I FLEW for The FUHRER

Pictorial Bookplate signed  in pencil by

Hauptmann Heinz Knoke KC

Evans Brothers First Edition, fourth impression 1953. 187 pages plus 23 photos.

Very Good condition hardback book and a Very Good condition, unclipped, dustjacket. Clean, bright and tight. The bookplate has a self-adhesive backing and is laid loose into the book. It was from a limited edition produced by the American aviation artist and author Jerry Crandall.

Joining the German air force on the eve of the Second World War, Knoke fought throughout the conflict in a fighter squadron, eventually becoming the CO of a fighter wing.  In his 400 missions he claimed 52 Allied aircraft, including 19 American four-engine heavy bombers. He was shot down himself, and badly injured in the last weeks of the war, being awarded the Knights Cross in April 1945. Since publication in the early 1950s these memoirs have never been out of print. After the war Knoke became a politician and died in 1993.

As a contrast to the many accounts of British and American air-war experiences, this first-hand record from the other side makes fascinating reading.