Northern Knight   by Robert Bailey

Signatures

Walter Schuck was born on July 30, 1920 and joined the Luftwaffe in 1937. By December 1940 he was an Unteroffizier in JG­3. In January of 1942 he was transferred to 7/JG­5. By April of that year he was at Petsamo on the Polar Sea Front and it was here, on May 15th, that he scored his first victory. On June 5th he shot down four Russian fighters. After that, his progress was steady. By April 14th he had 31. After another two months, he added a further 13 aircraft and then received the German Cross in Gold.

On March 17, 1944, he brought down seven Boston bombers, with another 5 victories on April 7th. His total was then 84, for which he received the Knight's Cross the following day. On May 25th and 26th he shot down another 10 aircraft and then on June 15th, another further 6 successes brought his total to the magic 100.

Two days later, he had his most successful day (never surpassed by any other JG­5 pilot) when he scored 12 victories in 24 hours! On the 27th and 28th of the same month, 11 more victories carried him to 125. Then 7 more August 23, 1944, brought him past the 150 mark.

On August 1, 1944, Schuck was promoted to Leutnant and given the leadership of 10 Squadron. On September 30th he was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross, after 171 victories. Walter Schuck's final tally was 206 aerial victories, with the rank of Oberleutnant.

Walter Schuck (left) and Robert Bailey in Cologne, Germany, during the signing of NORTHERN KNIGHT.

The Story

Arctic aerial combat was one of the most demanding forms of warfare known to man. This was primarily due to the elements, which posed harsh conditions on all combatants in the struggle that occurred near the Barents Sea, where the German Luftwaffe and Russian air forces were locked in a deadly clash. This fighting happened at the top of the world, above Norway in a theater known as the 'Polar Sea Front.' The Russians, supplied through the Allied PQ convoys destined for Murmansk and Archangel, tangled almost daily with the Luftwaffe.

These convoys were attacked constantly by both German aircraft and U-boats, especially during the long summer days of the far north. It was only during the long northern nights that the sailors felt a little safer. The Luftwaffe also defended German convoys which supplied bases along the coast of Norway. These convoys, escorted by destroyers and perhaps by flak ships (voorpostenboots), would sometimes be attacked by both British and Russian air forces. The purpose of these attacks was to both deny the enemy of supplies, and to prevent natural resources (iron ore, etc.) from being transported back to Germany to fuel the war effort. At the forefront of this conflict were the men and planes of 7/JG­5, based at Petsamo near Kirkenes, Norway.

Depicted in Robert Bailey's masterpiece, NORTHERN KNIGHT, is just such a scenario, where attacking British lend-lease Boston Bombers, flown by Russian aircrews, have set upon an arriving German supply convoy with a shipment intended for General Dietl's mountain troops. Arriving in time near the Varanger Peninsula to fend off the attacking Bostons, is experten pilot Walter Schuck ('Yellow Nine') and his wing man.

It was on an occasion similar to this (August 23, 1942), that Schuck had one of his most successful combats, surpassing 150 aerial victories. For the Russians, it was a day when they retreated to lick their wounds and plan for a better strategy to thwart the German presence.