Rudolf Schoenert (27 July 1911 – 30 November 1985) was the seventh highest scoring night fighterflying ace in the German Luftwaffe during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership.
After five years in the Merchant Navy, Schoenert began flight training in 1933 and went on to fly commercial aircraft for Lufthansa. He was commissioned as a Leutnant in the Luftwaffe's Reserve in 1938.
Night fighter career
Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, Royal Air Force (RAF) attacks shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign.[2] By mid-1940, Generalmajor (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each sector named a Himmelbett (canopy bed) would direct the night fighter into visual range with target bombers. In 1941, the Luftwaffe started equipping night fighters with airborne radar such as the Lichtenstein radar. This airborne radar did not come into general use until early 1942.[3]
In June 1941, Schoenert joined 4./Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1—1st Night Fighter Wing) at Bergen in northern Holland. He was credited with his first aerial victory on the night of 8/9 July 1941 when he claimed an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber shot down at 02:51 60 kilometres (37 miles) northwest of Vlieland.[4] His total stood at 22 by 25 July 1942 and he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes).
Schoenert is recognized as the instigator of upward-firing armament in German night fighter force. The concept, dubbed Schräge Musik (Jazz Music) was first suggested by him in 1941. Kammhuber initially rejected the idea based on reports filed by Helmut Lent and Werner Streib. Following the Knight's Cross presentation, Schoenert again petitioned the idea to Kammhuber who approved the installation of upward-firing armament in three Dornier Do 217J, one of which issued to Schoenert.[5]
Group commander
On 1 December 1942, Schoenert was made Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of the newly formed II. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 5 (NJG 5—5th Night Fighter Wing).[6] The Gruppe was equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110heavy fighter. Schoenert brought to the Gruppe his modified Do 217 fighter which was inspected by Oberfeldwebel Paul Mahle, an armorer attached to II. Gruppe. Mahle analyzed the concept and installed upward-firing guns into the cockpit of two Bf 110 night fighters.[5][7]
Schoenert claimed the first aerial victory with Schräge Musik in May 1943.[8]
On 5 August 1943, Schoenert was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of I. Gruppe of Nachtjagdgeschwader 100 (NJG 100—100th Night Fighter Wing), replacing HauptmannHeinrich Prinz zu Sayn-Wittgenstein who was transferred.[9] NJG 100 was operating on the Eastern Front, where he claimed to have shot down 30 Soviet aircraft by early 1944. While there, he utilised a Junkers Ju 87D-5 "Stuka" dive-bomber with the configuration in an effort to target the slow-flying Soviet biplane fighter-bombers.[10] On 1 January 1944, Schoenert was appointed commander of Nachtjagdgruppe 10 (NJGr 10—10th Night Fighter Group) and transferred command of I. Gruppe of NJG 100 to Major Alois Lechner.[11]
On 6 March 1945, Schoenert succeeded OberstleutnantWalter Borchers as Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of NJG 5.[6] During a sortie east of the Elbe on 27 April 1945, an electrical fault rendered Schonert's radar unserviceable and his Junkers Ju 88G was shot down by a Royal Air Force (RAF) de Havilland Mosquito. He survived and was rescued by German troops.
According to US historian David T. Zabecki, Schoenert was credited with 64 aerial victories.[15] Obermaier lists Schoenert with 65 aerial victories claimed in 376 combat missions, including 35 Soviet aircraft on the Eastern Front.[16] Foreman, Parry and Mathews, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 59 nocturnal victory claims.[17] Mathews and Foreman also published Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims, listing Schoenert with 62 claims.[18]
Chronicle of aerial victories
This and the ? (question mark) indicates that the aerial victory claim is not listed by Foreman, Mathews and Parry, authors of Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939 – 1945.
Aders, Gebhard (1978). History of the German Night Fighter Force, 1917–1945. London: Janes. ISBN978-0-354-01247-8.
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer[in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
Foreman, John; Mathews, Johannes; Parry, Simon (2004). Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims 1939–1945. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN978-0-9538061-4-0.
Held, Werner (1998). Der Jagdflieger Walter Nowotny Bilder und Dokumente [The Fighter Pilot Walter Nowotny Images and Documents] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN978-3-87943-979-9.
Hinchliffe, Peter (1998). Luftkrieg bei Nacht 1939–1945 [Air War at Night 1939–1945] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN978-3-613-01861-7.
Mathews, Andrew Johannes; Foreman, John (2015). Luftwaffe Aces — Biographies and Victory Claims — Volume 4 S–Z. Walton on Thames: Red Kite. ISBN978-1-906592-21-9.
Obermaier, Ernst (1989). Die Ritterkreuzträger der Luftwaffe Jagdflieger 1939 – 1945 [The Knight's Cross Bearers of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force 1939 – 1945] (in German). Mainz, Germany: Verlag Dieter Hoffmann. ISBN978-3-87341-065-7.
Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001). Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II [The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall. ISBN978-3-931533-45-8.
Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
Stockert, Peter (2007). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 5 [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 5] (in German). Bad Friedrichshall, Germany: Friedrichshaller Rundblick. OCLC76072662.
Thomas, Franz (1998). Die Eichenlaubträger 1939–1945 Band 2: L–Z [The Oak Leaves Bearers 1939–1945 Volume 2: L–Z] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag. ISBN978-3-7648-2300-9.