Franz Schall

Franz Schall
Born (1918-06-01)1 June 1918
Graz, Austria
Died 10 April 1945(1945-04-10) (aged 26)
Parchim
Allegiance  Nazi Germany
Service/branch Luftwaffe
Rank Hauptmann
Unit JG 52, Kommando Nowotny, JG 7
Battles/wars

World War II

Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Franz Schall (born 1 June 1918 – 10 April 1945) was a German pilot in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany; for the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and combat success.

Career

In August 1944, Schall was appointed the Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 3./JG 52. Now fighting across southern Poland and based out of Krakow, it led to his most prolific period in the war with a number of multiple victories in a day: three on 12 August (74-76), three more on the 24th (79-81), 11 on the 26th (83-93) including six Il-2s and 13 on 31 August to bring him up to his century (97-109) including eleven Il-2s. He was the 81st Luftwaffe pilot to achieve the century mark.[1]

In December 1944, Schall was transferred into the newly formed JG 7, the world’s first operational jet-fighter unit based at Oranienburg. He continued to score regularly in the Me 262, eventually ending with at least 14 confirmed jet victories (there were probably more victories, but they remain unconfirmed amidst the chaotic records of the last days of the war), making him the 3rd highest scorer of jet victories in the war. On 22 March 1945, he shot down a Yak-9, probably the one flown by L.I. Sivko from 812. IAP, himself one of the first Soviet pilots to shoot down an Me 262 jet fighter.[2] Schall was credited with 137 [3] victories in 550 missions.[4] On 10 April 1945, Schall was killed when his aircraft exploded during an attempted an emergency landing at Parchim.

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 243.
  2. ↑ Morgan 1999, p.53.
  3. ↑ Morgan & Weal 1998, pp. 27-28.
  4. ↑ Spick 1996, p. 229.
  5. ↑ Obermaier 1989, p. 192.
  6. ↑ Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 399.
  7. ↑ Scherzer 2007, p. 656.

Bibliography

  • Forsyth, Robert (2008). Aviation Elite Units #29: Jagdgeschwader 7 'Nowotny’. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-84603-320-9
  • Morgan, Hugh. Gli assi Sovietici della Seconda guerra mondiale. (in Italian) Edizioni del Prado/Osprey Aviation, 1999. ISBN 84-8372-203-8.
  • Morgan, Hugh & Weal, John (1998). German Jet Aces of World War 2. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited. ISBN 1-85532-634-5, with colour aircraft profiles #4 & #18
  • Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN 978-3-87341-065-7.
  • Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN 978-3-931533-45-8.
  • Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.
  • Spick, Mike (1996). Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. Ivy Books. ISBN 0-8041-1696-2.
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