Johann Schalk
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Johann (Hans) Schalk (19 September 1903 – 9 November 1987) was a Nazi German
flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
and high-ranking officer in the German
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He is credited with 15 aerial victories, 4 of which on the Eastern Front, claimed in 163 combat missions.


Early life and career

Schalk joined the Austrian ''
Bundesheer The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (202 ...
'' in 1922 and as a ''
Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...
'' was trained to fly in 1928 and transferred to the ''Luftstreitkräfte''. He became a leader of a fighter squadron in August 1933 and was appointed commander of the Austrian ''Jagdgruppe 1'' (1st fighter group). He was one of the best Austrian aerobatic pilots and gained experience at various delegations to Germany and Italy. After the ''
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...
'', the annexation of Austria and the integration of the ''Bundesheer'' into the German ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
''. On 1 July 1938, Schalk was tasked with the creation of IV.(''leichte'') ''Gruppe'' (4th light group) of ''Jagdgeschwader'' 134 "Horst Wessel" (JG 134—134th Fighter Wing) at
Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...
. The unit was initially equipped with the
Arado Ar 68 The Arado Ar 68 was a single-seat biplane fighter designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Arado Flugzeugwerke. It was among the first fighters produced when Germany abandoned the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles and b ...
biplane fighter but shortly after converted to the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the Nazi Germany, German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt#History, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the ...
 D-1. On 5 September, Schalk was ordered to relocate the ''Gruppe'' to
Neisse The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe.
, present-day Nysa, Poland, where it was renamed on 1 November and became the III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 142 (ZG 142—142nd Destroyer Wing). That day, the unit was ordered to Lippstadt Airfield. On 1 May 1939, the ''Gruppe'' was again renamed and became the III. ''Gruppe'' of ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 (ZG 26—26th Destroyer Wing). In August 1939, Schalk moved his ''Gruppe'' to
Neumünster Neumünster () is a city in the middle of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. With more than 79,000 registered inhabitants, it is the fourth-largest municipality in Schleswig-Holstein (behind Kiel, Lübeck and Flensburg). The ''Holstenhallen'' and ...
.


World War II

World War II began at 04:45 on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces crossed the Polish border. Schalk claimed his first aerial victory over a French Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter on 12 May 1940 near
Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
during the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
. He claimed two further victories during the Battle of France and six during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () 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 the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
, three of which were shot down by his wireless radio operator ''
Unteroffizier () is a junior non-commissioned officer rank used by the . It is also the collective name for all non-commissioned officers in Austria and Germany. It was formerly a rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Austria , also , is the collective name to ...
'' Hans Scheuplein. Schalk claimed his seventh aerial victory on 24 August, a
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
fighter from No. 151 Squadron. Schalk was the first member of the Luftwaffe to receive the Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe (). He was also one of the first ''Zerstörer'' (
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...
) pilot to receive the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
() on 11 September 1940 after nine aerial victories. The other two ''Zerstörer'' pilots who had received the Knight's Cross in September 1940 were Joachim-Friedrich Huth and
Walter Grabmann Walter Grabmann (20 September 1905 – 20 August 1992) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany. Grabmann was credited with 7 aerial victories durin ...
.


Night fighter force

On 29 March 1941, Schalk was given the position of ''
Geschwaderkommodore ''Geschwaderkommodore'' (short also ''Kommodore'') is a ''Luftwaffe'' position or appointment (not rank), originating during World War II. A ''Geschwaderkommodore'' is usually an OF5-rank of ''Oberst'' (colonel) or Kapitän zur See (naval captain ...
'' (wing commander) of ''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 3 (NJG 3—3rd Night Fighter Wing). He held this position until 1 August 1943 when he transferred command to ''Major''
Helmut Lent Helmut Lent (13 June 1918 – 7 October 1944) was a German night-fighter ace in World War II. Lent shot down 110 aircraft, 102 of them at night.For a list of Luftwaffe night fighter aces see ''List of German World War II night fi ...
. Schalk was then given the position of ''Jagdfliegerführer'' 2 (Chief of Fighter Aviation, Air Fleet 2), the commander of the Fighter forces of a ''Luftflotte''.


Summary of career


Aerial victory claims

Mathews and Foreman, authors of ''Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims'', researched the
German Federal Archives The German Federal Archives or Bundesarchiv (BArch) (, lit. "Federal Archive") are the national archives of Germany. They were established at the current location in Koblenz in 1952. They are subordinated to the Federal Commissioner for Culture ...
and state that Schalk was credited with 15 aerial victory claims with four aerial victories on the Eastern Front and 11 on the Western Front.


Awards

*
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
(1939) 2nd and 1st class * Honour Goblet of the Luftwaffe on 21 August 1940 as ''
Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...
'' in ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 *
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
on 5 September 1940 as ''
Oberstleutnant () (English: Lieutenant Colonel) is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to lieutenant colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, ...
'' and ''
Gruppenkommandeur ''Gruppenkommandeur'' is a Luftwaffe position (not rank), that is the equivalent of a commander of a group or wing in other air forces. A ''Gruppenkommandeur'' usually has the rank of Major or ''Oberstleutnant'' (Lieutenant Colonel), and comman ...
'' of the III./''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 "Horst Wessel"


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schalk, Johann 1903 births 1987 deaths People from Krems an der Donau Luftwaffe pilots German World War II flying aces Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross