[Johannes]

Hi Stig

Yes. I know of no other pilot getting a large number of unconfirmed claims later confirmed en-mass. As we are likely all aware now JG 5's claimers were the most unreliable in the Luftwaffe, probably three claims to every Sowiet loss. Yet his last fout claims using the Me262 were witnessed by the Mustang pilot who shot him down. I found that the 6th Staffel were the most biggest offenders. In fact JG 5's pattern of claiming is unlike any other unit i.e combat much rarer, but usually huge numbers claimed by each pilot, and often over the sea making disputes difficult. Perhaps Schuck was more honest than your average JG 5 claimer, and that he was just mistaken with the British claims of 16th February 1945. All Airforces claims do not match enemy losses!

As we all know there are two sides to every argument. JG 5's claims for some reason are omitted on the daily mikro film sheets before any other unit...reference to the twenty-five being confirmed in November 1944. I think that JG 5 abruptly stopped claiming against the Red Airforce at the end of October 1944, thereafter were claiming British aircraft, though few of them. Seems that a more than average percentage of JG 5 pilots ended up transferring to JG 7.

By memory Schuck states he sold his flugbuch many years ago, if he had any interest in his former life, surely he would have copied it, and what exactly happened to it? The Kommodore of JG 5 Günther Scholz stated that they were instructed to burn ALL paperwork in 1945, seems Scholz is likely to have burnt his own flugbuch!

Now that I think of it I cannot recall having seen a "200" plague made for Schuck, but I guess this like Galland's "100" can be explained away by the lateness during the war.

Kind Regards

Johannes