December 27, 1944. While German soldiers complained of being abandoned by the Luftwaffe, many brave pilots were doing their best to help turn the tide on the western front. Depicted is a fierce action fought by IV.JG­3 over Eifel. Feldwebel Oscar Boesch and ten of his fellow fighter pilots are about to take on a large formation of P­51 Mustangs above the tree tops.

Signatures

A native of Austria, Oscar Boesch grew up in the mountains and was inspired by the eagles to fly. After learning to design, build and fly gliders as a teenager, his love of flying led him to join the Luftwaffe in August 1942. He then enjoyed a short but distinguished career as a combat pilot.

He volunteered to become a member of Sturm Staffel 1, a specially formed unit charged with destroying American daylight bombers. During his first mission on April 29, 1944, he almost died when he crash-landed and flipped his plane onto its back. On May 8, he was shot down while attacking a 40-plane B­24 formation, after downing one. During his 12 months as a combat flyer, there was a 350% pilot turnover rate in his Staffel. Boesch was himself wounded a few times, twice so severely that he was removed from flying duties. He had eight Focke Wulf 190's destroyed.

But it wasn't all in vain. It is estimated that the Staffel had been able to prevent 30,000 tons of Allied bombs from falling upon German soil. By war's end, Boesch had earned both the Iron Cross Second Class and First Class, and had downed eighteen enemy aircraft, including a Spitfire, a Mustang, six B­17's two B­24's, four IL­2's, two Lagg­5's, and two Yak­9's.

Boesch's operational flying ended in April 1945. On his last of 120 combat sorties, his FW­190 collided with a Yak­9 northeast of Berlin. He was captured by the Russians after parachuting to safety, but escaped and walked 1000 km back home to Austria.

In 1951 he emmigrated to Canada with his wife Editha and baby Roland, to build a future. Over fifty years after the war, Oscar Boesch still enjoys flying. He is an avid pilot, performing at airshows across the continent in his sailplane 'Wings of Man.' He has also performed in the IMAX movie, Silent Sky.

The Story

The lightning victories enjoyed by the Germans during the first years of World War II were due in large part to the Luftwaffe. But by the fall of 1944, they were retreating. All available resources were prepared for a last, desperate gamble. On December 16, 1944, Hitler launched a huge offensive in bad weather. Aircraft from both sides were unable to participate during the opening days of what was later to be called 'The Battle of the Bulge.'

With the return of good weather after Christmas, the ground battle reached its climax. At this point, Allied and German pilots were eager to lend support to the monumental clash of armies.

This gripping painting, WAR WOLF, puts us a few hundred feet above the treetops of the German/Belgian border at 11:15 AM on December 27. Eleven FW­190's of IV Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet," led by Leutnant Glaubig, were flying over the Eifel at low level to avoid radar. Suddenly, ground control radioed a desperate message: "Achtung! Fifty-plus Indians in Ida Richard Five!" These American fighters were probably from the 352nd Fighter Group.

In the wild melee that followed, Feldwebel Oscar Boesch was too low to bail out if his aircraft was hit. He managed to shoot down one Mustang into the trees and escape with his life. However, six other pilots of IV Gruppe were not so lucky: Leutnant Glaubig, Unteroffizier Leuchtenberger, Unteroffizier Rusch, Leutnant Rennwanz, Gefreiter Stumpf, and Oberfahnrich Buechsenmann, were killed in the morning's action. The loss of so many experienced pilots was another blow from which the Luftwaffe could not recover. Five days later, on New Year's Day, over 150 German aircraft would be lost during attacks upon Allied airfields. After the 'Battle of the Bulge,' the Luftwaffe was only a shadow of its former self, but the pilots gave their best to the end.