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

WALTER SCHUCK A-20 flying 2,500 metres above the main formation. Assuming that this was the attack leader, Schuck sent four of his pilots down to attack the bulk of the A-20s, while he brought Wollmann along towards the lonely “Boston”. The two Me 109s flew straight into the overcast in order to surprise the Soviet bomber crew. Schuck’s experience told him when he was close to the bomber, and when he dived out of the cloud, he saw the Douglas A-20 right in front of him. His first burst of fire hit the A-20’s left engine. The bomber immediately went down steeply. The pilot, Kapitan Mikhail Protas, managed to bail out and was captured. His three crew mates, Star­ shiy Leytenant N. G. Yermak, Mladshiy Leytenant P. I. Kharlamov, and Serzhant M. S. Bystrov, were all killed. The “Boston” was registered as Schuck’s 170th victory. By the time the “Boston” crashed into the ground near Vadso, Schuck and Wollmann were diving to join the main battle. They aimed at six Airacobras, which - led by 255 IAP’s Kapitan Samarkov - were attacking the German fighters below. Schuck selected the leading pair of Soviet fighters, which pulled up into a cloud in an attempt to evade the attack. But it was in vain. As the two Airacobras emerged from the cloud, the two Me 109 pilots were waiting for them. “Fritz” Wollmann blew one of the Airacobras apart. Seeing his wingman, Mladshiy Leytenant Barantsev, getting lost, Kapitan Samarkov managed to evade Schuck’s fire by turning sharply, and again sought refuge into the clouds. Schuck decided to leave the last Airacobra and instead went after the remaining “Bostons”. At 1143 hours, Walter Schuck recorded his 171st victory against a Douglas “Boston”. + Germany’s military position in northern Finland was crumbling from all sides. On 28 September 1944, hos­ tilities broke out between the Germans and their former allies, the Finns. Soon Finnish bombers were in action against German troops. While the Germans prepared to speed up their evacuation of Finland - an operation which included a ruthless scorched earth policy - a mas­ sive Soviet offensive into northern Norway was pre­ pared. However, Walter Schuck was spared from wit­ nessing the tragic end in Laponia. Again, the Messerschmitt pilots were scrambled at Petsamo. Again the Soviets used the “double strike” tactic. But this time the red-starred warplanes arrived before any German fighters had been able to take off. Schuck was rolling out on the runway with his Me 109 when the Soviet aircraft dived down with rattling guns. A cannon shell slammed through his canopy roof and exploded in the cockpit, temporarily blinding Schuck. He managed to halt his aircraft and got out, bleeding from splinter wounds in his face. At the medical station the doctor could remove several splinters, but one remained. It had penetrated Schuck’s nose and got stuck in a tooth root. The doctor explained that he would be unable to fly combat missions until the splinter had been removed. It was the end of Walter Schuck’s military career in northern Finland. The wreck o f an Me 109 G-6 near Hesteskovatnet in Norway. This probably is WNr 412199, ‘‘Yellow 8 ”, with which Jakob Norz was killed on 16 Septem­ ber 1944. T