Balthasar Aretz

[Johannes]

Hi Guys

I am currently working through this guys flugbuch, his comments are a little difficult to understand, or even make logical sense of. It appears he was a Hungarian pilot who after training was assigned to 2./Erpr.Gr.210 and makes his first combat sortie in August 1940, but this Staffel becomes 2./SKG210 in April 1941, yet it seems he ends up with 8./ZG26 before becoming a training pilot after 218 combat sorties with 2./ZG101 and 6./ZG101.

Assuming that he flew with 8./ZG26 in Russia(but possibly 2./SKG210, if they were ever in Russia) it's odd that his flugbuch does record sorties in Russia, yet the mikrofilms state that 8./ZG26 was still in the West early in the campaign, and though ZG26 is thought to have a few hundred claims over Russian aircraft, the mikrofilms which appear to be complete for this staffel has no claims on this front, and in general very few claims for the whole of ZG26 have ever come to light over Russia.

Questions are was he really with this Staffel in Russia, or possibly 2./SKG210 or another unit not yet connected to him?
He survived the war, but does anybody have his Date of Birth/Death.

His only claim recorded on the mikrofilms happened on 13 November 1943, and with 8./ZG26 yet he has other claims(as I read it) that are marked in his flugbuch in the same fashion as this one. Many of these other claims would have to be with 8./ZG26, as the mikrofilms are complete then he must have had a problem confirming them.

What do we all think?

Keep well

Johannes