Me 109 Pilot Horst Petzschler Part 1 of 2 

I am a glider pilot from Germany and had the honor of having a BF-109 pilot as a meteorology teacher! Great man who told us a lot about the war. Everyone always listened eagerly! I still remember when he was visited by a former RAF Spitfire pilot! The two were the best of friends! It's hard to believe that they were worst enemies back then! May they rest in peace!

I meet this man on line in about 1990 and we became sort of "PEN PALS",,,,,we wrote many times to each other and he talk about the war ( particularly air combat )....he was very generous with his time and would sent me many photos with his autograph on them....unfortunately I didn't save all his letters....but I did save some, I did save all of his photos and have them in my pilots album..while we were talking, he told me that he was the" wing man" for Walter Bohatsch... who was living in Canada...Bohatsch also mention in this video was his commander... Through these 2 men, I've had the honor to meet many other WW2 German pilots....Horst die in 2011....I found him to be a gentleman of the highest order.....may he rest in peace....

My best experiences as a young American officer in West Germany in the early 80s was meeting German WWII veterans.

Survived Eastern and Western Front late war combat, survived Soviet imprisonment. No safe spaces then!

I could listen to these guys talk forever

Defininitely one of the most engaging and humorous interviews I've seen with a Luftwaffe pilot. I love the 'He had haemorrhoids while he waited for the Me-262' story.

Horst is well spoken and a pleasure to listen to!! Great story teller!!!!!

Jesus..my Grandfather was taken prisoner by the German 90th Light at Alemein (he was a "mere" Rifleman in The Rifle Brigade..the 2nd Bn) and from a child he spoke openly ("warts an' all") about the war and especially about his treatment by the Germans. He was a man of his generation that felt as a Rifleman..he had done little in the war..HOWEVER..His experiences inspired me to become soldier from a very early age..the more dreadful the story(ies) he told me..the more I wanted it! The comradeship, the humour (humor for you across the pond) both light and black...I joined the British Army in 1987 and served on tanks and reconnaissance armour...and I TOO experienced THAT feeling of being AT ONE.... Now where am I going with this you may ask? Well having had my Grandfather on "both sides of the fence" He spoke incredibly well of his treatment by the front line Germans AND Italians..he was always dismayed and upset that German Veterans could not celebrate (due to laws etc prohibiting their meetings due to "Nazi" soldiers having a meeting etc) This man here has spoken openly and honestly..listen back at his Spanish Civil War chat about the "Lindon" lot..no one knows about them do they? What about hearing about the ones that went to fight the war FOR Franco? (Remember..Franco of the Fascists WON! and still people went there to Spain for holidays until and after his death) Look at Tito...a Communist..all their HARD currency was Deutche Marks! Because Germans went there... This man..a true fighter..and a pilot has opened his mind and heart to you (as the internet world) It is humbling as well as educational.

I have had several complaints about the "pilot on the microphone" sound effects, and I appreciate every comment! Doing the "radio voice" actually adds a huge hassle factor to producing these, and I will gladly stop it. It will save me a little more production time. Thank you for helping to make this program better! Someone also complained that I deleted someone's comment. I have not deleted ANY comments, and to be truthful, I don't even know HOW to delete a comment. I'm guessing it was something hateful or non-PC and the RU-vid algorithm deleted it.

Very good video contribution. Many thanks to Herr Petzschler for the very interesting memories that he told as a contemporary witness in an exciting and entertaining way.

Thanks, I appreciate interviews with people who 'were there'.

A wonderful interview! Horst's story about exciting but difficult times was told with humour. History from one who was there.

Steely-eyed, tough old bird, who knew what he was doing, even under the extreme pressure that was Luftwaffe Air Defence at the end of WW2. Must also have had the luck of the devil to survive all that.

Gathering this content is such important work. There will come a time when the generation from the war is no longer around, and the world will then only have what is left in terms of interviews and documents. Good work.

Jaa! My relative here in Finland flow your me 109´s against russians during that fateful year 1944. He visited Germany to pick up the planes couple of times far as I know.Who knows you and him past each other there back then. I was not there but that horror of war should not be forgotten.

Excellent interview, very insightful.

I met Horst in Dallas TX sometime in the 1990's at a gun show. He had a table was was selling a book about The Luft in Sweden that featured him and his ME-109 on several pages. Very interesting gentlemen. He signed is book to me and had a couple of other pieces of artwork that he signed.

Just stumbled on your channel! I love it! New subscriber here!

This was excellent! Very good questions. Well done research and presentation! AAA

Pierre Clostermanns book The Big Show (1951) is an epic read and he mentions an ME 262 flight that surrendered at his station airfield in the final days of the war. They entertained the pilots in the Chateau in which they were billeted including swimming in the owners Pool ! Pierre commented that while bathing he noticed on German pilot had scars criss crossing his back from crash landings and bailouts, he had been shot down something like 13 or 14 times ! .

Excellent video , incredible interesting insight into Lufwafa viiewpoint , GB . Cant wait for part 2 . Thank you bothe ..

I met him in Kansas sitting next to the man that shot him down.

Very interesting and thank you to all involved.

As a retired pilot i love these interviews with old pilots of germany and Japanese air force, i enjoyed listening to this German pilot tell his story,they like the us do what they have to when pilots are needed to fill ranks

He seems at peace with his past.

A very interesting and entertaining account from Herr Petzschler 👍

Is fascinating hearing the detailed content from these magnificent pilots. Yes, they were the enemy during the war. Though in my humble opinion, were of the highest calibre people.

Your videos are simply the very best I have ever saw.Thank you sir for making these videos possible.❤😊😊😊

Thank you for posting such an important piece of history.

Great video

thank you for publishing History

Its still just like a game of sports for him.

Great videl clip. Very well done (and he was so well spoken)

Once again this German speaks excellent English !!

He still alive ? Very funny man and a true Experten. Horrido !!!!

In the fragment about the Allied attack on the refinery in Upper Silesia (it was probably about Blachownia Ślaska, German name Blechahammer) in the 1980s, my older workmate told me that as a little boy he observed a large stream of Allied bombers over Silesia, undisturbed by the Lufwaffe, flying towards the bombing sites and at one point 2 German fighters appeared, one of which immediately turned back and the other flew after it in about half a minute. Maybe it was Horst's plane?

May I make a suggestion. The radio voice was cool for a minute but loses it's novelty quickly. Maybe don't use it for every voiceover, maybe the first ones then the last and in between just have the words up for a few seconds. Love the content tho!!!

We were enemies in another time. I'm glad there is peace between us now.

A math professor at the University of Arizona (circa 1980) was Bristish citizen and his job in the RAF during the war was to test fly captured German aircraft. One day, he had to test fly a recovered Stuka dive bomber. He put it in a dive, but then couldn't pull out (it wouldn't let him), until he got below a certain low altitude. They discovered that it had a lock mechanism that was based upon an altimeter. After that flight, he began drinking heavily for the rest of the war.

Thanks for this other side to the story. My father-in-law was two and one-half years in Russia, six months on the western front and a year and a half in various hospitals, discharged as 50% fit. Medical care in Germany at that time was primitive or non-existent.

I always get a kick out of listening to a German trying to pronounce a word with a "w" in it. You had a couple of great questions (they were all at least good, just incase anyone thinks otherwise) that caught my ear, like whether or not he'd roam around looking for loose formations, just an interesting question. Another that caught my attention was...hell I don't what you asked but it got him talking about the Lincoln Brigade and the stigma they faced. I'd never herd of them. It's odd how they weren't remembered for fighting the Fascists/Nazis but for fighting with the Communists. That McCarthy was one sorry S.O.B, he didn't care who he hurt or lives he ruined. Ohh, you got my Sub.:-)

Big Respect to the German Pilots of the Luftwaffe of whom most were gentleman just like RAF pilots. 🇩🇪🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I think you will find that Molders was killed in a Heinkel He 111 that was taking him to the funeral of Udet, who had committed suicide. At the time Molders was the Inspector of Fighters.

I had a chance to meet him in 1998 in San Jose Ca.

He spoke at our LIONS Club quite a few years ago. He spoke of his defection to Sweden, then being sent to a Russian P.O.W. camp. Forced to build ships, or railroads. Was released after the war, and emigrated to Canada, because it was closer to America than the alternative of Australia. He worked for aviation companies, and settled in Wichita, Kansas, working for Boeing. He said he admired Hitler, and thought that was a great thing for the world. Apparently, he changed his Nazi ideals for capitalism. During the war, he remarked about the many, many women he was intimate with.

Finest video !

A true Berliners humor

One thing that would help your videos is to get rid of the annoying "pilot-on-the-microphone" talk! Otherwise, it's interesting to hear retired German pilots talk!

German pilots were excellent piots of the highest order, for them there were no limits for missions they flew until the war was over, or they were killed or incapacitated.

Would be better if you get rid of the background noise.

He kind of reminds me of Robin Olds, who also had kind of crazed look in his eye when talking about shooting down enemies.

Stop the background music please

Das ist sehr interessant.

There to fight a war but doesn't miss the sightseeing part. Weird.

Horst says “ Werner Molders lost a leg and a half and was climbing mountains in Argentina “. Well, he was forbidden to participate in combat (and still did in a training fashion) . His transport 111 crashed … as inspector of the fighters…. They tried to land in a thunderstorm… going to Udets funeral. After Udet committed suicide So… the story here is history… would be a wonderful thing , if only it were true.

Verry high class pilot..veri agressive ..i know hes biografy bravo !

The latter American B-17G had a “chin turret” to combat the Luftwaffe’s head-on attacks. Yes the American 8th Air Force initially suffered heavy losses, but then they could afford too. In sustaining heavy loses, the Germans lost the cream of their best fighter pilots.

Great interview, recommend dropping the background music.

No break in operations. Loss of life or injury the release.

What an interesting recount of his experiences, sadly spoilt by the unnecessary musical backtrack.

Say what you will, German pilots was bad ass. Going up against odds, low fuel. Still doing numerous more missions than allied pilots.

Please accept my comment as non-critical ... The fighter was a Bf-109 not a Messerschmitt Me-109. And yes, I did see you comment in the description.

Good video except for those awful interruptions at each section.

...geht das auch auf deutsch ??

Bf-109 not Me -109.

Great to hear the German Vet…but as for the commentator, it sounded like they were talking thur a toilet paper tube…very annoying.

Difference between a REAL pilot like this guy (an many others) and a DEI pilot in a current airline. DEI pilot history: Uhh... I was hangin about at a 7 eleven and someone said "hey girl, why aint you pickin up on that airplane thing that's goin on?! And guess what? They gonna put me in a big jet front seat no matter what I do!

Hate the silly radio style questions. Ruined the interview

Why is the narrator talking on a walkie talkie?

Surviving the Gulag 😳

Schon zu sehen das der Mann immer noch so klarsinning ist mit seinem Alter.

No member o Abraham Lincoln brigade were pilot.

that introduction to each segment ,like your speaking through a radio is quite annoying

Get your facts right. Mölders was a passenger on a He-111 on a flight to Berlin when the aircraft crashed in inclement weather. Mölders was on his way to the funeral of Ernst Udet who had commited Suizide.

You need to stop deleting comments here. If you dont like peoples basic opinions... then don't post videos.

What a interesting life......shame about the "i am a 12 year old gamer" type interview techneque, which to be honest i find wrong on a number of levels, massively disrespectful for starters......im mean really, its kinda taking the piss, this was not fun and games, who are you playing pilot.!?

nazzie boy