December 27, 1944. While German soldiers complained
of being abandoned by the Luftwaffe, many brave pilots were doing their
best to help turn the tide on the western front. Depicted is a fierce
action fought by IV.JG3 over Eifel. Feldwebel Oscar Boesch and ten of
his fellow fighter pilots are about to take on a large formation of
P51 Mustangs above the tree tops.
Signatures
A native of Austria, Oscar Boesch
grew up in the mountains and was inspired by the eagles to fly. After
learning to design, build and fly gliders as a teenager, his love of
flying led him to join the Luftwaffe in August 1942. He then enjoyed a
short but distinguished career as a combat pilot.
He
volunteered to become a member of Sturm Staffel 1, a specially formed
unit charged with destroying American daylight bombers. During his
first mission on April 29, 1944, he almost died when he crash-landed
and flipped his plane onto its back. On May 8, he was shot down while
attacking a 40-plane B24 formation, after downing one. During his 12
months as a combat flyer, there was a 350% pilot turnover rate in his
Staffel. Boesch was himself wounded a few times, twice so severely that
he was removed from flying duties. He had eight Focke Wulf 190's
destroyed.
But it wasn't all in vain. It is estimated
that the Staffel had been able to prevent 30,000 tons of Allied bombs
from falling upon German soil. By war's end, Boesch had earned both the
Iron Cross Second Class and First Class, and had downed eighteen enemy
aircraft, including a Spitfire, a Mustang, six B17's two B24's, four
IL2's, two Lagg5's, and two Yak9's.
Boesch's
operational flying ended in April 1945. On his last of 120 combat
sorties, his FW190 collided with a Yak9 northeast of Berlin. He was
captured by the Russians after parachuting to safety, but escaped and
walked 1000 km back home to Austria.
In 1951 he
emmigrated to Canada with his wife Editha and baby Roland, to build a
future. Over fifty years after the war, Oscar Boesch still enjoys
flying. He is an avid pilot, performing at airshows across the
continent in his sailplane 'Wings of Man.' He has also performed in the
IMAX movie, Silent Sky.
The Story
The
lightning victories enjoyed by the Germans during the first years of
World War II were due in large part to the Luftwaffe. But by the fall
of 1944, they were retreating. All available resources were prepared
for a last, desperate gamble. On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched a
huge offensive in bad weather. Aircraft from both sides were unable to
participate during the opening days of what was later to be called 'The
Battle of the Bulge.'
With the return of good weather
after Christmas, the ground battle reached its climax. At this point,
Allied and German pilots were eager to lend support to the monumental
clash of armies.
This gripping painting, WAR WOLF, puts
us a few hundred feet above the treetops of the German/Belgian border
at 11:15 AM on December 27. Eleven FW190's of IV Gruppe,
Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet," led by Leutnant Glaubig, were flying over the
Eifel at low level to avoid radar. Suddenly, ground control radioed a
desperate message: "Achtung! Fifty-plus Indians in Ida Richard Five!"
These American fighters were probably from the 352nd Fighter Group.
In
the wild melee that followed, Feldwebel Oscar Boesch was too low to
bail out if his aircraft was hit. He managed to shoot down one Mustang
into the trees and escape with his life. However, six other pilots of
IV Gruppe were not so lucky: Leutnant Glaubig, Unteroffizier
Leuchtenberger, Unteroffizier Rusch, Leutnant Rennwanz, Gefreiter
Stumpf, and Oberfahnrich Buechsenmann, were killed in the morning's
action. The loss of so many experienced pilots was another blow from
which the Luftwaffe could not recover. Five days later, on New Year's
Day, over 150 German aircraft would be lost during attacks upon Allied
airfields. After the 'Battle of the Bulge,' the Luftwaffe was only a
shadow of its former self, but the pilots gave their best to the end.
