BOOK review Luftwaffe Ace by Norbert Haining

[dieg777]

BOOK Luftwaffe Ace
AUTHOR Norbert Haining
PAGES 187
PHOTOGRAPHS 90

This is the biography of one of the lesser known Luftwaffe pilots. He was not one of the high scoring aces but a pilot who slowly and steadily worked his career with the JG 54 Greenhearts on the Eastern front. He spent most of his career as a wingman but eventually became a Staffel CO and was credited with 42 victories in over 200 operational sorties flying mainly FW190 A6s and A8s. In some ways it reminds me of First Light by Geoffrey Wellum in that both were not high scorers but obviously good airmen; both books do not have a lot of combat details but give a good overall feel of what it was like to be there. This book is a very human story. The author covers his operational experiences but there are few combat details as if he shies away from the killing and concentrates on the human side with details on his family life when on leave and stories of his companions.
The first section (55 pages) covers his early years, his introduction to aviation through gliding and his training. There is a section on his initial tour of combat experiences on the Eastern front (pages 55 to 113) followed by chapters on; his stint as a trainer in Germany, his brief return to operations over Courland, his return to Germany for convertion onto Me 262s and his subsequent experiences on being captured and trying to find his family and wife.
There are many interesting facts and details, well described, throughout the book and is overall a good companion to The War Diary of Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert which also covers the war in the East from a Luftwaffe pilot’s viewpoint.