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

WALTER SCHUCK Ѳ THE POLAR WINTER In late October or early November 1942, the new 9./ JG 5 was declared combat ready and moved forward to Petsamo for combat missions. This coincided with the arrival of the winter. That meant that Schuck and the other pilots had to learn many new things. The days grew shorter and shorter, and between 21 November and 21 January the Polar night reigns in this part of the world. This means that, apart from a short while around noon when there is a bleak glow at the horizon, a complete darkness dominates. If flight orientation generally was difficult in the Far North, it was a nightmare in darkness. The pilots had to fly low and orientate by watching the shifts in the snow cover, which at least reflected the moonlight. During their return flights, they could often only guess the vicinity of the airfield. There was both approach light and runway light at the airfield, which were switched on when the pilots reported their approach via radio. But frequently the pilots got lost and were too far to be able to discern the lights in the darkness. In such cases, they were guided to Petsamo by flares and fire works - so-called “radishes” - which were shot into the sky. In the cover of the shorter days, the Western Allies had resumed their northern convoys. PQ-18, despatched in September 1942, met a faith almost as grim as that of PQ-17. Thirteen of PQ-18’s merchant ships were sunk, including ten to German aircraft. The Allies changed their tactics. On 29 October 1942, thirteen transport ships left Iceland singly, each trying to take advantage of the approaching Polar winter with its round-the-clock darkness to slip through to Arkhangelsk. But this new tactic proved unsuccessful. One of the freighters was sunk by a German U-boat on 2 November. Two days later KuFlGr 406 - from Luftflotte 5’s Fliegerftihrer Lofoten - spotted some of the other ships. KG 30 dispatched its Ju 88s on 4 - 5 November, and two crews from I./KG 30 managed to sink Dekabrist (7363 BRT), while II./KG 30 damaged William Clark (7176 BRT) and Chulmleigh (5445 BRT), which enabled U-boats to intercept and sink them both. A fifth ship was stranded, and three returned to Iceland, so only five of the thirteen vessels reached their desti­ nation. However, shortly after 9./JG 5’s arrival at Petsamo, Luftflotte 5 was deprived of the bulk of its striking power. The Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria in early November 1942 resulted in the decision to shift most of Luftflotte 5’s bomber and torpedo bomber units to Luftflotte 2 in the Mediterranean area. Meanwhile, the Soviet aviation in the Murmansk area was significantly reinforced. Thus, by late 1942 the Soviets had gained a numerical superiority of three to one against Flieg- erfiihrer Nordost. Even though most of the fighters still were inferior Lend Lease types, better Soviet-designed LaGG-3s and Yak-ls had arrived. The Yak-1 was a par­ T