Meissler's (7./JG52) story and interrogation report

[yogybär]

To the topic itself:
On one of the pics, at least the rudder seems to have been hit by a machine gun bullet. Maybe there are more pictures of the A/C, on which one can see damage which came from the alleged dogfight?
Andrey, are there more interesting detaisl in this report?

PS: To neglect all information of sll soviet documents is not very intelligent IMHO. Then, one would also be obliged to NOT read a lot of modern books, like Bergström and others. I think, internal documents (like interogation reports etc) were done similarly to the ones in the Wehrmacht: Make the author look good but also don't lie, under at least slight pressure from the military-dicatatoric system.

[Johannes]

Bernd Barbas tried to contact him after the war in the DDR in the 1970's, but had no luck. But then Meissler himself telephoned Bernd and asked why he wanted to find him. After Bernd explained his interest with JG52 Meissler explained that he had a technical problem with his Bf109 and did not even see an enemy aircraft before his belly-landing, same thing happened to Friedrich Obleser the same day, but he managed to evade capture. Meissler was released in 1949.

Regards

Johannes

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Originally Posted by yogybär

To the topic itself:
Andrey, are there more interesting detaisl in this report?

Hello!

Usual unfo - mother, father, pre-war life, trainig, war life. From his words, he entered III/JG52 in the end of Dec.1942. From Feb.43 to 15.3.43 rest in Nikolajew, then Kertsch-2, then Taman. He made 60 combat missions, no successes. Info about other units (Stabstaffel, 15./JG52, his opinion about where are I. and II./JG52) etc. "Pilots mood - good". I made only abstracts from reports - had no time.

Best regards,
Andrey

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello, Johannes!

Originally Posted by Johannes

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before his belly-landing

He made a normal landing, on wheels. His other info to Bernd Barbas looks like Meissler want to change the day of 28.5.43 for himself.

Thank you for interesting info. Do you know, does Mr. Barbas write his IV.volume?

Regards,
Andrey

[Frank Olynyk]

Andrey,

As far as I know Bernd is working on a biography of Barkhorn right now. When that is finished he will return to the 4th volume of JG 52 which will cover Stab and the remaining Staffeln.

Enjoy!

Frank.

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Originally Posted by Frank Olynyk

Andrey,

As far as I know Bernd is working on a biography of Barkhorn right now. When that is finished he will return to the 4th volume of JG 52 which will cover Stab and the remaining Staffeln.

Enjoy!

Frank.

Thank you, Frank!
It is interesting.

Regards,
Andrey

[Andreas Brekken]

Hi, all

I agree with yogybär on the reference issue. Use caution but do not entirely dismiss records like the one mentioned.

However - taking everything written in an interrogation report at face value is equally naive.

Both sides of this conflict used all means possible to extract information - and the disregard and disrespect to human life was notorious - I would imagine that any German soldier or pilot would expect nothing less than brutal torture, hard labour and hopefully maybe a swift death after being captured by the Soviets.

Regards,
Andreas B

[Andreas Brekken]

PS!

I guess it is the same here as in other cases, it´s the enemy that you do not see that gets you. Meissler might have been in good faith as to the reason for his problems. This guy wasn´t a seasoned veteran as far as I can see?

Regards,

Andreas B

[Nokose]

I was watching a Public Broadcast Show some years back on the the war on the eastern front. They interviewed a female interrogator who served at Stalingrad and showed what she looked like at that time in uniform. They letter boxed her interview in English. She stated that she had a house that she interogated the captured German soldiers. She said after she was finished she walked them out the back door and shot them with her revolver. She said that she then smoked her cigarette before going back inside. I've read the interviews of some of the POW's not all lived through the war but many thousands lived, so they were not all like her.

[Juha]

Pavel Tarazov’s account on the capture of Meissler can be read from Antipov’s and Utkin’s Dragons on Bird Wings p. 36 – 7. Tarazov and one other unknown Yak pilot (not from 812th IAP), surprised a lone Bf 109. Meissler didn’t give up easily but tried several times to escape to west in spite of warning mg bursts, in the end Tarazov fired one burst at Bf109’s tail, after which the German force landed. Tarazov had tried to force Meissler to land to Tarazov’s own a/f but in that he failed. Meissler force-landed in the area of Maiskiy village. And in the photos the blades of the airscrew of 109 are badly bend, so it was after all wheels up landing even if in the photos the plane is already jacked up on its wheels.

Juha