammes for himself from each piece. He too was saved from being court martialled, but instead had to do hard labour on the airfield. Then there was one man of the ground crew who often could not be found anywhere during duty hours. Schuck asked around if anyone knew where he was. One enlisted of the ground crew confined that the man often was away fishing salmon in the Petsamojoki River. “Herr Leutnant,” he said, “I don’t think it is fair. He catches salmon which he sends to his wife in Germany. I don’t know how much he has sent her, but this has been going on for quite some time now, and never is there anything for us.” Schuck waited at the path where he knew that the “fisher” would be returning from his fishing tour. After a while the happy fisherman turned up, carrying two buckets with several large salmons. He looked a bit self-conscious when he saw Schuck, but the Staffelka­ pitan received him with a broad smile. “Oh, that’s what I call good luck in fishing,” Schuck said. “Thank you, Herr Leutnant,” the man said and wanted to pass him. But Schuck stopped him and asked: “I suppose there is enough for the whole Staffel?” “I am so sorry, Herr Leutnant,” the man replied, “but I have caught this fish for a very special purpose.” In that moment, the expression on Schuck’s face changed. “If that is a fact,” he snarled, “I suppose that it means that your service here at the airfield allows you so much spare time that it could be better used somewhere else. Maybe in a Luftwaffe Field Division?” The Luftwaffe Field Divisions had been set up by Hermann Goring in the winter of 1941/1942, and con­ sisted of men who for various reasons were drawn from the air units and instead sent to combat in the frontline. Needless to say, that evening the whole Staffel enjoyed a delicious meal of salmon with the lemons which Schuck’s mother regularly sent. Instead of send­ ing a man to the Luftwaffe Field Division, Schuck had got the Staffel a very skilful fisher. Eventually, Schuck made a very coherent combat unit out of his Staffel. In the process his men learned a lot, but Schuck himself was the one who learned most. + When the skies cleared on 17 August, the men at Pet­ samo knew that they could expect the arrival of their old T