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

WALTER SCHUCK they informed that the Tirpitz had been attacked and destroyed - near Tromso! “Suddenly the gentlemen of the staff of General der Luftwaffe in Finnland and of the Fliegerfiihrer awoke from their winter sleep,” Ehrler said, “and informed us, for the first time, that the Tirpitz was based at Tromso, and that she had capsized during the air attack.” That was the beginning of a hailstorm of accusations against JG 5 in general and Ehrler and Hauptmann Franz Dorr, III./JG 5’s Gruppenkommandeur, in particular. The key words were “cowardice”, “failure to adhere to the Reichsmarschall's orders”, and “national military court”. Hitler personally ordered an investigation, and the first interrogations were held already during the fol­ lowing night. Initially, Ehrler and Dorr took it quite easy. They felt that they had done nothing wrong, and believed that their status as fighter aces would protect them. “If they want to make this circus with military court and all that, then perhaps these gentlemen should come here and do all the shooting down of enemy aircraft by themselves,” Dorr joked. Not even when they were brought before the mili­ tary court in Oslo did they sense any danger. It is quite indicative that Hauptmann Dorr even fell asleep during the hearings. Dorr also was acquitted. But instead, the fire was concentrated against Ehrler. He was accused of having failed to provide the Tirpitz with a sufficient fighter due to a personal eagerness to achieve his 200th victory, instead of leading the fighter mission from the ground - which, it was claimed, had been ordered by the Reichsmarschall. The verdict came as a shock to Ehrler, who was so unprepared that he had not even defended himself properly. And now he found himself in this dis­ mal cell! Schuck went straight back to Terboven. “This is outrageous!” he flung out at the Reichskom­ missar. “It’s the Navy’s fault! All the time the Tirpitz was based in the Alta fiord, protected against bombs between high mountains, but the Navy moved her to the Tromso fiord without informing the Luftwaffe, and placed the ship on a sand bank, in a wide open area! Ehrler has simply been made a scapegoat!” This obviously had a strong impression on Terboven. He told Schuck that that same night, at three o’clock, he was going to fly to Goring, to celebrate his birthday the next Friday. He asked Schuck to give him all the notes which the secretary had made. Schuck told him that he agreed but then went to the secretary and said: “That is one thing I will not do! I don’t trust this man!” The secretary suggested that they should speak to a priest who once had studied law. They immediately went to see the priest. He told them that Schuck had made the right decision, and then he explained: “You have to make six copies, and it has to be done immediately: Original to SS-Reichsfiihrer Himmler, and copy to Himmler’s secretariat; Original to Hitler, and copy to Hitler’s adjutant; Original to Goring, and copy to Goring’s adjutant.” Four weeks later, Ehrler was acquitted.