World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces
invaded Poland. During the invasion, Schellmann served with the
Stab of JG 77 and was then posted to the
Stab of
Luftflotte 2 (2nd Air Fleet). In October 1939, Schellmann was summoned by
Generalleutnant Hubert Weise, at the time commanding general of
Luftgau III in
Berlin, to the
Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM—Ministry of Aviation). There, Weise tasked him with the creation of II.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 2 "Richthofen" (JG 2—2nd Fighter Wing) at
Zerbst. At this meeting, he met Annelise Gaedicke, a secretary in the RLM, whom he married in 1940. Based on the order issued on 11 October, Schellmann was appointed
Gruppenkommandeur (group commander) of II.
Gruppe of JG 2 on 15 December. The unit was formed from elements of both I.
Gruppe of JG 2 and I.
Gruppe of
Jagdgeschwader 3 (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing). The
Gruppe was officially declared operational on 15 January 1940. At the start of the
Battle of France, II.
Gruppe of JG 2 was deployed on the northern sector of
Army Group B and had been ordered to an airfield at
Hamminkeln on 11 May. Initially subordinated to the
IV. Fliegerkorps (4th Air Corps), the
Gruppe flew fighter escort missions on the first three days of the campaign for
Lehrgeschwader 1 (LG 1—1st Demonstration Wing),
Kampfgeschwader 27 (KG 27—27th Bomber Wing) and
Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (StG 3—3rd Dive Bomber Wing) attacking targets in the Netherlands. On 14 May, II.
Gruppe was ordered to
Peer in Belgium where the
Gruppe was placed under the command of the
Stab of
Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" (JG 26—26th Fighter Wing). There, II.
Gruppe fought against the
Royal Air Force (RAF)
Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) and Schellmann was credited with the destruction of a
Hawker Hurricane fighter on 15 May. On 17 May, the
Gruppe moved to
Attenrode and Schellmann claimed a
Westland Lysander aircraft shot down southeast of
Brussels. Two days later, he shot down another Lysander west of
Tournai. Due to the advance of Army Group B, II.
Gruppe moved to an airfield at
Grandglise. The
Gruppe stayed at Grandglise until the end of the
Battle of Dunkirk. Fighting in these aerial battles, Schellmann claimed a
Supermarine Spitfire fighter shot down near
Furnes on 31 May, a Lysander over
Dunkirk on 1 June, and another Spitfire over Dunkirk on 2 June. On 3 June, Schellmann and his
Gruppe moved to an airfield named Mannessecourt and participated in
Operation Paula, the failed attempt to destroy the remaining units of the ''
Armée de l'Air'' (ALA—French Air Force). That day, Schellmann claimed his last aerial victory of the campaign when he shot down an ALA
Morane-Saulnier M.S.406 fighter near
Compiègne. In support of
Fall Rot (Case Red), the second phase of the conquest of France, II.
Gruppe was subordinated to the
Stab of JG 2 and ordered to
Monceau-le-Waast on 4 June. On 5 June, together with the other elements of JG 2, II.
Gruppe fought over the combat area of the
6th and
9th Army. In contrast to the other groups of JG 2, II.
Gruppe pilots claimed just one aerial victory on 6 June and another on 13 June. As German ground forces advanced towards the
Aisne, the
Gruppe faced less aerial opposition resulting in more
ground support missions flown. Following the
Armistice of 22 June 1940, combat operation concluded on 25 June. On 27 June, II.
Gruppe was ordered to
Beaumont-le-Roger, patrolling the
English Channel and participated in the
occupation of
Guernsey on 1 July. Schellmann claimed his first aerial victory during the
Battle of Britain on 18 July when he shot down a
Bristol Blenheim bomber north of
Le Havre. On
Adlertag, 13 August, he led II.
Gruppe on a fighter sweep, clearing the airspace for the Luftwaffe bombers. Flying with the
Geschwaderstab on 25 and 27 August, Schellmann claimed a Spitfire shot down near
Warmwell and another Spitfire near
Wareham. On 31 August, he shot down a Hurricane near
Eastchurch also flying the
Geschwaderstab. At the time, Schellmann was already considered to become the next
Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 2.
Wing commander In late August it was becoming apparent to the
Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German High Command) that the Battle of Britain was not going as planned. The frustrated Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe,
Hermann Göring, relieved several
Geschwaderkommodore of their commands, and appointed younger, more aggressive men in their place. In consequence, on 2 September, Schellmann was given command of JG 2 thus succeeding
Oberstleutnant Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp who was transferred. Command of II.
Gruppe was passed to
Hauptmann Karl-Heinz Greisert. On 18 September, he was awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross () for his 23 victories, including the 12 in Spain. The decoration was presented by Göring at the Dutch headquarters of
General der Flieger (General of the Aviators)
Friedrich Christiansen at
Wassenaar near
The Hague on 19 September. Schellmann claimed his only aerial victory as
Geschwaderkommodore of JG 2 on 26 September 1940 when he shot down a Spitfire fighter near the
Isle of Wight. On 22 October, he was replaced by
Major Helmut Wick as commander of JG 2 and transferred to take command of
Jagdgeschwader 27 (JG 27—27th Fighter Wing). He replaced
Major Bernhard Woldenga who had temporarily assumed command after
Oberstleutnant Ibel had been transferred on 10 October. At the time of his transfer to JG 27, the
Geschwader was based at
Guînes at the English Channel and was subordinated to the
II. Fliegerkorps (2nd Air Corps). On 10 November, JG 27 was withdrawn from Channel operations. The
Geschwader was then ordered to
Detmold for a period of replenishment and equipment overhaul. On 2 January 1941, the
Geschwaderstab was moved to
Wiener-Neustadt and then to
Bucharest-Băneasa on 26 January. In preparation for
Operation Marita, the
Geschwaderstab and III.
Gruppe of JG 27 transferred to
Belitsa on 14 March. German forces invaded Greece on 6 April. Following the German advance, JG 27 moved to
Ptolemaida on 16 April and to
Larissa on 20 April. That day, Schellmann claimed a Hurricane fighter shot down near
Tanagra. On 30 April, JG 27 was then ordered to
Eleusis where the
Geschwaderstab was given a brief period of rest before being relocated to
Suwałki on 4 June in preparation of
Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. At the start of the invasion, JG 27 was subordinated to
VIII. Fliegerkorps (8th Air Corps) and was deployed in the northern sector of
Army Group Centre. On 22 June 1941, Schellmann was probably the highest profile German casualty of the opening day of Operation Barbarossa. Schellmann shot down a I-16 fighter and then
collided with the I-16 near
Grodno in his
Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-7 (
Werknummer 4189—factory number). According to Trigg, Schellmann was
rammed by an
Polikarpov I-153 piloted by Lieutenant Kuzmin. Kuzmin was killed in the collision but Schellmann managed to bail out over Soviet territory but was never seen again. In this account, he attempted to make his way back to German lines, was captured and later killed by
NKVD troops.
Major Woldenga then again assumed command of JG 27. ==Summary of career==