is it possible? to find out if a reargunner of a stuke who's gunner he was?

[Wijtman01]

sorry for my bad english but is it possible to find out to what pilot a reargunner belonged?

i have the gunners name, unit and he was a dkig winner

[Simon O.]

Yes it is possible, as a DK holder he was clearly experienced so a good chance he flew with the more successful pilots, ie. high award winers themselves

[Wijtman01]

well if i post info on the guy is there a chance we find him

i know his geschwader etc name

[Simon O.]

Yep

[Wijtman01]

kurt eschenbacher winner of the dkig and honour goblet

flew over 700 missions, he flew in geschwader 77
and was a tailgunner on a stuka plane

[Simon O.]

As you well know he flew with the 2 staffel. almost certainly he flew with a pilot that had the DKiG or RK.

To start with you can draw up a shortlist from amongst the RK holders of the staffel

http://www.das-ritterkreuz.de/index_...ort_search_ext

search for
2./StukaG 77

Then search amongst the staffel's DKiG holders

http://www.ww2awards.com/searchperson.asp?action=search

search using 2./Stuka-Geschwader 77 and 2. / Stukageschwader 77

from these you'll be able to narrow down your list to just a few.

[hucks216]

Simon, with a stuka bordfunker receiving an DKiG is it likely that the date of the award would correspond with the date of an award for his pilot, be that RK or another DKiG?
I ask because I have a formal DKiG citation to a stuka bordfunker, Uffz Heinz Frister of 4./StG 77, and while I have been able to locate informtion on 2 RK winners of that staffel the dates do not match the date of Frister's award (12th Dec 1943) although one of the RK's was awarded 3 months after Frister's DKiG to a Oberfeldwebel Adolf Weiss. Could this discrepency in dates of been caused by the paperwork trail of such awards?
However I have been able to locate a name of a Feldwebel of 4./StG 77 who also won the DKiG on 12th December 1943, a Joachim Laubrich.

[Wijtman01]

so he could have flown with http://www.ww2awards.com/person/29800

since he didnt crash

[Erich B.]

I noticed, when researching some Stuka paperwork I have, that the pilot did not always fly with the same gunner. I don't know whether or not that was the norm or was for training purposes, but it did happen.
Erich

[JeremyJ]

Eschenbacher

Wijtman01,

Your Stuka gunner flew with Gunther Hitz (StG77). While I do not have the exact timeframe, Eschenbacher is listed as being the BF for Hitz in the back of Obermaier's "Die Ritterskreuztraeger Der Luftwaffe 1939-45 - Band II Stuka u. Schlachtflieger". The page is 194 to be precise.

He is listed as having more than 500+ front flights but that much you already know.

Cheers

Jeremy

[JeremyJ]

Eschenbacher

And the information on his pilot and RK winner.



Jeremy

[hucks216]

I've been able to find out that the bordfunker Heinz Frister on my DKiG citation also won the Ehrenpokal in Nov 1942.

[Wijtman01]

waaauwh thanx for all that work man

but eschenbacher recieved his dkig on 17.05.1943

[Simon O.]

Right in the bracket of likely candidates i mentioned

[Wijtman01]

very sharp simon hahah

well its cool to know my bordfunker flew with a kc winner
thanx mates