[1][2] Born in Bartenstein in Eastern Prussia, Schack joined the military service in the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1939.

(Sturm) Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 3 "Udet" (JG 3—3rd Fighter Wing) which he led until the end of World War II in Europe.

After the war he lived secluded in the Eifel Mountains, and devoted himself to philosophical research and died on 14 June 2003 in Schmidt, Nideggen.

Schack was born on 12 November 1917 in Bartenstein, at the time in Eastern Prussia of the German Empire, present-day Bartoszyce in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, He was the son of an Superintendent.

Following graduation from school, Schack studied metallurgy at the University of Stuttgart and at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule in Aachen.

[3] In 1937, he attempted to join the Luftwaffe but was categorised as wehruntauglich (unsuited for military service) because of a sports injury earlier in his life.

On Friday 1 September 1939 German forces invaded Poland which marked the beginning of World War II.

The Gruppe was equipped with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-1 and commanded by Hauptmann (Captain) Richard Leppla and fought against the Royal Air Force over the English Channel.

[5] By 15 June, JG 51 had completed its preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union and was based at airfields at Siedlce, Stara Wieś, Halasy where III.

On 20 July, the Gruppe was moved to an airfield at Orsha, approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Smolensk, and flew combat air patrols along the Dnieper in the area between Mogilev and Zhlobin.

That day he shot down a Tupolev SB bomber northeast of Babruysk,[10] and received the Iron Cross 2nd Class (Eisernes Kreuz zweiter Klasse) on 10 August 1941.

[11] In October 1941, German forces launched the strategic offensive named Operation Typhoon which resulted in the Battle of Moscow.

[13] On 23 October, he bailed out of his burning Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 9189—factory number) following aerial combat near Ugoskosawed which is in the vicinity of Kaluga.

[1] That day, he also damaged Bf 109 F-2 (Werknummer 8117) in a ground collision during an emergency takeoff at Dugino in the Novoduginsky District.

[16] In October, III Gruppe predominantly flew combat air patrols in the vicinity of Rzhev where the German 9th Army was deployed.

[17] Schack claimed his 18th aerial victory on 15 October, an Ilyushin Il-2 ground attack aircraft shot down west of Bely.

Gruppe received the order to convert to the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 at Jesau, present-day Juschny, located southeast of Königsberg.

Because Luftwaffe units were already stretched in the combat area of Army Group Center, fighting in the Battles of Rzhev, conversion was done in rotation, one squadron at a time.

[20] The next day, on his first mission on the Fw 190, Schack shot down five Soviet Pe-2 bombers in the vicinity of Sychyovka, making him an "ace-in-a-day" for the first time.

[3] On 1 April 1943, he was transferred to Ergänzungs-Jagdgruppe Ost, a supplementary training unit, where served as a flight instructor, sharing his combat experience with new fighter pilots destined for the Eastern Front.

[31] Flying from Konotop on 3 September, Schack escorted Ju 87 dive bombers on their mission to attack Soviet forces in southeast of Sevsk, west of Kursk.

Gruppe of JG 51 covered the retreat of Army Group Centre, moving from Orsha to Terespol then back to Minsk and Kaunas, with Schack scoring consistently.

[38] Also present at the ceremony were Anton Hafner, Otto Kittel, Emil Lang, Alfred Grislawski, Erich Rudorffer, Martin Möbus, Wilhelm Herget, Hans-Karl Stepp, Rudolf Schoenert, Günther Radusch, Otto Pollmann and Fritz Breithaupt, who all received the Oak Leaves on this date.

On 6 October 1944, Schack bailed out from Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 165559), the fourth time he was forced to save his life by parachute.

[43] At the time, I. Gruppe was located on various airfields in West Prussia and fighting in the Courland Pocket and was subordinated to Luftflotte 6 (Air Fleet 6).

Gruppe moved to an airfield at Danzig-Langfuhr, present-day Wrzeszcz, where the two units were resupplied with new but largely young and inexperienced pilots.

Nevertheless, Oberst (Colonel) Otto Weiß, at the time Jagdfliegerführer Westpreußen (commander of the fighter forces of a Luftflotte), threatened Schack with court-martial for failing to comply with an order.

I. Gruppe was ordered to move to Brüsterort, present-day Majak located on the northwestern tip of the Sambia Peninsula, approximately 44 kilometres (27 miles) from Königsberg, to fight in the East Prussian Offensive.

Schack, as a native East Prussian and familiar with area, led the ground personnel, towing 40 Bf 109 aircraft of which ten were still serviceable after the trek arrived in Brüsterort.

[52] Living the last years of his life in a forest cabin, Schack died on 14 June 2003 at the age of 85 in Schmidt near Nideggen, Germany.