Paul Scheuermann
| Paul Scheuermann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Paul Heinrich Scheuermann |
| Birth date | 25 June 1914 |
| Place of birth | Menden, Kreis Iserlohn, Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg, Province of Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
| Death date | 9 July 1943 (aged 29) |
| Place of death | ⚔ Avesnes-sur-Helpe, French State |
| Allegiance |  National Socialist Germany
|
| Service/branch |  Heer Luftwaffe
|
| Years of service | 1936–1945 |
| Rank | Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major) |
| Battles/wars | World War II
|
| Awards | Iron Cross |
Paul Heinrich Scheuermann (25 June 1914 – 9 July 1943) was a German NCO of the Wehrmacht, finally Sergeant Major and Flight Engineer with the Nachtjäger of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He was never a pilot, as at least one source implies.
Contents
Life
After attending school, completing a three-year apprenticeship and a certain amount of time in his job, Paul Heinrich Scheuermann, the son of Karl and Anna Lena Scheuermann, joined the 3rd Battalion (III. Abteilung)/Artillerie-Regiment 16 in Iserlohn as a volunteer for 12 years on 29 October 1935. He received basic training and training with the 10.5 cm leichte Feldhaubitze 16 (field howitzer). At some time before WWII, he transferred to the Luftwaffe as a technical engineer.
He attended a technical basic course from 10 February to 10 May 1938 in Frankfurt-Rebstock. He served during the liberation of the Sudetenland. From 1 February to 10 May 1939, he attended a technical non-commissioned officer course in Mannheim-Sandhofen. It can be assumed that he initially was part of the ground crew who maintained fighter aircraft.
WWII
As of 26 September 1939, Scheuermann, who's wife Gertrud lived in Worms, was deployed in the western defense zone and then took part in the Western Campaign and the Battle of Britain as om 10 May 1940. From 1 October to 31 December 1941, he attended a course at the Aviation Technical School 3 in Munich and passed the exam to Flugzeug-Feldwebel (Aircraft Staff Sergeant).
On 10 January 1942, he was transferred to the Nachtjagd on the Western Front. It is unknown when exactly he became a member of the flying staff, but he served with the Staff Company/I. Group/Nachtjagdgeschwader 4 (NJG 4).
Death
In the night from 8 to 9 July 1943, a Messerschmitt Bf 110 G-4 of NJG 4 took off from Florennes airfield in Belgium. The crew consisted of pilot (Flugzeugführer) 1st Lieutenant Friedrich "Fritz" Graeff (who already had seven aerial victories),[1] radio operator (Bordfunker) Unteroffizier Heinrich Köhler and flight engineer Oberfeldwebel Paul Scheuermann. At 2:50, during heavy aerial combat against a RAF Bomber Command raid of Köln, Graeff rammed an Avro Lancaster bomber (No. 106 Squadron) of the Royal Air Force 15 km southeast of Avesnes-sur-Helpe near Wignehies.
The Lancaster crashed, all seven men of the RAF crew were KIA. The heavy night fighter Bf 110 was badly damaged, Köhler and Scheuermann were either dead or so badly wounded, that they couldn't rescue themselves. Only Graeff managed to bale out by parachute, though seriously injured and having lost an eye in the collision.[2] The Bf 110 crashed near Clairfontaine (Département Aisne).[3][4]
Burial
Oberfeldwebel Scheuermann rests in the German war cemetery in Fort-de-Malmaison; Final grave location: Block 5, Row 17, Grave 778.[5] Heinrich Köhler (b. 21 June 1916 in Peine) rests at his side (Grave 777).
Promotions
- 1.10.1936 Gefreiter (Private E-2/Lance Corporal)
- 1.11.1937 Obergefreiter (Private E-3/Senior Lance Corporal)
- 1.11.1939 Unteroffizier (NCO/Corporal/Junior Sergeant)
- 1.4.1941 Feldwebel (Staff Sergeant)
- 1.3.1943 Oberfeldwebel (Sergeant Major)
Awards and decorations
- DLRG basic certificate (Grundschein) of the German Life Saving Association (Abzeichnen der Deutschen Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft)
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th Class
- Sudetenland Medal in October 1940
- War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd Class with Swords
- Air Gunner's, Radio Operator's and Flight Engineer's Badge (Fliegerschützenabzeichen für Bordschützen, Bordfunker und Bordmechaniker)
- Iron Cross (1939), 2nd Class on 28 June 1943
- Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
Sources
References
- ↑ Graeff, Friedrich "Fritz"
- ↑ Graeff is possibly Friedrich "Fritz" Wilhelm Gräff (b. 26 September 1919) who was later promoted to Hauptmann (Captain), was a Soviet POW and died of unknown causes on 5 June 1946 in the Serbian POW (extermination) camp Banatski Karlovac (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). Source: Kurt W. Böhme: Die deutschen Kriegsgefangenen in Jugoslawien, 1964
- ↑ Friday 9 July 1943
- ↑ Verlustliste Nachtjagdgeschwader 4
- ↑ Paul Scheuermann
