Fly Past

34 FLYPAST September 2018

SPOT FACT It was built in greater numbers

than any other  ghter in history

uninjured when he force-landed due

to combat damage.

By the end of May, Schypek had

flown another 33 combat sorties and

his gruppe had bagged 30 aircraft for

two pilots killed, two taken prisoner

and one wounded. The blitzkrieg

required fluid responses and in June

he flew just 19 missions (taking his

total to 100) before 2./JG 76 moved

to Paris on June 18, to Boninghard

in Germany on June 24 and to

Amersfoort in the Netherlands the

following day. The unit settled at

Rotterdam on June 26.

Working alongside I/JG 76 was I./

JG 54 at Eindhoven and I./JG 21 at

Soesterberg. At the start of July 1940

the units were rationalised, with I./

JG 76 and I./JG 21 becoming II./

JG 54 and III./JG 54 respectively.

The first confirmed kill while flying

from Rotterdam went to Schypek on

June 27, when he was scrambled at

1502hrs to intercept Blenheims.

He wrote: “The Blenheims would

always approach from the hinterland.

We were never informed how they

got there, probably at low-level. I

was sitting in the cockpit at readiness

and was alerted to take off to pursue

a Blenheim trying to reach the coast

from the east of Amsterdam.

“Hptm Hubertus von Bonin,

Gruppen Kommandeur of I./JG

54, myself and my wingman met

in intercepting the Blenheim. I

forget the altitude, but I guess it

was 3,000ft. Von Bonin was first

Wk Nr 1304 ‘White 1’ of 1./JG 76, which was fl own by Fw Karl Hier and shot down on November 22, 1939. Seen here in Allied markings,

the aircraft crash-landed at Gœrsdorf and the pilot was captured.

Lt Heinz Schulz’s Bf 109 E-3, Wk Nr 1251 ‘Yellow 11’ of 3./JG 76 was also shot down on November 22, 1939. This aircraft crash-landed

southwest of Merzig and the pilot was also captured.

Below

Pilots and

groundcrew of 3./JG

76 in front of ‘Yellow

1’, Stubendorf, late

August 1939. Jochen

Schypek is sitting

far left.