Georg 'Peterle' Schentke (23 November 1919 – 25 December 1942) was a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ca ...

and recipient of the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.

Career

Feldwebel Schentke served with 9./

JG 3 ''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 (JG 3) "Udet" was a ''Luftwaffe'' fighter wing of World War II. The ''Geschwader'' operated on all the German fronts in the European Theatre of World War II. It was named after Ernst Udet, an important figure in the develo ...

from March 1940. He participated in the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, where he earned his first victory. Schentke also served during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

claiming 3 more victories. He next took part in

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, during 1941, flying wingman to Major Walter Oesau, who was his ''Gruppenkommandeur'' of III./JG 3. After 34 victories, Oberfeldwebel Schentke received the Ritterkreuz on 4 September 1941. From November, over the winter, III./JG 3 was rotated from the front for recuperation, and including a short stint in Italy in January. Schentke briefly transferred to 2./JG 3 and flew escort missions for the transport planes flying in supplies to the Demyansk pocket. He then returned to 9./JG 3 and continued to score regularly. In late July 1942, after 71 confirmed victories, Schentke was transferred to ''Ergänzungsgruppe Süd'' as an instructor, promoted to ''Leutnant'' and awarded the

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (german: Der Kriegsorden Deutsches Kreuz), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repe ...

in Gold. He returned to the Eastern Front in November 1942, joining 2./JG 3. Schentke was part of the volunteer ''Platzschutzstaffel'' (Airfield Defence squadron) ''Pitomnik''. Their job was to defend the besieged 6th Army airfields near

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

and protect the vulnerable transports on the last leg of their flights into the pocket. Over 6 weeks, in heavy snows and fogs and often with only 2 or 3 Bf 109's serviceable, this small unit claimed some 130 Soviet aircraft shot down. Schentke himself scored 29 victories including three on 10 December and six on 12 December in 5 missions. On Christmas Day 1942 Schentke shot down a Soviet Il-2, but debris damaged his

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

G-2 (Black-3, W.Nr 13885) forcing him to bail out over Soviet positions to the west of the city. That was the last time he was seen alive. He was posthumously promoted to ''Oberleutnant''. During his career he was credited with 90 aerial victories, 4 over the Western Front and 86 over the Eastern Front, including at least 15

Il-2 Sturmovik The Ilyushin Il-2 ( Russian: Илью́шин Ил-2) is a ground-attack plane that was produced by the Soviet Union in large numbers during the Second World War. The word ''shturmovík'' ( Cyrillic: штурмовик), the generic Russian ter ...

Awards

* Flugzeugführerabzeichen * Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe *

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia e ...

(1939) ** 2nd Class ** 1st Class *

Eastern Front Medal The Eastern Medal (german: Ostmedaille), officially the Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal (german: Medaille Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42, links=no), was a military award of the ''Wehrmacht'' which was created by ordinance of Adolf Hi ...

in Gold on 24 September 1942 as ''

Oberfeldwebel (OFw or OF) is the fourth-lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. History The rank was introduced first by the German Reichswehr in 1920. Preferable most experienced Protégée-NCO of the old arm ...

'' in the 9./''Jagdgeschwader'' 3 *

on 4 September 1941 as ''Oberfeldwebel'' and pilot in the 9./''Jagdgeschwader'' 3Fellgiebel 2000, p. 305. * List of people who disappeared

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Bergström. Christer & Mikhailov, Andrey (2001). ''Black Cross, Red Star Vol 2''. Pacifica Military History. * Bergström. Christer; Dikov, Andrey; Antipov, Vlad (2006). ''Black Cross, Red Star Vol 3''. Eagle Editions Ltd * Bergström. Christer (2007). ''Stalingrad – The Air Battle: 1942 through January 1943''. Midland Publications * * Musciano, Walter (1989). ''Messerschmitt Aces''. Tab Books . * * * Weal, John (1996). ''Bf109D/E Aces 1939-41''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. . * Weal, John (2001). ''Bf109 Aces of the Russian Front''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. . * Weal, John (2007). ''More Bf109 Aces of the Russian Front''. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. .

External links

Luftwaffe 1939-1945TracesOfWar.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schentke, Georg 1919 births 1940s missing person cases 1942 deaths German Army personnel killed in World War II German World War II flying aces Luftwaffe pilots Missing aviators Missing in action of World War II Missing person cases in Russia People from Sulęcin County People from the Province of Brandenburg Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Shot-down aviators