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

WALTER SCHUCK О TO THE 9TH STAFFEL The airfield at Kirkenes was situated on a dry and dusty plateau between the two bays Hoybugten and Stromels- bugten. From the plateau, an excellent view over the little town of Kirkenes with its harbour was offered. A wind always seemed to blow at Kirkenes aerodrome, which made any take off or landing with the little Me 109s more difficult than usual. Schuck was assigned to the small Me 109 detach­ ment from JG 5 which was assigned to provide the port of Kirkenes with air cover. Since there were no roads or railways which connected the Far North with the sup­ ply bases in southern Norway, the German troops in the Far North came to depend on supplies arriving with ship convoys. Apart from Schuck and Scharmacher, there were four or five other Me 109 pilots in the detachment. The latter were all newcomers from replacement units in Germany. Although Schuck was only an Unteroffizier, his tally of eight victories made him the detachment’s commander. For several weeks, the Soviet Northern Fleet’s heavy fighter unit 29 BAP had been sending its modern Pe-2 bombers to attack shipping in Kirkenes in small forma­ tions. Initially, the effect of these attacks were not more than a nuisance. But on 7 July 1942, six Pe-2s managed to hit and sink the steamer Elsa Maria, and six days later the 3,992-ton transport ship Colmar was hit in another of their attacks. Schuck’s task was to bring an end to these operations. On 19 July, by the time Schuck arrived at Kirkenes, there were three transport ships in the harbour of Kirkenes, and another fifteen vessels lay waiting in the fiords to the west of the town. Assuming that this would draw the attention of the Pe-2s, Schuck held his detach­ ment in readiness - with half the pilots in cockpit read­ iness at any given time. In the morning of 20 July, the Soviets arrived - just as expected. By that time, Schuck and Scharmacher were in cockpit alert together with another pilot. They immediately scrambled and started climbing towards the west. At 0715 hours they arrived over Kirkenes, and from their altitude of 5,000 metres Schuck could distinguish black smoke belching from Kirkenes - a sign that they had arrived too late to prevent the attack. In that moment he spotted the enemy - three Pe-2s, about two thousand metres below, heading back toward the east. Led by Leytenant V. I. Pavlovich, the Pe-2s had conducted a rapid dive attack from 7,400 metres altitude. Schuck left the third Me 109 pilot above as top cover, and brought Scharmacher along in a diving attack. He aimed at the leading Pe-2, which was piloted by Leyten­ ant V. I. Pavlovich. Schuck’s first burst must have killed the rear gunner, since no return fire met him. Blazing like a torch from Schuck’s hits, the Pe-2 descended. One man of the Soviet crew jumped out, straight into the flames from the burning fuel. He enveloped his parachute, but it was on fire, and the man fell towards a certain death. A T