Eagles Wings

Book excerpt: Eagle's Wings is the autobiography of Hajo Herrmann, one of the best known Luftwaffe pilots of World War II. With well over three hundred perational missions and with a tally of nine RAF bombers destroyed during mass attacks on Germany the author was one of the most successful Luftwaffe pilots of World War II. The author writes about his career from the early days when he was an officer cadet in the German army, through his experiences as a founder member of the Condor Legion in Spain, to the part he played in the war. Herrmann was an acknowledged expert in anti-shipping operations, a divisional commander and creator of the 'Wild Boar' Wilde Sau method of night fighting. He was a close confidant of Hermann Goring, who promoted him to high office in the fighter defence of the Third Reich. Ten years as a prisoner of war in Russia, questions from historians and institutions, and his passion for flying encouraged him to write this account. Hajo Herrmann is a gifted writer and a dedicated historian making Eagle's Wings more than the biography of an outstanding airman: it is also a unique contribution to the history of a turbulent era.