GERMAN FIGHTER ACE ERICH HARTMANN: The Life Story of the World's Highest Scoring Ace
West Chester, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military History, 1992. First Edition. Hardcover. This is number 151 of 500 copies signed by Erich Hartmann on a special bookplate affixed to the half-title. Photographic biography of Major Erich Hartmann (1922-93), whose 352 victories, mostly with JG 52 on the Eastern Front in World War II, make him the most successful fighter pilot in the history of aerial combat. Flying an Me-109, Hartmann was eventually awarded The Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds, the Third Reich's highest military decoration. In the final days of the war, Hartmann flew to the British sector hoping to avoid capture by the Russians, but the Western Allies turned him over to the Soviets, who imprisoned him in the Gulag for 10 years. Following his release in 1956, Hartmann served as a high ranking official in the West German air force. Introduction by Manfred Jäger. Quarto: 296 pp. with a plethora of photographic illustrations. Original burgundy cloth binding, with a black-stamped rendering of a fighter plane and titling. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with some light toning along the spine. Fine / Near fine. Item #80706
ISBN: 0887403964
Price: $200.00