As a fighter ace, he is credited with 45 aerial victories claimed in approximately 700 combat missions, all of which on the Western Front.

Born in Erfurt, Schöpfel grew up in the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany and joined the German police force.

In December 1941, Schöpfel was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 26, a position he held until January 1943.

Serving with the Landespolizei (state police), he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1936 and held the rank of Oberfähnrich (officer cadet).

[1] Following flight training,[Note 1] Schöpfel was assigned to I. Gruppe (1st group) of Jagdgeschwader 135 (JG 135—135th Fighter Wing).

[4] In 1938, Schöpfel was transferred to the Stab (HQ) flight of I. Gruppe of Jagdgeschwader 334 (JG 334—334th Fighter Wing).

[6] World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland.

Gruppe was moved to an airfield at Caffiers in northern France, close to the English Channel in preparation for the Battle of Britain.

In a mission to Dover, clearing the airspace ahead of Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers from Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3) attacking Allied convoy Peewit during the Kanalkampf, Schöpfel claimed a No.

[16] Schöpfel had originally misidentified the Blenheim and filed the claim over a Handley Page Hampden bomber.

Gruppe of JG 26 and Bf 109s from Jagdgeschwader 3, 40 in total, across the Strait of Dover to sweep the skies clear ahead of the main raid.

[22] As the advance led by Schöpfel made their way past the coast it spotted a vic-formation of RAF fighters.

[26] On 22 August, Galland was appointed Geschwaderkommodore (wing commander) of JG 26 and Schöpfel, who had led 9.

In defense of this attack, the RAF dispatched 32 Hurricane fighters and 12 Boulton Paul Defiant interceptor aircraft from No.

Five men (pilots and gunners) were killed and one wounded, Squadron Leader D. G. Garvin was the injured man when L7021 was destroyed.

92 Squadron Spitfires shot down over the Thames Estuary, taking his total to 20 aerial victories claimed.

Author Thomas assumes that one of the Spitfires was piloted by Flight Lieutenant Lionel Harwood 'Buck' Casson from No.

In consequence of Galland's advance in command responsibility, Schöpfel succeeded him as Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26 on 6 December and Hauptmann Josef Priller became the new Gruppenkommandeur of III.

The objective of this operation was to give the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen fighter protection in the breakout from Brest to Germany.

In support of this, the Luftwaffe, formulated an air superiority plan dubbed Operation Donnerkeil for the protection of the three German capital ships.

Frail and slow, the Swordfish forced German pilots to lower their undercarriages to prevent overshooting the biplanes.

(Höhen) Staffel of JG 26, the high altitude squadron equipped with the Bf 109 G, to North Africa.

[54] On 8 January 1943, Schöpfel attended a conference hosted by General der Jagdflieger Galland in Berlin.

There, Schöpfel was informed by Galland that on 10 January, he would pass on command of JG 26 to Major Josef Priller and that Schöpfel would be appointed Ia (Operations Officer) with Jagdfliegerführer 2, the fighter controller responsible for protecting the German U-boat bases in France.

This was based in Germany on Reich Defense, and he mentored the newly promoted Gruppenkommandeur Siegfried Schnell who had previously commanded 9./JG 2 alongside Schöpfel on the Channel Front.

Then, ion 15 June 1944, he was appointed Geschwaderkommodore of the newly formed Jagdgeschwader 4 (JG 4—4th Fighter Wing), taking over command from Major Walther Dahl who was transferred.

[58] On 6 August, Schöpfel was shot down in aerial combat with North American P-51 Mustang fighters near Schwerin flying a Bf 109 G-6 (Werknummer 440728—factory number).

[56][59] In October 1944 Schöpfel was appointed to the newly created role of Jagdfliegerführer Ungarn (Fighter Leader Hungary).

On 10 April, he was appointed the last Geschwaderkommodore of Jagdgeschwader 6 (JG 6—6th Fighter Wing) based in northern Czechoslovakia.

[1][56] After World War II, Schöpfel worked as a chauffeur and other jobs before obtaining an executive position with Air Lloyd at the Cologne Bonn Airport.