The War Diary of Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert

Aerial combat over the Russian front from one who knew it first hand. Hauptmann Helmut Lipfert's vivid portrayal of his experiences in JG 52 during the last three years of the Second World War will stand as one of the truly classic chronicles of the Jagdwaffe over Russia. JG 52 Experten Walter Krupinski, Erich Hartmann, Gerhard Barkhorn and Heinz Ewald make their way through Lipfert's memoirs in an epic tale of combat over the Caucasus, Crimea, Hungary, and Rumania during the late war years of 1943-1945. Lipfert begins the story with his early experiences in the Bf 109 G-2 over Russia in II/JG 52 in 1943, and ends with I/JG 53 in 1945 with 203 aerial victories, one of the few pilots in histiry to reach 200. This book is a rare view into the air war over Russia, when Luftwaffe pilots accumulated incredible kill tallies while facing overwhelming odds against them in mass assaults. Werner Girbig is the author of Six Months to Oblivion-the Defeat of the Luftwaffe Fighter Force Over the Western Front 1944/45(available from Schiffer Military/Aviation History), and unit histories of JG 27 and JG 5.