Otto Schultz

Otto Schultz (31 May 1920 – 28 July 2013) was a German Luftwaffe ace and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. For the fighter pilots, it was a quantifiable measure of skill and success. Schultz was credited with 73 aerial victories in about 820 combat missions.

After completing his pilot-training in 1940 Feldwebel Schultz was assigned to 4./JG 51 (4th squadron of the 51st Fighter Wing). Under Staffelkapitän Josef Fözö he learnt his craft as a junior pilot during the Battle of Britain. After a short break early in 1941 his Gruppe, II./JG 51, took up its station in eastern Poland for the invasion of Russia, Operation Barbarossa.

Schultz got immediate success in his first missions of the campaign, shooting down two SB-2 bombers on 22 June for his first victories. But in the hectic opening days it would be a week before he got his next victory. There was no shortage of opportunities though, as the Russians flew desperate missions to support their surrounded frontier armies, and by the end of July he had scored 11 victories. Through the battles for Smolensk, Kiev and Moscow, he continued to pick up victories and when he was awarded the Ehrenpokal on 3 November his tally had risen to 18.

After an extended period away from the Eastern Front over the winter of 1941-42, Ofw Schultz returned to II/JG 51. Although the Central front appeared very static, fierce air battles took place overhead as the Soviets launched major offensives to try and drain German forces away from their disintegrating southern front. After sporadic victories in June and July, he scored a dozen in August over the Rzhev salient to extend his score to 36 victories.

Another period of leave followed from September (perhaps due to injury?) and he was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 24 September. Meanwhile, his Gruppe was withdrawn in October 1942 to upgrade to the new Fw 190A fighter, but events overtook them: after the defeat at El Alamein in late October, the Western Allies then staged the Operation Torch landings in Algeria and Morocco. So II./JG 51, with its core of veteran pilots, was immediately dispatched to reinforce the Mediterranean forces with new Bf 109G2's instead, and were ready for operations by mid-November.

Back with 4./JG 51 and based near Tunis, Oberfeldwebel Schultz scored his first western victory on 1 December, downing a Spitfire. In December, the Gruppe was very successful over the new American pilots - claiming 50 victories while losing only two of their own. But as in Russia, in 1943, the superior numbers soon made their impact. Meanwhile, Schultz scored regularly and on 14 March 1943 he was awarded the Knight's Cross for reaching 51 victories. He was now one of the veteran experts of the Gruppe and they spend 1943 hopping across the Mediterranean. With the fall of Tunis in May, they went on to Sicily, Sardinia, southern and central Italy.

In August, orders transferred II./JG 51 to Munich to retrain as a specialist anti-bomber unit. With the Fifteenth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) now well established in Italy, Germany was now being targeted from two directions. Also at this time, Schultz undertook officer-training and was commissioned as a Leutnant. Transferred back with II./JG 51 to northern Italy in December as a first line of defense, he shot down his first Viermot (four-engined bomber) on 28 December. The Anzio landings in January 1944 then brought a forward deployment to Rome to be cover for the ground-attack aircraft supporting the counter-attack.

On 4 February 1944 Schultz (now with about 65 victories) was promoted to Staffelkapitän of 6./JG 51 following the death in action of 54-victory ace Herbert Puschmann northeast of Rome. In March he led his unit across the Adriatic into the Balkan theatre. The American bombers were now also targeting the Romanian oil refineries at Ploiești, vital to the German war effort. He claimed 7 more Viermots there, including possibly his last victory on 15 July 1944.

With Romania's surrender to Soviet forces in late August, and its subsequent declaration of war against Germany, II./JG 51 was forced to retreat back to Yugoslavia. Left as final air-cover for the army retreating out of Greece, 6./JG 51 reportedly engaged their former allies in Romanian-flown Bf 109s. When they finally reached Budapest, the Gruppe only had 3 serviceable aircraft left, out of a nominal complement of around 90, although aircraft-production was no longer the issue - it was fuel and lack of trained pilots. They were re-united with the rest of JG 51 again, albeit scattered the length of the (shortening) Eastern Front. Now fighting against two enemy forces and grossly outnumbered, on 24 December, Oberleutnant Schultz was given command of II./JG 51, with whom he had fought throughout the war. This was after its previous Kommandeur, Major Karl Rammelt was severely injured against American bombers northwest of Budapest.

With its back to the wall there was now little of consequence that his Gruppe could do to impact on the war's outcome. After covering the SS Panzer Army's attack at Lake Balaton, it retreated back to Austria, flying its last mission on 9 April before disbanding three days later. It is possible that he was thereafter sent to Lechfeld to train on flying the Me 262 jet.

Oberleutnant Otto Schultz survived the war, and in 820 missions was credited with 73 victories. He went on to serve in the reformed West German airforce, retiring in 1976 with the rank of Oberstleutnant (Lt Colonel).

• Flugzeugführerabzeichen
• Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
• Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe (3 November 1941)
• Iron Cross (1939)
  • 2nd Class
  • 1st Class
• German Cross in Gold on 24 September 1942 as Oberfeldwebel in the II./Jagdgeschwader 51
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 14 March 1943 as Oberfeldwebel and pilot in the 4./Jagdgeschwader 51

• Obermaier 1989, p. 202.
• Patzwall & Scherzer 2001, p. 428.
• Fellgiebel 2000, p. 392.
• Scherzer 2007, p. 689.