Alarmstart South and Final Defeat: The German Fighter Pilot’s Experience in the Mediterranean Theatre 1941-44 and Normandy, Norway and Germany 1944-45

‘Alarmstart South’ Completes the Alarmstart trilogy on World War 2 German fighter pilots, detailing their experiences in the Mediterranean theatre (1941-1944), as well as those of the late war over Normandy, Germany and Norway (1944-1945). The author utilizes extensive personal reminiscences of veterans and original documents, set within a brief factual framework of places, campaigns, equipment and progress of the war. Veterans who flew in Me 109, Fw 190 and Me 110/410 aircraft provide their stories in their own words. They range from junior NCOs to Colonels, including a senior fighter controller and one of the Luftwaffe’s psychologists. The Mediterranean theatre gave the top scoring aces on both sides for the entire war (excluding the Russian front battles): Hans-Joachim Marseille (158 victory claims) on the German side and Pat Pattle (an estimated 41 and possibly more claims), a South African, on the British side. In the vicious air battles over the Mediterranean region, many aircrew ended up in the drink with small chance of ever being found. Occasionally, a miracle would happen, as with Dr Felix Sauer of JG 53, a pre-war high school biology teacher, who used his knowledge of chemistry and a calm demeanor to survive 8 days in a dinghy at sea without water apart from intermittent rain or dew