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Wilhelm Noller
| Leutnant Wilhelm Noller (deceased) Wilhelm Noller joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 and trained as a bomber pilot. In May 1942 he was posted to join 2./StG 2 fighting on the Eastern Front. He took part in the battles of Kursk and Stalingrad, and became one of the most successful pilots of StG 2. By early 1943 his combat mission total passed the 500 mark, rising to over 800 by the end of the year. He was awarded the Knights Cross in April 1944, a few weeks after passing the 1000 mission mark. After a period instructing, he returned to combat in February 1945, flying the Fw190 with 7./SG 10 in Czechoslovakia. Wounded in April 1945, and hospitalised in Prague, he was taken prisoner by the Soviets when they took over the city in May. Transported east by rail towards Russia, he jumped from the moving train and escaped back to Germany. During the war he had flown 1058 missions, destroyed 86 tanks, 2 armoured trains, plus many vehicles, boats and bridges. He also gained 2 victories in aerial combat. Wilhelm Noller passed away on 26th December 2011. |
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| Text for the above items : |
Stukas of SG2 by Jason Askew. (P) Stukas from StG 2 Immelmann, part of the mixed unit Schlachtgeschwader, attack soviet T-34 tanks in an attempt to blunt the soviet 1943 offensives. Throughout 1943-45, squadrons operating the Ju87G variants equipped with 37mm cannons became effective tank-killers, although in increasingly small numbers. Despite the success of Stuka tank killers, the losses inflicted on soviet armour were unable to prevent the soviet advance. |
Stuka Ace by Jason Askew. (P) A portrait of legendary Stuka Ace Hans-Ulrich Rudel, alongside a Ju87 Stuka on a dive-bombing mission. |
Tank-Busting Stuka by Jason Askew. (P) Portrait of Hans-Ulrich Rudel inset against a scene of a Ju87 Tankbusting Russian T-34s. |
Gefechtsverband Kuhlmey by Jason Askew. (P) The unit participated in large battles of summer 1944 during the Finnish-Soviet continuation war. The unit flew some 2,700 missions against the enemy and dropped 770 tonnes of bombs on the enemy. It destroyed over 150 Soviet aircraft, about 200 tanks, dozens of bridges and transport vessels. Twenty-three of the pilots died and 24 were wounded in battle. The unit lost 41 of its aircraft. The detachment consisted of some 70 airworthy aircraft to support the 200 strong Finnish force, but its operational strength varied due to losses, additions and troop movements. |
Tank Hunters by David Pentland. Targul Fromos, Rumania, April 1944. 10th Staffel (Panzerjager) Schlachtgeswader 2. |
Stukas of SG77 by Jason Askew. (P) Stukas from StG77 attack soviet T-34 tanks , supporting the German forces in their drive towards Moscow. From 13-22 December 1941, 420 vehicles and 23 tanks were destroyed by StG 77, greatly improving the morale of the German infantry, who were by now on the defensive. StG 77 finished the campaign as the most effective Sturzkampfgeschwader. It had destroyed 2,401 vehicles, 234 tanks, 92 artillery batteries and 21 trains for the loss of 25 Ju 87s to hostile action. |
Ju87 Stuka Dive-Bombing by Jason Askew. (P) A Ju87 is pictured in a bombing dive. The portrait is of Stuka legend Hans-Ulrich Rudel. |
Open Assault by Robert Taylor. The Junkers Ju87 Sturzkampfbomber, known to the British simply as the Stuka, had already acquired a deadly reputation across Europe, its siren screaming as the ungainly dive-bomber struck terror into the hearts of those below. In 1940 its pilots crossed the Channel with their grim-looking aircraft to terrorise the southern towns and ports of England. Robert Taylors painting Open Assault, depicts Hurricanes of 501 Squadron attacking a force of Ju87 Stukas as they dive-bomb naval vessels and installations in the port of Dover on 29 July 1940. High explosive bombs detonate within the sheltered anchorage as escorting Bf109s from JG51 race in to protect their lumbering charges. Four Stukas and two Me109s are despatched, for the loss of just one RAF aircraft. |
Stuka Legend - Hans-Ulrich Rudel by Jason Askew. (P) A portrait of Stuka legend Hans-Ulrich Rudel - the only recipient of the Golden Oakleaves with Sword and Diamonds to the Knights Cross, such was his prowess with this aircraft - alongside a scene of a Stuka attacking Russian T-34 tanks. |
The Stuka Myth by Jason Askew. (P) The Battle of Britain destroyed the myth of the Stuka, proving for the first time that the Junkers Ju87 was slow, lumpish and vulnerable in air battles against well-organised and determined fighter opposition, such as the more manoeuverable and faster Spitfires and Hurricanes. The Ju87, like other dive bombers, was slow, cumbersome, and possessed inadequate defences. Furthermore, it could not be effectively protected by fighters because of its low speed, and the very low altitudes at which it ended its dive bomb attacks. The Stuka depended on air superiority, which was a situation that did not quite occur for the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. The Stuka was withdrawn from attacks on Britain in August 1940 after prohibitive losses, leaving the Luftwaffe without precision ground-attack aircraft. On 18th August, a day known as the hardest day the Stuka was withdrawn after 16 were destroyed and many others damaged. According to the Generalquartiermeister der Luftwaffe, 59 Stukas were destroyed and 33 damaged, being shot full of holes to varying degrees, in six weeks of operations. Over 20% of the total Stuka strength had been lost between 8th August and 18th August and the myth of the Stuka was over. |
SG77 Stuka Attack by Jason Askew. (P) Cannon equipped Ju87 Stukas from Hauptmann Rudel's squadrons had a devastating effect on Soviet armour at Orel and Bolgorod during the Kursk offensive of1943. The Ju87s participated in a huge aerial counter-offensive lasting from 16th July to 31st July against a Soviet offensive at Khotynets and saved two German armies from encirclement, reducing the attacking Soviet 11th Guard Army to just 33 tanks by 20th July. The Soviet offensive had been completely halted from the air. |
Tribute to Hans-Ulrich Rudel by Jason Askew. (P) Hans Rudel, born in July 1916, was the most decorated Nazi pilot. In 2,530 combat missions flying dive-bombers, mainly on the Russian front, Rudel was credited with destroying 519 tanks, 150 gun emplacements and 800 combat vehicles of various types. According to Luftwaffe records, he also sunk a Russian battleship, a cruiser, a destroyer, 70 smaller craft and numerous trains. For this he was awarded the Golden Oakleaves with Sword and Diamonds to the Knights Cross - the sole recipient of this award. |
Dawn Eagles Rising by Robert Taylor. September 1940: The Battle of Britain reaches a crescendo as Me109s of the 1./JG52, their bright yellow noses glinting in the sun, gather speed and altitude as they form up after take-off from their base at Coquelles, near Calais. Led by Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald, the Scharwm settle into their loose, finger-four formation, the pilots alert for danger and ready for yet another raid on England, just a few miles across the Channel. |
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