Günther Scheel

Günther Scheel
Günther Scheel
Born	(1921-11-23)23 November 1921 Dannenberg, Germany
Died	16 July 1943(1943-07-16) (aged 21) MIA (Missing in Action)
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Luftwaffe
Years of service	1940–43
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	JG 54
Battles/wars	World War II Eastern Front Operation Zitadelle
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (posthumously)

Günther Scheel (23 November 1921 – 16 July 1943) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (posthumously) during World War II. Günther Scheel holds the unique record in World War II of shooting down more aircraft than he flew missions. He was credited with 71 aerial victories—that is, 71 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—in just 70 missions. All his victories were recorded over the Eastern Front.

Military career

Upon completing flight training, Leutnant Scheel was posted to 3 Staffel of Jagdgeschwader 54^[1] (sometimes cited as 2 Staffel^[2]^[3]) which was based on the northern end of the Eastern Front in January 1943.^{[Note 1]} At that time, most fighter activity was still involved in covering the blockade of Leningrad. He flew many ground attack missions destroying a number of locomotives and other vehicles. Scheel recorded his first aerial victories on 9 February 1943 by shooting down a pair of La-5 fighters. After that he rarely flew a day without claiming a victory. On 30 May, he shot down four fighters (18-21v.) and did so again on 21 June (26-29v.). By the time of his 50th mission on 22 June his score was 30 victories.

However it was in July, when his unit was transferred to Orel to support the Kursk offensive that he hit a phenomenal purple patch, shooting down 41 planes in just 16 days. On the opening day (5 July) he shot down 8 aircraft (31-38v.), then 7 aircraft on 7 July (40-46v.). He shot down five fighters on the 10th (53-57v.) and seven more on 13 July (62-67v.), including three Yak-9 fighters in just two minutes.^[4]

But with such intense air activity, his luck finally ran out on the morning of 16 July 1943. Flying his Fw 190 A-5 (Werknummer 710 002, Yellow-8 - the 3 Staffel unit colour) he shot down two fighters, but then collided with the wreckage of the second and crashed.^[2]

The loss report read: "Ltn Scheel took off at 07.07 hours together with 3.Staffel of I./JG 54 in order to provide a Stuka formation with fighter escort in the vicinity of Orel. After completion of this mission, Ltn Scheel shot down two Yak-9s, during a subsequent fighter sweep. During the second combat, his 71st in total, his left wing hit the enemy aircraft. The wing broke off at the fuselage, which caused the aircraft to immediately start descending from an altitude of 800 metres. In 50 metres altitude the aircraft caught fire and exploded on impact in Planquadrat 64356, at 8.06 hours. Point of impact: about 15 kilometres northest of Bolkhov".^[5]

In a tour of only six months he flew 70 missions and scored 71 victories. All his victories were recorded over the Eastern Front and included 20 Il-2 Sturmoviks. He was posthumously awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold, the Ehrenpokal, and finally the Ritterkreuz on 5 December 1943.

Missing in Action

Reports of his fate vary: some say he was killed in the crash and subsequent explosion, others that he bailed out at 200 meters (660 feet) and landed behind enemy lines. Scheel was reportedly seen in a camp at Yelabuga in 1946, and receiving medical treatment in a camp at Solny in 1948.^[2] However, he officially remains missing in action.

Victories

No	Date	Time	Unit & Airfield	Gruppe Kommandeur^[6]	Location / Planquad	Claimed Aircraft	Source / Comments^[2]
1	?	?	2./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	?	?	-
2	9 February 1943	9:20	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 123 : 1000m	LaGG-5	C.2035/I AnerkNr 361
3	9 February 1943	15:25	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 142 : 900m	LaGG-5	C.2035/I AnerkNr 362
4	14 February 1943	13:21	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 473 : 400m	Il-2	C.2035/I AnerkNr 370
5	14 February 1943	13:37	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 452 : 200m	Il-2	C.2035/I AnerkNr 371
6	18 February 1943	8:20	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 532 : 50m	Il-2	C.2035/I AnerkNr 385
7	23 February 1943	10:59	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 172 : 400m	LaGG-5	C.2035/I AnerkNr 405
8	21 March 1943	8:45	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	Hptm Hans Philipp	00 193 : 4000m	LaGG-3	C.2032/II AnerkNr 449
9	24 March 1943	8:53	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	Hptm Hans Philipp	10 193 : 150m	Il-2	C.2032/II AnerkNr 452
10	3 April 1943	17:57	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	?	10 141 : 2000m	P-39	C.2032/II AnerkNr 463
11	8 April 1943	16:28	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	?	90 252 : 10m	LaGG-5	C.2032/II AnerkNr 467
12	16 April 1943	12:25	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	Maj Reinhard Seiler	?	LaGG-5	C.2032/II AnerkNr 471
13	1 May 1943	15:55	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	Maj Reinhard Seiler	00 164 : 400m	LaGG-5	C.2032/II AnerkNr 475
14	5 May 1943	11:45	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	Maj Reinhard Seiler	00 152 : 4000m	LaGG-3	C.2032/II AnerkNr 475
15	5 May 1943	11:48	3./JG 54 - Krasnowardeisk ?	Maj Reinhard Seiler	00 161 : 2500m	LaGG-3	C.2032/II AnerkNr 476
16	24 May 1943	19:37	3./JG 54 - Staraja-Russa	Maj Reinhard Seiler	09 791 : 400m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 478
17	24 May 1943	19:38	3./JG 54 - Staraja-Russa	Maj Reinhard Seiler	09 872 : low-level	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 479
18	30 May 1943	13:48	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 113 : 2000m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 484
19	30 May 1943	19:50	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	11 783 : 3000m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 485
20	30 May 1943	19:51	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	11 784 : 2500m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 486
21	30 May 1943	20:18	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 123 : 1300m	P-40	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 487
22	5 June 1943	12:01	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 451 : 2000m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 490
23	5 June 1943	12:10	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 151 : 4000m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 492
24	10 June 1943	18:16	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 692 : 3000m	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 498
25	18 June 1943	2:02	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	00 334 : low-level	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 500 night-time intercept
26	21 June 1943	10:14	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 261 : low-level	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 503
27	21 June 1943	10:15	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	10 262 : 400m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 504
28	21 June 1943	15:25	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	20 112 : 400m	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 507
28	21 June 1943	20:05	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	20 131 : 3000m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 508
30	22 June 1943	2:25	3./JG 54 - Nikolskoye	Maj Reinhard Seiler	90 634 : low-level	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 512 night-time intercept
31	5 July 1943	4:18	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 612 : 2000m	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 519
32	5 July 1943	10:02	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 551 : 1500m	P-40	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 526
33	5 July 1943	10:06	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 534: 50m	P-40	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 527
34	5 July 1943	12:02	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 583 : 1300m	P-40	C. 2032/II AnerkNr.528
35	5 July 1943	18:35	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 481 : 50m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 535
36	5 July 1943	18:37	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 364 : 200m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 537
37	5 July 1943	18:38	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 444 : 100m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 538
38	5 July 1943	18:39	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 451 : 100m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 540
39	6 July 1943	11:48	3./JG 54 - Orel	Maj Reinhard Seiler	63 568 : 200m	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 546
40	7 July 1943	8:30	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	53 561 : 100m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 552
41	7 July 1943	8:31	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	56 563 : 100m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 553
42	7 July 1943	8:32	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	53 592 : 150m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 556
43	7 July 1943	8:32	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	53 591 : 150m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 555
44	7 July 1943	14:12	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	53 691 : 2400m	Boston	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 563
45	7 July 1943	14:15	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 514 : 1000m	Yak-7	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 565
46	7 July 1943	14:20	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 592 : 100m	Pe-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 567
47	8 July 1943	8:04	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 561 : 2500m	Boston	C. 2032/II AnerkNr.568
48	8 July 1943	17:31	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 531 : low-level	La-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 572
49	8 July 1943	17:40	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	53 693 : low-level	P-39	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 573
50	9 July 1943	4:45	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 576 : 1500m	P-39	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 574
51	9 July 1943	5:11	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 575 : 1000m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 576
52	9 July 1943	5:12	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 579 : 1000m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 578
53	10 July 1943	7:19	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 753 : 1500m	P-39	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 584
54	10 July 1943	7:20	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 754 : 1500m	P-39	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 585
55	10 July 1943	7:22	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 743 : 1000m	P-39	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 586
56	10 July 1943	13:33	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 543 : low-level	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 590
57	10 July 1943	18:50	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 714 : low-level	Yak-1	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 593
58	11 July 1943	4:24	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 572 : 1200m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 594
59	11 July 1943	4:26	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 573 : 1500m	LaGG-3	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 595
60	11 July 1943	4:33	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	63 597 : low-level	La-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 596
61	12 July 1943	7:09	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	64 753 : 600m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 597
62	13 July 1943	11:11	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	73 144 : 1000m	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 606
63	13 July 1943	11:13	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	73 123 : 1100m	Yak-9	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 607
64	13 July 1943	11:13	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	73 123 : 1200m	Yak-9	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 608
65	13 July 1943	14:04	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	54 413 : 200m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 614
66	13 July 1943	14:12	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	54 442 : 600m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 615
67	13 July 1943	19:12	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	64 821 : 1200m	LaGG-5	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 616
68	14 July 1943	15:45	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	54 481 : 100m	Il-2	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 618
69	16 July 1943	5:25	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	54 443 : 3000m	Spitfire	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 620
70	16 July 1943	7:55	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	65 412 : 800m	Yak-9	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 621
71	16 July 1943	8:05	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	64 356 : 200m	Yak-9	C. 2032/II AnerkNr 623
†	16 July 1943	8:06	3./JG 54 - Orel	-	15 km NE of Bolkhov, Orel		JG 54 Archiv

Awards

Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st Class
German Cross in Gold on 31 August 1943 (posthumously) as Leutnant in the I./Jagdgeschwader 54^[7]
Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe on 13 September 1943 (posthumously) as Leutnant and pilot^[8]
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 December 1943 (posthumously) as Leutnant and Staffelführer of the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54^[9]^{[Note 2]}

Notes

↑ For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organization
↑ According to Scherzer as pilot in the 3./Jagdgeschwader 54.^[10]

References

Citations

↑ Luftwaffe 39-45 Historia website.
1 2 3 4 Aces of the Luftwaffe website.
↑ Bergström 2007, pp. 53, 71, 73.
↑ Bergström 2007, p. 87.
↑ Bergström 2007, p. 103., taken from unpublished source JG 54 Grünherz Archiv, courtesy Günther Rosipal.
↑ Luftwaffe Air Units: Single–Engined Fighters website.
↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 401.
↑ Patzwall 2008, p. 178.
↑ Fellgiebel 2000, p. 375.
↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 657.

Bibliography

Bergström, Christer (2007). Kursk—The Final Air Battle: July 1943. Hersham, Surrey: Classic Publications. ISBN 978-1-903223-88-8.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
Patzwall, Klaus D. (2008). Der Ehrenpokal für besondere Leistung im Luftkrieg [The Honor Goblet for Outstanding Achievement in the Air War] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-08-3.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Miltaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
Weal, John (2001). Aviation Elite Units #6: Jagdgeschwader 54 ‘Grünherz’. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-84176-286-5.
Weal, John (2007). More Bf109 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-84603-177-X.
Weal, John (1995). Focke-Wulf Fw190 Aces of the Russian Front. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-85532-518-7.

External links

"Aces of the Luftwaffe". Günther Scheel. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
"Luftwaffe 39-45 Historia". Günther Scheel. Retrieved 24 November 2011
"Luftwaffe Officer Career Summaries" (PDF). Günther Scheel. Retrieved 29 December 2012
Luftwaffe: Leutnant at the Wayback Machine (archived October 28, 2009) at www.geocities.com
"Luftwaffe Fighter Claims". Günther Scheel. Retrieved 7 January 2013
"Luftwaffe Air Units: Single–Engined Fighters". Jagdgeschwader 54. Retrieved 7 January 2013

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients of Jagdgeschwader 54

Horst Ademeit (Oak Leaves) Hans Beißwenger (Oak Leaves) Hans-Ekkehard Bob Paul Brandt Hugo Broch Herbert Broennle Anton Döbele Franz Eckerle (Oak Leaves) Franz Eisenach Günter Fink Hans Götz Helmut Grollmus Horst Hannig¹ (Oak Leaves) Hans-Joachim Heyer Reinhold Hoffmann Dietrich Hrabak² (Oak Leaves) Heinrich Jung Karl Kempf Otto Kittel (Oak Leaves & Swords) Rudolf Klemm Gerhard Koall Hans-Joachim Kroschinski Emil Lang (Oak Leaves) Arnold Lignitz Gerhard Loos Helmut Mißner Hubert Mütherich Walter Nowotny (Oak Leaves, Swords & Diamonds) Max-Hellmuth Ostermann (Oak Leaves & Swords) Hans Philipp (Oak Leaves & Swords) Wilhelm Philipp Josef Pöhs Rudolf Rademacher Erich Rudorffer³ (Oak Leaves & Swords) Friedrich Rupp Carl Sattig Günther Scheel Wilhelm Schilling Hermann Schleinhege Reinhard Seiler (Oak Leaves) Peter Siegler Wolfgang Späte (Oak Leaves) Heinrich Sterr Max Stotz (Oak Leaves) Fritz Tegtmeier Alfred Teumer Gerhard Thyben (Oak Leaves) Hannes Trautloft Joachim Wandel Robert Weiß (Oak Leaves) Heinz Wernicke Ulrich Wernitz Ulrich Wöhnert Albin Wolf (Oak Leaves) Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart

¹ Oak Leaves with JG 2. ² Oak Leaves with JG 52. ³ Knight's Cross with JG 2.

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.