Schentke was born on 23 November 1919 in
Kriescht in the
Province of Brandenburg within the
Weimar Republic, present-day Krzeszyce in western Poland. Following flight and fighter pilot training, Schentke was posted to 9.
Staffel (9th squadron) of
Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) on 1 March 1940. The
Staffel was subordinated to the newly created III.
Gruppe (3rd group) of JG 3, based at
Jena. The
Gruppe was commanded by
Hauptmann Walter Kienitz and equipped with the
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-1 and E-3. On 28 March 1940, III.
Gruppe of JG 3 was considered operationally ready and transferred to
Detmold Airfield where it was tasked with defending Germany's western border during the "
Phoney War". On 10 April, the
Gruppe relocated to
Hopsten Airfield. In preparation for the
Battle of France, III.
Gruppe was subordinated to
Luftflotte 2, supporting
Army Group Bs attack into the Netherlands. Schentke claimed his first aerial victory on 8 June when he shot down a
Bristol Blenheim bomber. Schentke claimed his first aerial victory during the
Battle of Britain on 7 September during
Operation Loge, the first deliberate attack on
London which mainly targeted the
Port of London. That day, III.
Gruppe had been tasked with escorting the returning Luftwaffe bombers following their bomb run. On this mission, Schentke claimed a
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down. He claimed a second Spitfire shot down on 1 December. On 15 February 1941, III.
Gruppe was withdrawn from the
English Channel and relocated to
Gütersloh Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment. Schentke and other pilots of III.
Gruppe spent a couple of days of
R&R skiing in the
Kleinwalsertal before returning for active service on 17 March. On 17 April, the
Gruppe received the then new Bf 109 F-2, training on this type until they relocated to
Lillers, France on 3 May. On 15 May, Schentke claimed his last aerial victory over the RAF when he shot down a
Hawker Hurricane fighter.
Eastern Front The
Gruppe relocated to an airfield at
Moderówka on 18 June where the
Gruppe concluded their last preparations for
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the start of the campaign, JG 3 was subordinated to the
V. Fliegerkorps (5th Air Corps), under command of
General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim, which was part of
Luftflotte 4 (4th Air Fleet), under command of
Generaloberst Alexander Löhr. These air elements supported
Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt's
Heeresgruppe Süd (Army Group South), with the objective of capturing Ukraine and its capital
Kiev. Then, continuing eastward over the
steppes of southern USSR to the
Volga with the aim of controlling the oil-rich
Caucasus Schentke claimed his first aerial victory on the
Eastern Front on 24 June when he shot down a Soviet
Polikarpov I-15 biplane fighter aircraft. Over the next weeks, Schentke frequently flew as
wingman to
Hauptmann Walter Oesau, who was the
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of III.
Gruppe of JG 3. On 4 September 1941, Schentke and fellow JG 3 pilot
Oberfeldwebel Hans Stechmann, received the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () for 30 aerial victories claimed. On 6 November, III.
Gruppe was withdrawn from the Eastern Front and sent to
Mannheim-Sandhofen Airfield for a period of rest and replenishment. The first elements of the
Gruppe arrived by train in Mannheim on 8 December, the transfer was completed a week later. There, the personnel was sent on home leave. Following the death of
Generaloberst Ernst Udet,
Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring ordered JG 3 to be given the honorary name "Udet" on 1 December. The
Gruppe received a full complement of 41 Bf 109 F-4 aircraft and on 6 January 1942 was ordered to relocated to
Sicily. On 13 January, 7.
Staffel and elements of 8. and 9.
Staffel boarded a train to
Bari in southern Italy while the rest of III.
Gruppe headed for
Sciacca, Sicily. The relocation progressed until 26 January when new orders were received, ordering the
Gruppe to return to Germany. At Jesau near
Königsberg, present-day Kaliningrad in Russia, III.
Gruppe began preparations for redeployment to the Eastern Front. Supporting German forces fighting in the
Demyansk Pocket on 18 February 1942, Schentke claimed a
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-3 fighter shot down, which may have been misidentified
Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighters. In late July 1942, after 71 aerial victories claimed, Schentke was transferred to
Ergänzungsgruppe Süd (Supplementary Fighter Group South) as an instructor, promoted to
Leutnant (second lieutenant) and awarded the
German Cross in Gold () on 24 September.
Stalingrad and missing in action In November 1942, Schentke returned to the
Eastern Front and was assigned to the 2.
Staffel of JG 3. At the time the
Staffel was under the command of
Oberleutnant Detlev Rohwer. In December, Schentke volunteered for the
Platzschutzstaffel (airfield defence squadron) of the
Pitomnik Airfield. The
Staffel, largely made up from volunteers from I. and II.
Gruppe of JG 3, was responsible for providing fighter escort to
Junkers Ju 52 transport aircraft and
Heinkel He 111 bombers shuttling supplies for the encircled German forces fighting in the
Battle of Stalingrad. On 12 December 1942, the German
LVII Panzer Corps of the
4th Panzer Army began its north-eastward drive from
Kotelnikovo toward German forces trapped in the Stalingrad pocket. That day, JG 3 supported the attack in the combat area south of
Stalingrad. During these missions, Schentke claimed six aerial victories, making him an "
ace-in-a-day" for the second time. On 25 December 1942, Schentke claimed an
Ilyushin Il-2 ground-attack aircraft and was then was shot down in aerial combat with Soviet bombers near the
Kotluban train station. Although he was seen to
bail out of his Bf 109 G-2 (
Werknummer 13885—factory number) behind enemy lines, Schentke remains
missing in action. He was posthumously promoted to
Oberleutnant (first lieutenant). ==Summary of career==