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

WALTER SCHUCK From left: Kurt Philipp, Franz Dorr and Helmut Klante. That was the 6th Staffel’s way of introducing the men of 7./JG 5 into the relaxed life at the front - although it was at the expense of their poor Staffelkapitan. Unter­ offizier Schuck could nothing but shake his head. The men at Petsamo aerodrome had other ways to make life in this desolate outpost bearable. There was a sauna by the Petsamojoki which they attended once every week, and various pranks belonged to everyday life at Petsamo. Schuck was very happy to discover that a Leutnant in the 6th Staffel shared his devotion for Jazz music. His name was Heinrich Ehrler, and he introduced a song which would become something of JG 5’s inoffi­ cial “anthem” - “Carry me back to old Virginia,” or, its German version, “Heimweh nach dir Virginia. ” + The air units under command of Fliegerfuhrer Nordost were assigned with multiple tasks. There was one dive- bomber Gruppe, I./StG 5, equipped with Ju 87 Stukas. These were used to attack port installations in Mur­ mansk, the Kirov railway which connected Murmansk with the Soviet hinterland, airfields around Murmansk, and to provide the ground troops with close support. Twin-engined Ju 88s of KG 30 “Adler” flew regular attacks against Murmansk and enemy shipping. Against the latter object, torpedo-carrying He I lls of I./KG 26 also could be used, but these were based in the rear in Norway. Then there were reconnaissance planes, among which the fighter pilots came in the closest contact with the Henschel Hs 126s of l.(H)/32. All these aircraft - with the exception of the KG 26 He I lls which oper­ ated far over the Arctic Ocean - had to be provided with fighter cover by JG 5. At its disposal, JG 5 had five Me 109 Staffeln - 4., 5., 6. 7. and 8./JG 5 - in Petsamo and Salmijarvi and, farther south, in Alakurtti. In addition there were the long-range heavy fighters, twin-engined Me 110 Zerstorer, in Kirkenes. Officially formed only in 1935, the Luftwaffe with­ out question was the world’s most modern air force in 1942. But at the same time, much in it was characterised by a lack of routines, amateurism and improvisation. The pilots of 7./JG 5 were plainly ordered to fly in to the unacquainted combat zone, and without any particu­ lar preparation they were sent into action. 7./JG 5 just started flying combat missions as if it had been long- since acquainted with the region and the peculiarities of the enemy. With no navigation devices at hand in the Me 109s, navigating over the desolate tundra was a whole chapter in itself. There were hardly any houses or settlements, no railway lines, and almost no roads which could be used to identify the location. The widespread wilderness is dominated by a predominantly treeless tundra. From the air, one can see the landscape completely littered with lakes, swamps, moors, hills and mountains, and loose T