Memoirs of a Stuka Pilot

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(as of Nov 01, 2025 18:25:54 UTC – Details)


“Well-written and holds the reader’s attention . . . an engaging book and a rare personal view of flying one of the most iconic aircraft of WWII.” —Firetrench
 
After recounting his early days as a naval cadet, including a voyage to the Far East aboard the cruiser Köln and as the navigator/observer of the floatplane carried by the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer during the Spanish Civil War, Helmut Mahlke describes his flying training as a Stuka pilot.
 
The author’s naval dive-bomber Gruppe was incorporated into the Luftwaffe upon the outbreak of war. What follows is a fascinating Stuka pilot’s-eye view of some of the most famous and historic battles and campaigns of the early war years: the Blitzkrieg in France, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the bombing of Malta, North Africa, Tobruk, and Crete, and, finally, the invasion of the Soviet Union.
 
Mahlke also takes the reader behind the scenes into the day-to-day life of his unit and brings the members of his Gruppe to vivid life, describing their off-duty antics and mourning their losses in action. The story ends when he himself is shot down in flames by a Soviet fighter and is severely burned. He was to spend the remainder of the war in various staff appointments.
 
“An engaging, engrossing and exceptionally informative book. A worthy addition to any military enthusiast’s library and is unhesitatingly and heartily recommended.” —Aviation History
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ISYMY4U
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Frontline Books
Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 31, 2020
Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 26.1 MB
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 525 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1473821897
Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Best Sellers Rank: #157,089 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #57 in Aviation History (Books) #97 in Biographies of World War II #335 in Military & Spies Biographies
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