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Horst Petzschler

Last Wartime rank:
Oberfeldwebel
Unit(s): JG 3, JG 51
Theatre(s): Eastern
Decorations:
Iron Cross 1st & 2nd Class
Ehren Pokal
Frontflugspange in Bronze, Silver And Gold

Born: September 1st, 1921
Total Sorties: 297
Downed 13 times
-11 Crash landings
-2 Bail Outs
All downings were due to flak except for 28 May 1944 when a Mustang got him near Magdeburg.

Strike Rate: N/A
Victories: 26
  Victory List:
Yak-7
Il-2
Il-2
B-17
P-51
B-24
P-51
Yak-9
Pe-2
Yak-9
Mig-3
Il-2
Lagg-5
Pe-2
Pe-2
Il-2
Lagg-5
A-20
Lagg-5
Il-2
Yak-9
Il-2
Lagg-7
Yak-3
Yak-3
Pe-2
Date:
May 11, 1943
Nov. 10, 1943
Nov. 10, 1943
May 12, 1944
May 12, 1944
May 14, 1944
May 28, 1944
June 1944
June 1944
July 1944
July 1944
July 1944
Aug. 9, 1944
Sept. 7, 1944
Sept. 1944
Sept. 1944
Sept. 1944
Sept. 1944
Feb. 1945
March 1945
March 1945
March 1945
March 1945
March 1945
March 1945
April 1945

    Horst was born in Berlin on 1 Sept 1921 . He completed an apprenticeship as an Aircraft Builder after High School and volunteered to the Luftwaffe in April 1941, enlisting for 12 years in order to get to fly . He spent 5 months in "bootkamp" and reported to A/B-10 Pilot School in Grottau O/S. By May 1943 he was assigned JG 101 fighter school squadron at Villacoublay near Paris . Horst completed his final training in the Fw-190-A2 near Toulouse , southern France .
   He was part of the Geschwader Stab of JG 51 as an Oberfeldwebel and holder of the Ehren Pokal, the Frontflugspange in Bronze Silver and Gold as well as the Ironcross 1st and 2nd class. After landing in Sweden 4 May 1945 He was interned until January 1946 and handed over to the Soviets where he stayed until September 1949. Horst was eventually released and immigrated to Canada. There he worked as a Auto mechanic for a while before moving to the U.S. In the US he started to work in the Aircraft Industry. He has worked for Boeing, Lear, Northrop, and Beechcraft.

   He is retired and visits special Militaria events and is often guest speaker. He has a son 13 and a daughter 12 years old.

   His victories over allied aircraft were scored while with JG3 for a 3-4 month period.

   The remarkable thing about Horst is that except for his stay with JG-3 his primary mission was Fighter/Bomber ( Jagdbomber ) tankbusting with JG-51 . He scored pretty highly considering that his primary mission was ground support.


Sources:
Spick, Mike - Luftwaffe Fighter Aces: The Jagdflieger and their Combat Techniques (Greenhill Military)
Special thanks to Michael David Bates for his help in compiling the data for this entry.

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