Memoirs of a Stuka Pilot

by Helmut Mahlke, John Weal (Translator)

After recounting his early days as a naval cadet, including a voyage to the Far East aboard the cruiser Koln, and as the navigator/observer of the floatplane carried by the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer during the Spanish Civil War, the author describes his flying training as a Stuka pilot. The author's naval dive-bomber Gruppe was incorporated into the Luftwaffe upon the outbreak of war. What follows is a fascinating Stuka pilot's eye view of some of the most famous and historic battles and campaigns of the early war years: the Blitzkrieg in France, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the bombing of Malta, North Africa, Tobruk, Crete and, finally, the invasion of the Soviet Union.

The author also takes the reader behind the scenes into the day-to-day life of his unit and brings the members of his Gruppe to vivid life; describing their off-duty antics and mourning their loss in action. The story ends when he himself is shot down in flames by a Soviet fighter and severely burned. He was to spend the remainder of the war in various staff appointments.

Genres: World War II, Memoir, Aviation, Military Fiction, Biography, History

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Stefan Mitev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ако се интересувате от Втората световна война, вероятно сте чували за най-декорирания пилот от Луфтвафе Ханс Улрих Рудел и неговата книга "Пилот на Щука". Тя се фокусира върху въздушната война на Източния фронт. Далеч по-малко известна е книгата "Мемоари на пилот на Щука" на Хелмут Малке, който за разлика от Рудел участва и описва битки от всички фронтове - Полша, Норвегия, Франция, Малта, Северна Африка, Крит и СССР.

Хелмут Малке е свалян два пъти във вражеска територия, но успява да избегне плен и се връща успешно до приятелските линии. С тъга признава, че любимият му самолет Junkers 87 (Щука) е прекалено бавен за изискванията на модерната война и може да стане лесна жертва на противниковите изтребители. Хелмут Малке претърпява тежки изгаряния при последното си аварийно кацане, оттеглен е от фронта и прекарва втората половина на войната на административни позиции. Вероятно затова дочаква края ѝ жив. Смъртността на пилотите от Луфтвафе е изключително висока. Мемоарите на летеца Хелмут Малке са интересно четиво за всеки, който се интересува от най-значимия човешки конфликт в историята.

[Jesse Callaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather dry in terms of style but included a lot of details about operational flying. Free from the national socialist propaganda that characterises Rudel's autobiography.

[Teemu Ala-Hynnilä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells exactly what it promises

I think the idea of the book was to tell how things were for a Stuka pilot during WW II in different theatres of war in Europe. Mahlke succeeds to open up fluently the operations they went through without bias to one way or another. Stuka crews show up as very disciplined and respected unit executing orders given with great preparation and professionalism.

[John A. Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story of a young man who joined the navy in the hopes of being a pilot, it starts with Helmut Malke as a cadet touring the Far East in the aftermath of the Great War, and he recalls the news of Hitler’s ascent to power.
Mahlke is assigned to be a navigator/observer serving about the Admiral Scheer, but he wants to be a pilot and manages to get accepted for Stuka training, initially to be deployed on the (anticipated) soon to be completed German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin. However, with the outbreak of the war, his dive-bomber Gruppe become part of the Luftwaffe, and Mahlke and his team are thrust into the war.
As a senior, and seemingly very proficient flyer, Mahlke rapidly climbs the chain of command within his group, and this book offers an amazing view from the Stuka’s cockpit, of historic battles in the first few years of the war, the invasion of Poland, the race through France and Dunkirk are all successes, and Mahlke describes them in detail, along with life in the squadron, and how they managed to muddle through when things go wrong. Arguably the best bits of the book are when Mahlke talks about day-to-day life, and also when he talks at length about the shock of losses – the pointless training accidents hit especially hard, and it is not until later that the losses in Russia feel justified.
Mahlke then moves to the Mediterranean Theatre, seeing combat in Malta, North Africa and Create. Again the detail is the most interesting thing, and he seems reasonably honest in most things (although his Gruppe do seem to be astonishingly accurate!).
Finally, the book moves to the invasion of Russia, and his Gruppe’s part in that. In this section, the sheer ferocity and intensity of the fighting is more visceral, and losses rack up. It is here that Mahlke talks about how much it matters to be helping the men on the ground. Shot down twice, he makes a miraculous escape on both occasions, crash landing and managing to make it back to friendly lines. They move around a lot, and Mahlke’s combat career comes to an abrupt end when he is shot down again by Russian Mig’s – mistaken for friendly aircraft as he is looking below to find his target that was attacking ground troops. He is badly burnt, and despite thing he will be back on the front lines in a few days, this turns out to be his final combat mission, and the book ends with a summary of the last few years without mentioning his staff service.
Overall, I thought this one of the best war memoirs I have read. Obviously coming from the German side, there is an automatic tendency to assume the worst, but an honest reading of this makes it difficult to judge Mahlke’s true political feelings. He talks of the harshness of the Versailles Treaty on Germany on several occasions, offering up something of a reason for Germany’s hardships, but I can’t recall it as a justification for war, and as political news reaches him in various locations he seems content that life will continue as is – the war seems to come as a bit of a surprise. Anyone interested in WW2 aviation should read this fascinating account.

[Phil Yates]

Helmut Mahlke writes an interesting account of his time as a Stuka dive bomber pilot for the Luftwaffe that gives many insights into how these daredevils operated. Even as a military history buff, I found much new and interesting in this account.

Their operations during the Battle of France in 1940 show the other side of the campaign that built the myth of the Stuka to its zenith and adds greater understanding of just how outclassed the Allies were. Their participation in the Battle of Britain gives another perspective on this well-documented campaign adding much to the RAF histories of the fighting over the Channel in the early days. Interestingly, I was reading Stanley Christopherson's An Englishman at War at the same time, so once again, seeing two perspectives on the same events was fascinating. His accounts of the fighting over Malta and in the early days of the Russian Campaign are equally enlightening.

As well as giving an insight into the German side of the battles, Mahlke also gives us a revealing view of life as a young officer in pre-war Germany and a commander in the war itself. His insight into his personal life is more perfunctory, but that does not detract from the fascinating tale he weaves of the events that he participated in.

[Leonard A. Japchinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book of Stuka pilot from Poland through early Russian campaign. Mahlke was winner of Knights Cross. Nicely written and kept my interest. Mahlke saw action in Poland,France,Malta,Africa,and Russia before being shot down for the third time. Not in the same category as Rudel's book but a very nice read. Would have like to read about his career after he was put out of action in his own words, not by the publisher. Slot of insight on Stuka operations and tactics.

[James W Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stuns pilot first hand account

Reads pretty smoothly. The first hand flying account really only covers to about mid-1943. After the author is wounded, the last 15 months or so is basically a staff level history. Based on the casualty list provided, his wounding likely saved his life.

[bernard j denver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A documentary account of Stuka actions in WWII

The Stuka and the pilot ,
Helmut Mahlke is of special interest to me, having been born in Malta during the time when Malta was being bombed.

[Charles Burgamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Air Combat

Excellent reading.well written and very factual. The actions and battles are well described. Very difficult to put book down. Would have liked more on post war experiences.

[Edward L · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Review

The this was an excellent book documenting not only the experience of Stuka pilot Helmet Mahlke but also the history of Stuka operations for all of WWII. It was well written and accurately accounted for all the Stuka personnel who perished during WWII.

[Mark Burcham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read. Well written. Filled gaps in my understanding of the early years of WWII.
Well worth the read for anyone interested in the development and use of air power. First hand account from a master pilot.

[mkowalczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like most of the story, just not the ending

Interesting story of his life getting into the military and working his way up, but I wanted to see what he thought once the war turned and what was happening with his family. It just ended before they experienced the downturn.

[JJ Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

Well documents. Filled with great detail and personal moments. Excellent read. Would have been interesting to have some post history on writers life after the war.

[Robert Pinksten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really detailed first hand account of several hundred Stuka missions worth of operations.

[Lew · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an avid WWII reader, I very much enjoyed Mr. Mahlke's memoirs though it suddenly ends when he stops flying Stukas and is transferred to non-combatant staff positions. I would have been interested to hear more about his staff experience during the rest of the war. Due to his attention to operational details of Stuka Gruppe, this book may not be for the casual history reader.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book that gives some good insights into the life of a pilot of one of the aircraft most feared by ground troops in WW2. It was a very good read.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, but odd that it ended so early in the war, even though the author continued serving.