The cousins Peterburs

[Joe Peterburs]

Hello Franek'

I did not start my combat flying until early December 1944. Got in 49 missions betwee then and 10 April 1945.
My best, Joe

[Franek Grabowski]

Joe
Thanks, it is very interesting. You must have had a very busy schedule. My friends who flew under RAF operational control had a much lower number of missions in the period.
By the way, did you know Maj. Leonard Papuzinski? Perhaps this is a question to be asked off board, though.

[Joe Peterburs]

Franek,

I did not know Major Popuzinski. I was in the 20th FG, 55th FS and am the Mustang pilot who shot down Walter Schuck on 10 April 1945.

Cheers, Joe

[Franek Grabowski]

Joe
Papuzinski was in another Squadron of the Group. I am looking for information about Polish-Americans in USAAF, hence the question.
I know who you are, and that you have been downed by Flak in the very same mission. Then you escaped and fought with the Red Army which makes me extremelly intrigued, especially considering Soviet spy-mania.
All the best

[Joe Peterburs]

Franek

One of my best friends, Walter Skroback, was of Polish decent (I think). We went through RTU and assignment to the 55th FS together.
Best

Joe

[Jim P.]

Bf 110D-3, 4267, PETERBURS, Ofw. Hans (F)/n.n. (Bf), , 6., SKG 210, , S9+GP, , , 22-Jun-41, WIA due to enemy fire., , Ostfront, Vasco, The Sting of the LW, p.122, , Wysokie, b, F, ,

FW 190G-3, 160370, PETERBURS, Ofw. Hans, 18, II., SG 10, gelbe, C + -, , , 11-Jan-44, KIA due to Luftkampf with Spitfires., RK. 'grüne C'?., Mittelmeer, Obermaier, p.177, , Tommaso, 100%, F, ,

[Franek Grabowski]

Originally Posted by Joe Peterburs

Franek

One of my best friends, Walter Skroback, was of Polish decent (I think). We went through RTU and assignment to the 55th FS together.
Best

Joe

Joe
I will drop you an email, as I suppose moderators would not like going off topic anymore.

[Horst Kube]

Originally Posted by Franek Grabowski

Joe
I will drop you an email, as I suppose moderators would not like going off topic anymore.

Hi Franek, I suppose we all would like to hear more about that topic and I am not sure, moderators and/or public like to shut off public.

Anyway, most of the involved here know the KC Hans Peterburs stories and the Peterburs/Schuck history anyway.

But what is most of interest for me: What happend to your cousin Heinrich "Heinz" Peterburs - which unit/s, a/c did he fly, where and how was his end - why you Joe think, he, Heinrich as a German pilot and you, as an USAF, even could have ever met in the air at the same mission, a.s.o.

Joe, please do not hesitate and keep all of us informed. Best, Horst

[VtwinVince]

One of our great Mosquito aces, Russ Bannock, apparently had an Austrian cousin named Bahnuck serving with the Luftwaffe, so these stories perhaps aren't as rare as one might think.

[Joe Peterburs]

Horst

Thank you for your input. As you know I have considerable information on Hans, most of it furnished by you. My concern is that all I have been able to find on Heinz is that he flew Bf 109s and was KIA on either the 7th or 8th of April 1945. His units, background and accomplishments are a mystery. I feel sure that we were in the same sky together on several occasions. He was homeland defense and I flew 15 missions into Germany's heartland in March 1945 as well as everyday from the 2nd through the 10th of April 1945.

Joe