Joseph Anthony Peterburs | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1924 Minnesota, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service/ | United States Army, United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1942-1979 |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Service number | O-830526 |
| Spouse(s) |
Josephine Heffner (m. 1945) |
THIS PAGE IS A DRAFT CONTAINING SOURCE TEXT
Col. Joseph Peterburs was an ‘Ace’ pilot of 49 missions and 269 combat hours flying the P-51 during the Second World War. On April 10, 1945, he shot down the famed German ‘ace’ Walter Schuck, flying the ME-262, the first German jet flown in combat. Shortly after, he was shot down and taken prisoner, before escaping and joining up with the Russian Red Army, fighting with them at the Battle of Jüterbog and Wittenberg. He would go on to serve in Korea and Vietnam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwzUo9FrDnI
Joseph Anthony Peterburs was born in Minnesota, and he enlisted in the US Air Force in 1942 during World War II. Peterburs served in the 55th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group, and he piloted a P-51 Mustang; on 10 April 1945, he shot down Walter Schuck's Me 262, and Schuck survived the crash. After the war, Peterburs served in the Korean War, and he also fought in the Vietnam War as a Lieutenant-Colonel during the 1968 Tet Offensive. Peterburs retired from the military in 1979, returning to his home state of California. In 2005, while Walter Schuck was visiting the United States, he met his former opponent Peterburs, and they were close friends until Schuck's death in 2015.
https://historica.fandom.com/wiki/Joseph_Anthony_Peterburs
(This article and others in MOAA’s “Window Into War” series originally appeared in the May edition of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)
Joseph Peterburs flew his P-51 Mustang close to the B-17 bombers he was escorting through the sky above Berlin, just as he had on 48 previous missions during WWII.
But on his 49th mission, the Germans flooded the sky with fighters. Peterburs, an adrenaline-filled 19-year-old, soared through the sky chasing a German fighter he saw blow up a B-17 bomber. He closed in as it hit a second bomber.
“Just as he blew up the second, I came in from the rear,” Peterburs said. “I saw smoke and fire on his left wing. He immediately rolled over and started to the deck. I just broke off the chase.”
If the attack on Pearl Harbor hadn’t happened four years prior, Peterburs would have been back in Wisconsin studying to be a priest. But now he was in German airspace — and spotted an airfield full of the enemy’s aircraft.
“I was by myself, 19 years old,” said Peterburs. “I made too many passes, and I destroyed at least five on the ground and set a hangar on fire.”
Trouble Afoot
On his last pass, Peterburs was hit and his engine started to overheat. He had 90 miles to reach the airbase, but his aircraft was losing altitude quickly.
He debated bailing out when the aircraft fell to 1,000 feet, but then he saw a German Focke-Wulf 190 fighter coming at him. The 190 fired off rockets but missed, and Peterburs kept flying.
At 500 feet, Peterburs was devising a belly landing, but he kept going. At 300 feet, the right side of the aircraft caught fire. Peterburs waited too long and had to bail from the left side, which guaranteed he would hit the aircraft’s tail on his exit.
Peterburs landed in an open field with townspeople yelling and running toward him. Peterburs was sent to a POW camp for the night. He escaped with a small group.
“There was very little security,” Peterburs said. “Basically, it was just going down to the fence at night.”
After their midnight escape, the group walked for about five miles toward Berlin when they were stopped by a Russian tank unit. Through the Russian lieutenant’s English, the men learned the tank unit was headed to Wittenburg.
Peterburs said he was given a rifle and told to hop on. The Americans fought with the Russians for the next three days.
Peterburs finally got his break when an American patrol noticed his flight suit among the Russian tank crew camped out near the Elbe River. Peterburs was reluctantly turned over to the Americans and began his journey home.
Once he was back in the U.S., Peterburs married his girlfriend, Josephine, for whom he had nicknamed the Mustang P-51 that helped him destroy so many enemy aircraft on his 49th combat mission.
Unlikely Reunion
Peterburs left the war behind as a memory — until the late 1990s. That’s when he received a letter from a German man who was just a boy when he watched Peterburs fall into the German farmland. The man tracked down Peterburs from a piece of the downed aircraft that he saved.
In 2005, Peterburs was surprised when again he received a letter from the man — this time telling him he had found the German pilot whom he had been chasing through the sky that April day in 1945. And it wasn’t just any pilot — it was Walter Schuck, a top German pilot with 206 confirmed aerial victories.
Schuck claimed four American B-17s just before Peterburs shot him down. The men met for the second time, this time on friendlier terms, when Schuck traveled to the U.S. in 2005.
“Both of us reconciled the relationship by recognizing that we were each doing our job,” Peterburs said.
Nationality: American Nickname: Pete Service numbers: O-830526 Highest rank: Colonel Role/job: Fighter Pilot Awards:
- Air Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- Bronze Star
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Legion of Merit
- National Defense Service Medal
- Prisoner of War Medal
- Purple Heart
- World War II Victory Medal
Col. Peterburs was demoted to MSgt after the war, then reinstated into an Officer on the outbreak of the Korean War. Retired a Col.
https://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/132245
https://wwiiflighttraining.org/cadets/Class1944/1944C/Peterburs_Joseph.php
Joseph Anthony Peterburs Theater: EuropeanJoseph A. Peterburs Highest rank: Colonel
Wife: Josephine (Heffner) Peterburs
Advanced Training was at Napier Field, Douthan, AL.
The following was extracted from his excellent interview found at http://video.flyingheritage.com/v/117113029/colonel-joseph-peterburs.htm
He was trained on P-40s. He was sent on the ship, Ile De France, to Kings Cliffe RAF Station in England. He was in the 20th Fighter Group, 55th Fighter Squadron, flying P-51s, escorting B-17 bombers on their missions and defending against German fighter attacks. He flew 49 missions and 269 combat hours.
On April 10, 1945, on an escort mission to Oranionburg, ME-262s intercepted the B-17s. The ME-262 was the first German jet used in combat, had twin turbo engines, and could reach speeds approaching the speed of sound. He observed one ME-262 shoot down two B-17s, and he shot and damaged the ME-262. The ME-262 flew into a cloud bank. As Peterburs dropped to lower altitude to avoid the cloud bank, he saw an airfield of German aircraft, which he then strafed more than once, hitting multiple planes and a FW200 Condor on his last pass. He received some damage and was smoking. He got to Magdenburg, where he was spotted by a FW 190 which fired at him. He had to bail out at low altitude, out of the left side of the plane that wasn't burning.
He was burned and hurt, and was taken prisoner by the German Luftwaffe, which sent him by train to the British POW Camp Stalag 11. The camp was being evacuated by the Germans, and he then was part of the evacuation, but he and others escaped and joined up with the Russians for about 2 weeks. They ended up at the Battle of Jitterbug and Wittenburg, where he was involved in a few minor skirmishes. Soon after he was handed over by the Russians to Americans and ended up with the Americans in Halle, Germany. He tired of this and bummed a ride to Paris on a C-47. On June 1, 1945 he was returned to New York and got married June 13.
Sixty years later, he received a letter from Werner Dietrich of Berg, Germany, who was 13 at the time of Peterburs' encounter with the ME-262 and saw Peterburs' plane go down. He showed WWII airplane investigators where Peterburs' plane went down for a TV show and the plane was recovered in 1996. Dietrich then set out to find the pilot of the plane, and he eventually found Peterburs. The TV station wanted to do a follow up and so they traveled to the U.S. to interview Peterburs. After hearing the story of the ME-262, Dietrich returned to Germany and discovered that the pilot of the ME-262 was Walter Schuck, a German ace with 206 victories. But Peterburs was not convinced. Two years later, Norwegian writer Christer Bergstrom contacted him and he, along with others, was convinced it was Schuck because only Schuck shot down two B-17s in the box that day on April 10, 1945.
In 2005, Peterburs and Schuck met. They became the best of friends. Schuck explained that his plane started to disintegrate after he went into the cloud bank. He had to bail out, and with much difficulty managed to bail out. He hurt his legs but credited Peterburs with saving his life, for he thought he would have been killed in future missions as the War was being lost by Germany.
Peterburs also served in Korea. In December 1951 he was assigned to the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron of the 18th Fighter Bomber Group flying the P-51D(F-51D) in Korea. He flew 76 missions over North Korea sustaining battle damage on several of those missions including a .50 caliber round through the prop of his P-51. He also sustained small arms fire into the cockpit which directly struck his face.
In the fall of 1967, Lt. Colonel Peterburs was assigned to Vietnam as Staff Operations Officer responsible for Command and Control in the war zone. During the Tet offensive, the Viet-Cong were able to lob a 122mm rocket into his barracks blowing up his room as he slept.
During the Cold War, he was commander of the 600th and 601st tactical air control units and then deputy commander of the 601st Tactical Control Wing in Europe.
His military decorations include: The Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross w/ 1 OLC, Bronze Star w/ 1 OLC, Purple Heart w/ 1 OLC, Air Medal w/ 7 OLC, POW Medal and 32 other medals and decorations.
Joe's Journey to Jet Hunter Status Joe Peterburs enlisted on November 30, 1942 and was called to active duty as an Aviation Cadet on January 26,1943 after less than a year. He was selected for single engine pilot training on April 15, 1944 and received his pilots’ wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.
During his first assignment he flew the P-40N and A-24 during combat replacement training and on November 6, 1944 he arrived in England. He was assigned to the 55th Squadron of the 20th Fighter Group flying out of Kings Cliff RAF station. Lt.
Peterburs was 19 years old. The unit was equipped with the P-51 and he checked out in a P-51B and accumulated about 20 hours in the B, C and D models before he started flying combat. He flew many memorable missions the 49th and last of which was the most exciting.
On 10 April 1945, the Group was escorting 450+ B-17s to targets in Oranienburg an area near Berlin. Just as the bombers were unloading, a swarm of Me 262 turbojets hit the formation. Lt. Peterburs was flying high cover and saw a 262 slicing through the B-17s. Before he could latch on to the 262 he had blown 4 B-17s out of the sky, 2 of which Peterburs saw him destroy. Peterburs had considerable altitude advantage and pulled into the 262s 6 0’clock with his six .50 calibers blazing. Peterburs saw hits and smoke on the 262s left wing and engine but broke off the chase when the 262, with the left engine burning, entered a cloud bank.
60 years later Peterburs found out that the damaged he
inflicted on the Me 262 resulted in the engine disintegrating and the pilot bailing out. The pilot of the Me 262 wasberleunant Walter Schuck, a top German Ace with 206 (198 in the Me 109 and 8 in the Me 262) confirmed air victories. Shortly after breaking off the 262 Peterburs started strafing an airfield and after a couple too many passes his aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire and he headed for friendly territory.
Before pulling off from his attack on the airfield he damaged several hangers and destroyed at least 5 enemy aircraft on the ground. Unfortunately, he was unable to make it back to friendly lines and had to bail out over Burg, Germany, immediately captured and became a POW. He was placed in a forced march with British soldiers to the POW Camp (Stalag III) at Luckenwalde near Berlin.
In about a week he escaped and was picked up by a Russian Tank column, given a rifle and fought with them from the Berlin area to the battle of Wittenberg on the Elbe.
From 1945 until 1950 he held command and administrative non-flying jobs. In June 1947 at 22 years old he was promoted to Captain.
In December 1951 he was assigned to the 12th Squadron of the 18th Fighter Bomber Group flying F-51Ds out of its base at Hoengsong (K-46), Korea. After about 5 hours of refamiliarization in the P-51 he was flying combat. He flew 76 missions over North Korea sustaining battle damage on several, including one in which he received multiple facial wounds from a bullet and shrapnel in the cockpit. While assigned to the 18 th he was Squadron flight leader, Assistant Group operations officer and Group training officer. After Korea he was assigned to Tyndal AFB, Fl. where he was Operations Officer for a support unit flying F-51Hs and later F-80 A Bs and the T-33. In 1954 he participated (setting in a trench whilst a 20 KT bomb was exploded) in an Atomic bomb test at Camp Desert Rock,
Nevada.
In January 1955 he ejected from a T-33 with a fire in the plenum chamber. In the 1950s Major Peterburs served in Newfoundland, in the early 1960s at NORAD Headquarters and from 1965 to 1967 with RAF Fighter Command Headquarters, England.
In 1967 Lt. Colonel Peterburs was assigned to 7th Air Force Headquarters, Viet Nam as staff operations officer for command and control in the war zone. During Tet, a 122 mm rocket hit outside his barracks blowing up his room while he was in bed. From 1968 until 1972 he was director of the 31 st NORAD Region Combat Operations Center; promoted to Colonel in 1969 he assumed the position of Director of Operations for the 507th Tactical Air Control Group where he integrated the automated 407L system into the Air Force.
From 1972 to 1978 he was assigned to Germany where he was the principal architect for the introduction of Mobile Command and Control Systems, the integration of Mobile and fixed radar command and control systems and the rapid deployment of mobile systems throughout NATO. During this period, he held positions as the Air Liaison Officer to the US Army’s 7th Corps Commander, Simultaneous Commander of both the 600th and 601st Tactical Air Control Groups and Deputy Commander for Tactical Control of the 601st Tactical Control Wing.
In 1979 Colonel Peterburs retired after over 36 years and 5 months of active military service. He is a Command Pilot
with over 2000 hours conventional and 2000 hours jet time, 125 Combat Missions, 407 Combat Hours in the P-51; a Master Air Weapons Controller and an inductee into the USAF Air Weapons Controller Hall of Fame. His military decorations include: The Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross w/1olc, Bronze Star w/1olc, Purple Heart w/1olc, Air Medal w/7olc, P.O.W. Medal and 32 other Medals and awards.
http://users.fred.net/dails/joep/welcome.htm
Joe Peterburs enlisted in the US Army Air Corps on the 30th of November, 1942 and was called to active duty as an Aviation Cadet on 26 January, 1943. On 15 April, 1944 after a rigorous flying training program, he received his pilots' wings and commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. After graduation he flew the P-40N and A-24 during combat replacement training. On 6 November, 1944 Lt. Peterburs arrived in England and was assigned to the 55th Fighter Squadron of the 20th Fighter Group. He was 19 years old. The unit was equipped with the P-51 and he quickly checked out in a P-51B and accumulated about 20 hours in the B, C and D models before flying combat. He flew many memorable missions, the 49th and last of which was the most exciting. On this mission, 10 April, 1945, Joe Peterburs shot down an Me 262 turbo jet piloted by the renowned German Ace Walter Schuck. Later that day Joe Peterburs was also shot down by enemy ground fire while strafing an airfield. He was captured, escaped and fought with a Russian tank unit to the battle of Wittenberg on the Elbe.
In December 1951 he was assigned to the 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron of the 18th Fighter Bomber Group flying the P-51D in Korea. He flew 76 missions over North Korea sustaining battle damage on several of those missions including a .50 caliber round through the prop of his P-51. He also sustained small arms fire into the cockpit which directly struck his face. In 1954 he participated in Atomic bomb tests in Nevada sitting in trenches while a 20 kiloton bomb blew. In January 1955, he ejected from a burning T-33. From 1965 until 1967 a tour as an exchange officer with RAF Fighter Command headquarters in England. In the fall of 1967, Lt. Colonel Peterburs was assigned to Vietnam as Staff Operations Officer responsible for Command and Control in the war zone. During the Tet offensive, the Viet-Cong were able to lob a 122mm rocket into his barracks blowing up his room as he slept.
From 1972 until 1978, Colonel Peterburs was assigned to Germany. He first held the position of Air Liaison to the US Army's 7th Corps Commander. He was then called upon to organize, form and command the 601st and 600th Tactical Air Control Groups. He was the principal architect in reorganizing the 601st Tactical Air Control Wing and assumed the position of Wing Deputy Commander for Tactical Control. During this period he was responsible for all direct air support and mobile / fixed radar control facilities providing command and control throughout Central Europe.
In 1979, after over 36 years of active duty, Colonel Peterburs retired. He is a Command Pilot, a Master Air Weapons Controller and an inductee into the USAF Air Weapons Controller Hall of Fame. His military decorations include: The Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross w/ 1 OLC, Bronze Star w/ 1 OLC, Purple Heart w/ 1 OLC, Air Medal w/ 7 OLC, POW Medal and 32 other medals and decorations.
Colonel Joe Peterburs is invited to and attends a handful of air shows / conventions a year. His last appearance was in Columbus Ohio at The Gathering of the Mustangs and Legends in September, 2007. He was invited as one of the 50 Legends in attendance. His next appearance will be at The Show of Shows in Louisville, Kentucky, February, 21-24 - 2008! He sells beautiful prints from WWII and Korea depicting various accounts of his career and missions including his encounter with German Luftwaffe Ace Walter Schuck. Colonel Joe also sells his book entitled "WWII Memories of a Mustang Pilot". Hundreds of copies have been sold throughout the US & Europe. Through much demand Colonel Joe has created this website for you to gain a little WWII history and purchase these fine prints and books directly through this website! Thank you for visiting................
Page created by Dave Ails - 2007
https://crestwood.on.ca/ohp/peterburs-joe/
Joseph Peterburs was born November, 25, 1924 in St. Paul, Minnesota, though he grew up mainly in Wisconsin, against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He comes from a family with a military tradition; his father emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1906, and joined the army that same year, completing overseas service in the Philippines and the Great War, as well as on the Mexican Punitive Expedition. Joe grew up in a large family; he and his brothers did what they could to support the family in the lean years of the Depression, and they all served in the military. As a young boy, Joe attended Catholic school, and when he felt he had a calling to the priesthood he went into the seminary. Joe was there during the early years of the war, and when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 he chose to enlist. At first he tried the navy, but Joe eventually decided upon the Army Air Corps, and he became an aviation cadet, sworn in on his 18th birthday and hoping to become a “knight of the air”. Joe went into training and was selected as a pilot candidate, where he passed the courses as he moved from one field to the next. He earned his wings, and was ready to be shipped overseas by the end of 1944. At that point, Joe began flying missions in his P-51 Mustang, which he named Josephine. His principal job was to escort and protect the bombers, but he also flew ground support missions, looking for targets of opportunity. On April 10, 1945, Joe experienced one of his most memorable days of the war; he took on a German jet fighter – a Messerschmidt 262 – in a dogfight, and he succeeded in downing it. Later that day, Joe himself was hit, and was forced to bail out over Germany. He was captured and sent to Stalag 11, but in the chaos of 1945 Germany he managed to escape, and he was able to link up with Russian forces and fight with them against the Germans for a brief period. The war was in its last days at that point, and Joe was able to rejoin American forces, and from there he was shipped back to the USA in short order, where he married and began his postwar life, which did end up including the air force as a career choice. Joe did deploy in both Korea and Vietnam, and served in many capacities around the US. Joe’s Cold War service also included being on high alert during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and an overseas deployment to Germany in the 1970s. Many years later, Joe’s WWII service came back in an unexpected way when he was able to connect with the Me262 pilot he shot down during the war, and the two of them became friends. Crestwood students and staff were lucky to meet Joe via zoom in July 2021.