AERO ARTIFACT
A
rudder from Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer’s
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in London’s Imperial War Museum bears
witness to the German pilot’s impressive
record of 121 victories during World War II.
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as an eager 17-year-old and soon showed an
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in the Nachtjagdgeschwader VQOP\ÅOP\QVO
wings), he had already recorded nearly
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the Germans introduced Schräge Musik
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20mm twin cannon that allowed night
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destroy unsuspecting British bombers.
Ironically, while the weapon proved
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ries of attacking German airplanes
being struck by falling debris from
British bombers.
Nonetheless, Schnaufer’s win-
ning streak continued, and he
became history’s highest-scoring
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success came on February 21,
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:).JWUJMZ[_Q\PQV PW]Z[Night Fighter’s
Deadly Tally
72 AH SEPTEMBER 2019 ABOVE: IWM EPH 2961; RIGHT: INTERFOTO/ALAMY
FORTY-SEVEN AND COUNTING
Heinz Wolfgang Schnaufer (right)
shows off the 47 victories he scored
in his Me-110 as of February 15,- For his prowess fighting the
British, Germany awarded him the
Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross
with Oak Leaves, Swords and,
on October 16, 1944, Diamonds.
Schnaufer survived the war but was
killed in an automobile accident in
France in July 1950.