Every once in a while one reads a book that is truly interesting and not loaded with hype and hyperbole. So it is with what is basically the story of the operational career of one pilot, Wolfgang Wollenweber. Herr Wollenweber was not a famous ace, and he did have the fortune to survive the war. He also had a career that was probably more of the norm than it was the exception, though he did have the opportunity to fly an exceptional aircraft.

There is a brief introduction to his life and unlike other similar books, the author decides to not tell any of his time while in training, starting the book with his first operational posting. This was in early 1943 and he was hoping very much to be posted somewhere warm, like North Africa. As happens with more frequency than one would think, he got just the opposite and was posted to an Me-110 unit based at Kirkenes in northern Norway.

Unlike what most of us who have spent time in the military have experienced, he was given orders and then it was up to him to find a way to his base. Sometimes this involved the rail system, and sometimes he was able to find an aircraft to ferry to a unit. Needless to say, what would take hours today, took him over a week.

While in Norway, he flew the Me-110E and 110G, mostly in convoy escort as well as bombing missions and ground attack against the Soviets, resulting in several successes. Through all this he had to endure some of the worst weather in the world where one could take off in good weather and find the field totally socked in upon return. This was all in the days before nav aids so he had only his own skills. To say that the year he spent there was an interesting read would be an understatement. He made many good friends and ran across several a-holes along the way. Again, anyone who has spent time in the miitary can easily relate to his experiences.

After a year, he got a posting to engineering school that he had requested. He also requested Reich Defense duties so was soon sent to train to fly the Me-163. Once trained, it was discovered that there would not be any flying for quite a while due to a lack of aircraft and fuel so requested posting to a jet unit. It was now into early 1945 and the war was rapidly deteriorating for the Germans.

Oberleutnant Wollenweber was next sent to the Heinkel factory where they were making the He-162. The planes were slowly coming off the production line and so it was here that he got his first jet training. Thanks to his engineering training, he was able to discover the foibles of the He-162, and the aircraft had a big one. Specifically, if using the rudders during turns, the aircraft would flip over on its back and spin into the ground. Apparently many pilots were killed due to this fault, one that was never corrected due to the course of the war. He was also the last one to fly out of the Heinkel factory before the Soviets overran it with the airfield being blown up as he left the ground.

The author flew the aircraft dozens of times, mostly ferrying planes from one place to the other. His opportunities at combat in it were very few and though an impressive plane if flown well, the 162 never scored an air to air victory.

His personal recollections of the plane and what he saw in Germany during the last months of the war as well as the men he flew with and had to deal with make this one of the best books of its type that I have read in a very long time. The book includes some super period photos, many from the author's personal collection as well as some photos of the planes that have been preserved and pages from the pilot's notes on the 162. It is a great read and one that I can easily recommend to you.

January 2015

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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