Willi Reschke

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Willi Reschke (born February 3, 1922 in Mühlow near Crossen an der Oder , Brandenburg province ; † July 5, 2017 in Thuringia ) was a fighter pilot in the German Air Force . During the last ten months of World War II, he became an expert in fighting four-engine bombers. During his assignment with the Jagdgeschwader (JG) 301, he was one of the few pilots who flew the Focke-Wulf Ta 152 in action in the final phase of the war ; He was one of the few contemporary witnesses who could give an assessment of the use of this type of aircraft. Reschke survived the war as a sergeant major and wrote the history of Jagdgeschwader 301 and 302.

education

In February 1940, at the age of 18, Reschke volunteered for the Air Force with the aim of becoming a fighter pilot. After completing the pilot's fitness test in Leipzig-Paunsdorf , he was called up to the pilot training battalion in Königsberg in the Neumark , but not until February 4, 1941. In late spring 1942, Reschke was appointed pilot candidate battalion, which was housed on the ship Monte Rosa in the port of Stettin was transferred. In August 1942 he was transferred to Morlaix, France, for infantry training and then to the Thorn gliding school in West Prussia. After completing his glider training in the spring of 1943, he was transferred to the aircraft pilot school 51 in Elbing with subsequent transfer to Grottkau in Silesia. Reschke received his training on the aircraft types Bü 181 , Fw 44 , Bü 131 and Ju W 34 , which ended on March 28, 1943.

Then on April 6, 1943, training to become a pilot began in Neisse , using types Kl 25 , Ar 66 , Fw 56 and Ar 96 . The training to become a pilot ended on June 27, 1943 with the award of the pilot's badge . Subsequently, Reschke was transferred to the Magdeburg-Süd fighter pilot school , which belonged to JG 102, Zerbst , and began his training as a fighter pilot on August 25, 1943. The aircraft types He 51 , Ar 96, Bf 108 , Bf 109 E and Bf 109 F were used here.

This was followed by a job as a fighter pilot instructor at the Zerbst location. From March 21, 1944, continued training at JG 110 in Altenburg , using the Ar 96, the Si 204 and the Bf 109 version G-6. The blind flight training ended on April 15, 1944. He was then assigned to the Supplementary Group East to Weidengut in Silesia, then back to the Zerbst Fighter Pilot School, where he was again employed as a flight instructor. On June 13, 1944, he was transferred to the supplementary group West in Gabbert in West Pomerania, and on June 20, 1944, he was transferred to Jagdgeschwader 302 in Vienna. It was more than four years from the time of volunteering to the transfer to a combat unit - due to the lengthy training and the interim use as a flight instructor.

Use - complete overview

In the service of JG 302, Reschke flew various combat missions from June 26, 1944 to the end of August 1944, particularly in the airspace of Hungary, Austria and southern Germany. At the beginning of September 1944 the remnants of Jagdgeschwader 302 - and thus also Reschke - were integrated into JG 301. By the end of the war, Reschke had completed a total of around 48 combat missions in both fighter squadrons, with Bf 109, Fw 190 and Ta 152 aircraft flying.

During his missions he was shot down eight times, which led to four crash landings and four parachute jumps.

During his 48 combat missions, he achieved the following kill result:

Furthermore, in addition to the downing of the ten B-17 bombers, a so-called shot out of another B-17 was recognized. Reschke achieved one of the above nine aerial victories over B-24 bombers - after failure of the on-board weapons - by ramming: this was his third aerial victory.

Retraining to the Ta 152

At the beginning of December 1944, Sergeant Major Reschke was sent as the only pilot in his squadron to the "Air Force Testing Center" Rechlin to be briefed on the new Ta 152 aircraft. Although the handover of an emergency aircraft was obvious and expected after the briefing, he did not receive one for the time being.

With effect from January 27, 1945 the III. Group of JG 301 pulled out of the mission, and on the same day the pilots took over twelve new Ta 152s directly from the Neuhausen airport near Cottbus, which were then flown to the Alteno airport . The number of Ta-152 aircraft available increased to 16 in the following days (versions H-0 and H-1), still too few to be able to equip the whole group with them. It was not until April 8, 1945 that Reschke, together with another pilot, was able to deliver two more Ta 152 H-1s by transfer flight from Erfurt to Stendal .

Operations with the Ta 152

Between February 25, 1945 and the end of the war, Reschke completed at least four combat missions with the Ta 152 - in addition to transfer and relocation flights - in the greater Berlin area, with 3 of his 27 recognized kills.

Awards

Others

Willi Reschke was interviewed as part of the documentary "The Flying Fortresses - The History of the B-17 Bombers" by Discovery Geschichte .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thuringian regional newspaper of July 13, 2017
  2. ↑ John Weal: Fw 190 Defense of the Reich Aces. ISBN 978-1-84603-482-4 , p. 91.
  3. ↑ Dietmar Hermann: Focke-Wulf Ta 152 - The way to the high altitude hunter. ISBN 3-925505-44-X , p. 7.
  4. ↑ Gerhard von Seemen: The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939-1945 . ISBN 3-7909-0051-6 , p. 280.
  5. ↑ Willi Reschke: Jagdgeschwader 301/302 "Wilde Sau". ISBN 3-613-01898-5 , p. 7.
  6. ↑ Willi Reschke: Chronicle of Jagdgeschwader 301/302 Wilde Sau . ISBN 978-3-613-03268-2 , p. 244 f.
  7. ↑ John Weal: Fw 190 Defense of the Reich Aces. ISBN 978-1-84603-482-4 , p. 83.
  8. ↑ Walther-Peer Fellgiebel : The bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945. ISBN 3-7909-0284-5 , p. 356.
  9. ↑ DVD: The Flying Fortresses - The History of the B-17 Bombers. - order no. 1898 - Medienvertrieb in Buchholz - Reschke can be seen from a running time of 30 minutes
personal data
SURNAME Reschke, Willi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German fighter pilot
DATE OF BIRTH February 3, 1922
PLACE OF BIRTH Mühlow near Crossen on the Oder
DATE OF DEATH 5th July 2017
Place of death Thuringia