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Franz Schall Victories : 137 ----------------------------- Country : Germany Fought in : WW2 Fought for : Axis Died : 10th April 1945 Knights Cross Franz Schall was born on 1 June 1918 at Graz in Steiermark, Austria. He was a flak gunner early in the war but, on 1 September 1941, he began flying training. On completion of his training in February 1943, Schall was transferred to JG 52 on the Eastern Front. Leutnant Schall was assigned to 3./JG 52. He gained his first victory on 6 May 1943, when he shot down a Russian LaGG-5 fighter. On 1 August 1943, Schall recorded his 10th victory when he shot down a Russian Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft. He recorded another two Il-2s shot down on 24 October to raise his victory total to 20. Schall’s victory total had reached 26 by the end of 1943. On 16 January 1944, Schall shot down three Russian fighters for his 30th through 32nd victories. He claimed his 40th victim, a Russian P-39 fighter, shot down on 19 April. Schall recorded 11 victories in May, including three P-39s shot down on 2 May (45-47), his 50th victory on 17 May 1944, another Il-2, and three enemy aircraft shot down on 30 May (51-53). He shot down an Il-2 and a P-39 on 4 June to raise his victory total to 60. In July, Schall recorded a further 10 victories, including three enemy aircraft on 14 July (65-67) and four on 16 July (70-73). Schall was appointed Staffelkapitän of 3./JG 52 on 11 August 1944. This would herald his most successful period of the war. In August he recorded 38 victories, including three enemy aircraft shot down on 12 August (74-76), three on 24 August (79-81), 11, including six Il-2s, on 26 August (83-93), three further Il-2s on 28 August (94-96) and 13, including 11 Il-2s, on 31 August (97-109). However, Schall was shot down by flak and required to make forced-landings on four occasions, including once behind Russian lines from which he successfully negotiated his way back to his unit. On 25 September 1944, Oberleutnant Schall was transferred to Eprobungskommando Nowotny, commanded by Major Walter Nowotny (258 victories, RK-Br) operating the new Me 262 jet fighter. He was assigned command of 2. Staffel. In the morning of 8 November 1944, he shot down three USAAF P-51 fighters (120-122) escorting a USAAF bomber raid but then suffered flameouts of both engines. While attempting to glide back to his base at Hesepe, he was intercepted by a P-51, piloted by Lt James Kenney of the 357th FG, which badly damaged Schall’s Me 262 A-1a (W.Nr. 110 404) “White 7”. Schall baled out only to see his aircraft explode. Following Major Walter Nowotny’s death on 8 November 1944, the surviving pilots and personnel from Eprobungskommando Nowotny were incorporated into JG 7. Hauptmann Schall led 10./JG 7, based at Oranienburg, and continued scoring with the Me 262 but many of his victories were never confirmed by disintegrating official sources. On 4 April 1945, Schall shot down a P-51 (131) but was then shot down himself. He baled out surviving unharmed. On 10 April 1945, Schall shot down a P-51, for his 133rd, and last, victory, but then attempted an emergency landing at Parchim. His aircraft rolled into a bomb crater and exploded, killing him instantly. Franz Schall was credited with 133 victories in 530 missions. He recorded 116 victories over the Eastern front, including 61 Stormoviks. Of his 17 victories recorded over the Western front, all were gained flying the Me 262 jet fighter and include six four-engine bombers and 10 P-51 fighters.

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Franz Schall

Aircraft for : Franz Schall
A list of all aircraft associated with Franz Schall. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Me262 Click the name above to see prints featuring Me262 aircraft. Manufacturer : Messerschmitt Number Built : 1400	Me262 The Messerschmitt Me-262 Swallow, a masterpiece of engineering, was the first operational mass-produced jet to see service. Prototype testing of the airframe commenced in 1941 utilizing a piston engine. General Adolf Galland, who was in charge of the German Fighter Forces at that time, pressured both Goring and Hitler to accelerate the Me-262, and stress its use as a fighter to defend Germany from Allied bombers. Hitler, however, envisioned the 262 as the aircraft which might allow him to inflict punishment on Britain. About 1400 Swallows were produced, but fortunately for the Allies, only about 300 saw combat duty. While the original plans for the 262 presumed the use of BMW jet engines, production Swallows were ultimately equipped with Jumo 004B turbojet engines. The wing design of the 262 necessitated the unique triangular hull section of the fuselage, giving the aircraft a shark-like appearance. With an 18 degree swept wing, the 262 was capable of Mach .86. The 262 was totally ineffective in a turning duel with Allied fighters, and was also vulnerable to attack during take off and landings. The landing gear was also suspect, and many 262s were destroyed or damaged due to landing gear failure. Despite its sleek jet-age appearance, the 262 was roughly manufactured, because Germany had lost access to its normal aircraft assembly plants. In spite of these drawbacks the 262 was effective. For example, on April 7, 1945 a force of sixty 262s took on a large force of Allied bombers with escort fighters. Armed with their four nose-mounted cannons, and underwing rockets the Swallows succeeded in downing or damaging 25 Allied B-17s on that single mission. While it is unlikely that the outcome of the War could have been altered by an earlier introduction or greater production totals for this aircraft, it is clear to many historians that the duration of the War might have been drastically lengthened if the Me-262 had not been too little too late.