Ritterkreuztrager Leo Schuhmacher

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The above pilot is said to have credited with 23 kills (source Obermaier)

All I have is:
3 with I/ZG 76
11 with II/JG 1 (5th to 15th)
1 with Stab/JG 3

Has anyone managed to find the missing kills

Michel

[nikkel]

10 bombers. 250 missions. Entered the Luftwaffe in 1934. 23 victories in the West. Opposed the 6 March, 1944 mission to Berlin. Was hit by bomber return fire near Zwolle Holland, but was able to land at Rheine. One known victory, his 5th, a B-17 (HSS) on 14 October, 1943. His 6th, a P-47 on 11November, 1943. His 7th, a P-38 on 13 November, 1943. His 9th, a P-51 on 3 March, 1944, no location. His 10th, a B-17 at Alhorn-Lorup on 6 March, 1944. His 15th, a P-47 in the Osnabrück area on 19 May, 1944. A P-47 in the Ardennes area on 17 December, 1944. His last victory was in an Me 262. While in JG-1, he served as wingman for Heinz Bär. Deceased 13 February, 1997.

i found this on Kracker luftwaffe archive

http://www.aircrewremembered.com/Kra...s=1500&q=heinz

regards Mike

[Johannes]

Hi Guys

Mostly Schuhmacher's claims were unconfirmed. Only those I number 4 until 7 we can say are 100% accurate:-

12th April 1940 Wellington Stavanger u/c
9th July 1940 Blenheim Stavanger area 1008 hrs Nr.1
9th July 1940 Blenheim Stavanger area 1015 hrs Nr.2
15th August 1944 Spitfire East of Blythe ~1250 hrs Nr.3
14th October 1943 B-17(HSS) u/c
11th November 1943 P-47 u/c
13th November 1943 P-38 u/c
11th January 1944 B-17 Paderbor area u/c
3rd March 1944 P-51 10km North of Celle ~1210 hrs u/c
6th March 1944 B-17 South of Assen 6000 metres 1458 hrs Nr.3
23rd March 1944 B-17 Hildesheim area 5500-6000 metres 1038 hrs Nr.4
8th April 1944 B-24 South-West of Salzwebel 1351 hrs u/c
11th April 1944 B-17 North of Fallersleben 6000 metres 1100 hrs u/c
8th May 1944 B-24 North-West of Hannover 0939 hrs Nr.6
19th May 1944 P-47 Osnabruck area 1235 hrs Nr.7
17th December 1944 P-47 1116 hrs u/c

First four with 2./ZG 76, then eight with 6./JG 1, then three with Stab.II./JG 1, last with Stab./JG 3. No proof of any jet claim, but possible. Like with Erwin Laskowski who was always believed to have forty-five confirmed claims, but by his flugbuch is proved to have only fifteen confirmed claims(and at least seven unconfirmed) Schuhmacher was awarded the Ritterkreuz not for his actual low total. Schuhmacher's "twenty-three" is in my opinion something "cast in Stone", and duplicated for decades, but is reality is likely to be based either on the points system, total claims(but not confirmations), or some mistake.

Kind Regards

Johannes

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Hi

This confirms my impression that his so-called 23 victories are particularly suspicious.

On its claims with I/ZG 76,only those of 09/07/40 seem plausible.
That of 15/08/40 (Spit),is totally unfounded in view of the losses of the RAF(like those of Woltersdorf,Linke,Gollob,Eckardt....etc etc).

My reflection:
In view of the few victories,very few,(even in terms of the points),the attribution of the Ritterkreuz is a little strange.....Big "Lobbing"(as it seems today) on the part of Heinz Bar?? Schuhmacher his wingman.

Michel

[Johannes]

Hi Michel

The Oskar-Heinz Bär theory is a sound one. Kurt Tanzer also received the Ritterkreuz for a lowly total of Russian aircraft, again probably due to his efforts as a wingman. I wonder if Erich Rudorffer "lobbied" for a high decoration (Ritterkreuz of DKiG) for Kurt Tangermann?.

I always thought perhaps that Heinz Knoke who may have caused a lot of damage, got his Ritterkreuz perhaps for his political beliefs rather than the number of Allied aircraft claims he had confirmed. However few Luftwaffe pilots were so inclined, and those that were, were not popular, wouldn't think that Schuhmacher was a "Nazi", In fact Bär himself was refused the Brillianten seven times for speaking-out against the system.

Kind Regards

Johannes