Gerhard Schöpfel

On 22 August, Galland was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 26 and Schöpfel, who had led 9. Staffel until then, succeeded him as Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe. His successor as Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) of 9. Staffel was Oberleutnant Heinz Ebeling.[27] That day, Galland led the Geschwader in an attack on Manston Airfield. In combat with No. 65 Squadron, Schöpfel claimed a Spitfire shot down at 20:25 CET southeast of Dover.[28] Sergeant M Keymar was killed in a Spitfire over Dover at 19:25 GMT.[29] On 28 August, the Luftwaffe attacked the airfields at Eastchurch and Rochford. In defense of this attack, the RAF dispatched 32 Hurricane fighters and 12 Boulton Paul Defiant interceptor aircraft from No. 264 Squadron.[30] In this encounter, Schöpfel was credited with the destruction of a Defiant shot down east of Canterbury.[31] 264 Squadron suffered the loss of four Defiants and three damaged. Five men [pilots and gunners] were killed and one wounded, Squadron Leader D. G. Garvin was the injured man when L7021 was destroyed.[32] Another solitary claim was made on 31 August but III./JG 26 lost four Bf 109s in combat with 85 and 54 Squadron. One pilot was missing, one rescued, and two were posted in missing in action.[33]

The Blitz bombing campaign during the Battle of Britain began on 7 September 1940. That day, on a mission to London, Schöpfel claimed a No. 603 Squadron shot down at 18:45.[31] During an attack on the London Docks on 9 September, Schöpfel claimed three No. 92 Squadron Spitfires shot down over the Thames Estuary, taking his total to 20 aerial victories claimed.[34] According to British loss lists, 92 Squadron lost only two Spitfires this day; Pilot Officer C. H Saunders was wounded in L1077, and Pilot Officer W. C Watling in P9372.[35] On 11 September, Schöpfel may have shot down a No. 235 Squadron Blenheim bomber on a mission to bomb Calais harbour. That day, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) for 20 aerial victories claimed, the second pilot of JG 26 to receive this distinction.[36] The Blenheim was in fact escorting Fairey Albacore aircraft. Pilot Officers P. C. Wickings-Smith, A. W. V. Green and Sergeant R. D .H Watts were killed.[37]

On 29 October, JG 26 targeted the North Weald Airfield. The attack began just as Hurricanes from No. 257 Squadron were taking off. In this encounter, Schöpfel claimed a Hurricane shot down at 17:45, its was observed that the pilot bailed out.[38] Two Hurricanes were hit in the attack. Sergeant A. G. Girdwood burned to death when a bomb exploded next to his Hurricane on take-off. Pilot Officer F Surma parachuted from P3893 unhurt at an altitude of 3,000 feet.[39] On 1 November, JG 26 escorted Ju 87s in an attack on Alied shipping off the Nore. On this escort mission, Schöpfel claimed a No. 92 Squadron Spitfire shot down over Herne Bay, his last in 1940.[40]

Schöpfel claimed his first aerial victory in 1941 on 17 June. That day, the RAF flew "Circus" No. 14 targeting the Etabs Kuhlmann Chemical Works and power station at Chocques.[Note 2] In total, No. 2 Group sent 23 Blenheim bombers, escorted by fighters from North Weald and Biggin Hill. JG 26 claimed 15 aerial victories including a No. 56 or No. 242 Squadron Hurricane by Schöpfel.[42] Schöpfel claimed two aerial victories on 9 August 1941. Author Thomas assumes that one of the Spitfires was piloted by Flight Lieutenant Lionel Harwood 'Buck' Casson from No. 616 Squadron.[43] On 19 October, III. Gruppe moved to a makeshift airfield at Coquelles, close to Calais on the English Channel. There, they began preparations for operating the then new Focke Wulf Fw 190 A-1. The Gruppe was fully reequipped and operational with the Fw 190 in mid-November 1941.[44]

Emblem of JG 26

On 5 December 1941, Galland was appointed General der Jagdflieger (General of Fighters). In consequence of Galland's advance in command responsibility, Schöpfel succeeded him as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26 on 6 December and Hauptmann Josef Priller became the new Gruppenkommandeur of III. Gruppe.[45] Three days later, he was awarded the German Cross in Gold (Deutsches Kreuz in Gold) on 9 December.[3] In December, he was also promoted to Major (major).[26]

In February 1942 he led III. Gruppe in Operation Donnerkeil. The objective of this operation was to give the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany. The Channel Dash operation (11–13 February 1942) by the Kriegsmarine was codenamed Operation Cerberus by the Germans. In support of this, the Luftwaffe, formulated an air superiority plan dubbed Operation Donnerkeil for the protection of the three German capital ships.[46] They intercepted Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde, acting as Squadron Leader, No. 825 Squadron Fleet Air Arm, in a Fairey Swordfish. Frail and slow, the Swordfish forced German pilots to lower their undercarriages to prevent overshooting the biplanes. In the event all six Swordfish of this unit were shot down. Several managed to fire off their torpedoes at German ships but none found their mark. Lieutenant Commander Esmonde was shot down and killed by an Fw 190.[47]

Schöpfel claimed an unconfirmed aerial victory over a No. 411 Squadron Spitfire on 24 March. That day, the RAF targeted the Comines power station with "Circus" No. 116.[48] On 14 April 1942, Schöpfel shot down Flight Lieutenant Cyril Wood from No. 403 Squadron.[49] During the Dieppe Raid on 19 August, Schöpfel claimed two aerial victories in the vicinity of Dieppe. He shot down a No. 501 Squadron Spitfire at 16:31 and a No. 222 Squadron Spitfire at 18:30, the last claim by JG 26 of the day.[50]

On 8 November 1942, Anglo–American forces launched Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942), the invasion of French North Africa. In consequence, Schöpfel was ordered to send the 11. (Höhen) Staffel of JG 26, the high altitude squadron equipped with the Bf 109 G, to North Africa. That day, Schöpfel may have claimed two Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers shot down. These claim s are attributed to his personal records and cannot be verified by other records.[51] Schöpfel claimed his 45th and last aerial victory on 6 December 1942 over a B-17.[26] That day, the VIII Bomber Command had targeted the steel works at Lille with 66 B-17s. Schöpfel's claim may have been a B-17 from the 305th Bombardment Group.[52] According to Matthews and Foreman, Schöpfel claimed a final B-17 shot down on 20 December.[53] That day, VIII Bomber Command had again targeted Lille. On this raid, six B-17s were lost over France and further 31 aircraft sustained combat damage. According to Caldwell, no claim was filed by Schöpfel.[54]

On 8 January 1943, Schöpfel attended a conference hosted by General der Jagdflieger Galland in Berlin. There, Schöpfel was informed by Galland that on 10 January, he would pass on command of JG 26 to Major Priller and that he would be appointed Ia (Operations Officer) with Jagdfliegerführer 2, the fighter controller responsible for protecting the German U-boat bases in France.[55][56] In a post World War II interview, Galland commented on Schöpfel:

"I knew Schöpfel was not the right man ... He was a nice guy, but not a strong leader ... Priller was better. He was the aggressive type."[57]

Schöpfel left JG 26 on 10 January 1943, with 45 victories, to take up a number of administrative roles. Following his tenure with Jagdfliegerführer Bretagne, he then went to serve as Fighter Operations Officer for the South Italy Command from July (during the critical Sicily landings) and then Jafü (Fighter Leader) Norway from January 1944.

He returned to a combat command on 1 May 1944, briefly joining the staff of III. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54—54th Fighter Wing) for a month. This was based in Germany on Reich Defense, and he mentored the newly promoted Gruppenkommandeur Siegfried Schnell who had previously commanded 9./JG 2 alongside Schöpfel on the Channel Front. Then, on 1 June 1944, he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of the newly formed Jagdgeschwader 4, also based on the Channel Front in Defense of the Reich. The original Gruppe I./JG 4, formed in mid 1943, had previously been based in Romania defending the oilfields, and was currently based in northern Italy. The new II. and III./JG 4 Gruppen were authorised in mid July, and I./JG 4 transferred to Germany to join them to bring his Geschwader up to full strength. However, on 6 August wounded he was shot down near Schwerin flying Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 440728—factory number).[56] His injuries were serious enough that he had to give up his command on 6 August to Oberstleutnant Gerhard Michalski.[56]

In October 1944 Schöpfel was appointed to the newly created role of Jagdfliegerführer Ungarn (Fighter Leader Hungary). In February 1945 he commanded the Luftkriegsschule 2 (training school) at Gatow. On 10 April he was appointed the final Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 6 (JG 6—6th Fighter Wing) based in northern Czechoslovakia.

After serving on the Eastern Front for approximately one month, Schöpfel was captured by Soviet forces, and was interned for four and a half years in the Soviet Union. He returned to Germany upon his release in December 1949.[1][56]

According to Obermaier, Schöpfel was credited with 45 aerial victories, claimed in approximately 700 combat missions.[1] Matthews and Foreman, authors of Luftwaffe Aces: Biographies and Victory Claims, researched the German Federal Archives and found records for 40 aerial victory claims, plus nine further unconfirmed claims, all of which were claimed on the Western Front.[58]

• Iron Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 11 September 1940 as Hauptmann and Gruppenkommandeur of the III./Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter"[77][78]
• German Cross in Gold on 9 December 1941 as Hauptmann in the III./Jagdgeschwader 26[79]