| Red griffins over Russia: World War II over Russia--as seen from the cockpit of a Heinkel III bomber, 1941-1945 |  | Author: Georg Zirk
Publisher: Champlin Museum Press
Category: Book
This item is no longer available
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1488296
Media: Paperback
Pages: 118
ISBN: 0912173149
EAN: 9780912173146
ASIN: 0912173149
Publication Date: 1987
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| Customer Reviews:
Memoirs of a Heinkel 111 Crewman! July 27, 2008
Michael OConnor (Wausau, WI USA)
While there are many memoirs of Luftwaffe fighter pilots on the market, there are comparatively few on their bomber compatriots. Georg Zink flew 81 combat missions in Heinkel 111s over the Eastern Front. This 1987 paperback, published by Champlin Fighter Museum, is his memoir of those days.
Zink, a German national living in pre-war Poland, joined the Luftwaffe in the fall of 1940. In June 1943, after being trained as a bombardier-navigator, he was assigned to IV/KG 55, the 'Griffin' Wing. In May 1944 his crew was transferred to II/KG 4 'General Wever.' In all he logged 81 Eastern Front missions, most at night. While his bomber was hit various times, Zirk and his crewmates were lucky never to have been shot down. Captured by the Russians at war's end, he eventually escaped to the West in 1948.
Zirk relates his experiences in a straightforward and superficial fashion; after all, RED GRIFFINS OVER RUSSIA only runs to 117 pages! His descriptions of training and combat ring true although other comments (widespread atrocities against German nationals in Poland, 1944 missions involving 300(!) He 111s, etc.) are given without substantiation.
The book includes a six-page insert depicting Zirk at various stages of his life. The Luftwaffe shots are especially interesting despite the poor quality paper used.
Gven the paucity of Luftwaffe bomber crewmen memoirs, RED GRIFFINS OVER RUSSIA is recommended for its insight into the wartime life and times of a Heinkel bombardier-navigator. While you should read it with a grain of salt, it nevertheless is interesting and exciting. Recommended.
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