Hptm Gerhard Schashke, III./ZG76

[Andre Stewart]

Hi all,

Hope soemone can provide me the date and place of birth of Hptm Gerhard Schashke, pilot in III./ZG76, MIA 4 Aug 1941. This info cannot be found at both the VDK site and the Kracker Archives.

Thanks in advance.

rgds
andre

[Doug Stankey]

Here is what we have about this fellow:

SCHASCHKE, Gerhard.
01.08.40 promo to Hptm.
04.08.41 Hptm. in Stab/ZG 76, KIA – shot down by fighters and AA fire SE of Murmansk.

Here is what Kracker has about him:

Schaschke, Gerhard. "Ryzhyy" - Hptm.22 vicories - Stab/ZG-76 Bf 110E-2 Werk # 3761 "M8 + YE" (lost)DK-G, EP, EK 1 & 2, Destroyer Operational ClaspUsed Bf 109's high over an enemy airbase to bait the Soviet fighters. As the fighters scrambled, he slipped in behind them at treetop level and shot them down on takeoff. His nickname means "Red Hair", or more correctly, "Carrots". KIA 4 August, 1941 in aerial combat with an LaGG-3 of the 145th Fighter Aviation Regt., flown by Kapitan Aleksandr Zaytsev. Schaschke was killed when he struck the dash at impact (Source: Black Cross, Red Star). Magnus, 22 victories. Bowers/Lednicer, 20 victories. One known victory, a Hudson into the North Sea on 12 June, 1941, 100 km west of Texel. NOTE: SIG Norway reports Schaschke as "POW 4 August, 1941, making an emergency landing at Schongui as a result of battle damage. His R/O, Uffz Michael Widtmann, WIA". Aircraft identification also by SIG Norway.

You could also troll the Tony Woods Claims and losses website although it appears to have temporarily disappeared.

We hope that this helps.

HLdZ
DGS

[Evgeny Velichko]

Andre:

I cant tell You his birthdate (I've failed to find it by myself).

Do You know any details about his first (and the only) "Western" victory?

Also - about his regiment. I always thought, that he served with Stab./ZG76, or I./ZG76. "Narwick Badge" was found among his awards.

[Dean M. Wick]

Andre: FYI, disregard if your already aware. In van Ishovens "Luftwaffe in BOB" pg.73, a photograph captioned as having been taken at Laval, France, "during the first half of Sept. 1940" shows Hptm. Schashke, identifying him as the Adjutant of Stab/ ZG76. The text, apparently written by a War Correspondent, makes reference to a combat during the BOB in which both the "Kommandeur" (Grabmann?) and the Adjutant (Schashke?) made claims against spitfires. Unfortunately not dated, but may give some indication of his initial victory. Dean

[Dean M. Wick]

Further to previous post. The date of this action appears to be 1.9.40, apparently on the occasion of ZG76's 500th victory claim. No idea how reliable or accurate this is. The War correspondent who wrote this article is not named. Dean.

[markjsheppard]

Hi

Would be nice to find out who else was in the Stab/ZG76 in 1940-41

We know Grabmann generally flew M8+XE
We know Schashke generally flew M8+YE
Who flew M8+ZE?

Albeit from late 1941
We know Bf110E-2 W.Nr4502 M8+ZE was also from the Stab and went to 6.(Z)/JG5 in Feb/Mar 1942. It had 1 RAF and 3 Soviet victory markings. Unfortunately we have no idea who the pilot was?

regards

Mark

[Doug Stankey]

A search of our files reveals few names associated with Stab/ZG 76 in the 1940-41 period:

EICHBORN, Wilfried von. 27.09.40 Oblt., Adj. Stab/ZG 76, POW.

KRIEGEL, Hans. (DKG). 28.06.41 Oblt. in Stab/ZG 76, injured in a collision and force landed at Kirkenes. 01.03.42 promo to Hptm. c.26.06.42 Hptm. in Stab/Jagdfliegerführer 5, appt Kdr. IV./JG 5 (to at least 04.44). 20.06.44 KIA.

MÜHLBAUER, Theodor (von?). (DOB: 29.02.92 in Augsburg). 07.41 in 13./JG 77 then trf to Stab/ZG 76. 01.42 trf to 1./JG 5.


Do these ring any bells?


HLdZ
DGS

[Johannes]

Hi Guys

Bit of a mystery this guy. Various totals of claims for him, however is very strange he didn't receive the ritterkreuz for twenty plus claims for 1941, or even a postumous DKiG. Dates I have for his claims are:-

12th June 1941 Blenheim
5th July 1941 I-16
4th August 1941 LaGG-3
4th August 1941 LaGG-3

Last two on date he was killed, none appear on the Micro Films, so these must be treated with some sceptisism!

Regards

Johannes

[Evgeny Velichko]

Gents:

Some photos of crashed M8+YE of Hptm. Schaschke, aug.1941
http://www.16va.be/19_gviap_eng_part1.html

On August 4th Captain Zaytsev, who had previously fought in China and in the Winter War against Finland - for which he received the Order of the Red Star - was leading a flight of seven LaGG-3 fighters when they saw 13 Bf 110. Captain Zaytsev claimed three of the German fighters in the ensuing 35-minute dogfight. One of his victims was the Hauptmann Gerhard Schaschke, the 19-victory commander of the Zerstörerstaffel/JG 5, who was subsequently taken prisoner. Alexander P. Zaytsev was killed on 30 May 1942 when he crashed with his Airacobra during a training flight. He had claimed 35 victories including 25 shared.

http://www.16va.be/page_me110.html

From the 19.GvIAP photo-history book.

"Shattered myth - concerning the invincibility of a German ace (Me-110). Captain Zaytsev shot down the fascist ace Schaschke in aerial combat on August 4, 1941."

"In the early days of the war, there were rumors that the Me-110 had a sight with a photographic element, that its machine guns were better, that the armor was impenetrable and that it had an autopilot. These rumors circulated because no one knew this aircraft in detail. Insolent visits to the airfield by Me-110 tailed by Me-109 didn’t let our pilots rest. “I will shoot Fritz down,” Captain Zaytsev decided, “no matter what it takes.” Soon the bandit was shot down by Captain Zaytsev not far from the airfield. The command element studied the machine carefully. The person shot down turned out to be the inveterate bandit Captain Schaschke, who had been awarded the Iron Cross and who had been dispatched to the north for the purpose of raising the fallen combat spirit of the German fascist pilots. The result of this inspection became the theme for talks titled “Who are we fighting in aerial combat” that Commissar Rekin specially developed. Peoples’ eyes were opened. It turned out that the German sight was worse than ours, our bullets easily penetrated the armor and no autopilot existed. All these efforts could not but bring results. Dozens of Me-110 shootdowns soon began to be tabulated and it was characteristic that not only experienced fighters, but young pilots participating in combat for the first time began to shoot them down. That is how the myth about the invincibility of the Me-110 was shattered."

"In the thirty-fifth minute of aerial combat against a numerically superior enemy near Chirm-Ozero, Captain Zaytsev in a LaGG-3 shot down an enemy Me-110 flown by fascist ace Captain Schaschke. Moreover, in that clash, Comrade Captain Zaytsev was part of the group that shot down an Me-109."

Quoted contain a lots of propoganda. Anyway, there are two very rare photos.

Here is a list of known Soviet losses to Bf110, compared to Hptm. Schaschke claims:

12/06/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG 76, Hudson, Nordsee, Western Front
04/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or Zerst.St./JG77, I-16 - 145iap, ml.l-t. Tkatchov (KIA), r/rSt Kitsa, Eastern Front
04/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or Zerst.St./JG77, I-16damaged - 145iap, l-t. Ishakov (unhurt), r/rSt Kitsa, Eastern Front
04/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or Zerst.St./JG77, I-16damaged - 145iap, l-t. Gromov (WiA), r/rSt Kitsa, Eastern Front
05/07/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG 76, I-16, bei Liza-Brücke, Eastern Front
07/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or 1.(Z)/JG77, I-16 - 145iap, ml.l-t. Tchegaev (KiA), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
11/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or 1.(Z)/JG77, I-16 - 145iap, st.l-t. Balashov (unhurt), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
11/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or 1.(Z)/JG77, I-16 - 145iap, st.l-t. Pozdnyshev (unhurt), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
13/07/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG76, I-16 - 145iap, ml.l-t. Shumeev (KiA), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
13/07/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG76, I-16 - 145iap, ml.l-t. Makarov (KiA), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
13/07/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG76, I-16 - 145iap, l-t. Ishakov (KiA), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
27/07/1941, Stab./ZG76 or Zerst.St./JG77, MiG-3 - 145iap, k-n. Gruzdev (WiA), a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
04/08/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG 76, I-301(LaGG-3) - 145iap, a/f Shongui, Eastern Front
04/08/1941, Hptm. Gerhard Schaschke, Stab./ZG 76, I-301(LaGG-3) - 145iap, a/f Shongui, Eastern Front

Schaschke's final score at moment of his death stood at 19 (was on scoreboard of his crashed a/c). Plus, he probably claimed 2 more on his last aircombat. Awards, found on body, were: EKII, EKI, "Narwick" shield. Also, it is known from same sourse, that Hptm. Schaschke flew at least 80 combat missions total.

[Nokose]

I was looking at the claim for the 12Jun41 of a "Hudson" and checked Ross McNeill's volume 1 "Royal Air Force Coastal Command Losses of the Second World War"

12Jun41
206 Sqn Hudson IV AE614 VX-J pilot AF Sharp was shot down over the North Sea by either Fw. Metzler or Staffelkapitian Leesmann, both of I/JG52. No other Hudson's for that day. But it does have two Blenheim IV shot down in the North Sea area by Me-110 (no unit given)
235 Sqn Blenheim IV T1955 LA-G pilot MR Stephens & crew (KIA)
off Norway.
248 Sqn Blenheim IV T2121 WR-J Sgt EL Holmes & crew (MIA)
off Denmark.