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An Eagle's Odyssey: My Decade as a Pilot in Hitler's Luftwaffe
‘I realized that this brief but abortive sortie was to be the final mission of my Luftwaffe flying career.’
Johannes Kaufmann’s career was an exciting one. He may have been an ordinary Luftwaffe pilot, but he served during an extraordinary time, with distinction. Serving for a decade through both peacetime and wartime, his memoir sheds light on the immense pressures of the job.
In this never-before-seen translation of a rare account of life in the Luftwaffe, Kaufmann takes the reader through his time in service, from his involvement in the annexation of the Rhineland, the attack on Poland, fighting against American heavy bombers in the Defense of the Reich campaign. He also covers his role in the battles of Arnhem and the Ardennes, and the D-Day landings, detailing the intricacies of military tactics, flying fighter planes and the challenges of war.
His graphic descriptions of being hopelessly lost in thick cloud above the Alps, and of following a line of telegraph poles half-buried in deep snow while searching for a place to land on the Stalingrad front are proof that the enemy was not the only danger he had to face during his long flying career.
Kaufmann saw out the war from the early beginnings of German expansion right through to surrender to the British in 1945. An Eagle’s Odyssey is a compelling and enlightening read, Kaufmann’s account offers a rarely heard perspective on one of the core experiences of the Second World War.
Johannes Kaufmann’s career was an exciting one. He may have been an ordinary Luftwaffe pilot, but he served during an extraordinary time, with distinction. Serving for a decade through both peacetime and wartime, his memoir sheds light on the immense pressures of the job.
In this never-before-seen translation of a rare account of life in the Luftwaffe, Kaufmann takes the reader through his time in service, from his involvement in the annexation of the Rhineland, the attack on Poland, fighting against American heavy bombers in the Defense of the Reich campaign. He also covers his role in the battles of Arnhem and the Ardennes, and the D-Day landings, detailing the intricacies of military tactics, flying fighter planes and the challenges of war.
His graphic descriptions of being hopelessly lost in thick cloud above the Alps, and of following a line of telegraph poles half-buried in deep snow while searching for a place to land on the Stalingrad front are proof that the enemy was not the only danger he had to face during his long flying career.
Kaufmann saw out the war from the early beginnings of German expansion right through to surrender to the British in 1945. An Eagle’s Odyssey is a compelling and enlightening read, Kaufmann’s account offers a rarely heard perspective on one of the core experiences of the Second World War.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published July 11, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 15, 2022
Johannes Kaufmannin muistelmateos "Sotilaslentäjänä 1935-1945" (Koala, 2002) on nimensä mukaisesti selostus saksalaisen pilotin urasta Luftwaffen palveluksessa toista maailmansotaa edeltävinä vuosina ja suursodan aikana.
Lukijan ei kannata odottaa suurta kirjallista ilotulitusta tai erityisen räiskyvää tapahtumien kuvausta, vaikka hän palvelikin niin Stalingradissa kuin länsirintamalla Normandian maihinnousun aikoihin. Sävy on toteava ja välillä suorastaan luettelomaisen kuivakka, vähän lentopäiväkirjan tapaan. Kaufmann ei myöskään kerro oikeastaan mitään omista tuntemuksistaan tai henkilökohtaisesta elämästään.
Suomalaisessa laitoksessa on ihan hyvä kuvaliite, jossa esitellään Kaufmannin lentämiä konetyyppejä.
Lukijan ei kannata odottaa suurta kirjallista ilotulitusta tai erityisen räiskyvää tapahtumien kuvausta, vaikka hän palvelikin niin Stalingradissa kuin länsirintamalla Normandian maihinnousun aikoihin. Sävy on toteava ja välillä suorastaan luettelomaisen kuivakka, vähän lentopäiväkirjan tapaan. Kaufmann ei myöskään kerro oikeastaan mitään omista tuntemuksistaan tai henkilökohtaisesta elämästään.
Suomalaisessa laitoksessa on ihan hyvä kuvaliite, jossa esitellään Kaufmannin lentämiä konetyyppejä.
February 8, 2020
The first half of Johannes Kaufmann's WW2 memoir "An Eagle's Odyssey" is highly informative but extremely tedious, a fact more or less alluded to in the book's forward, which was written by the historian Richard Overy. Overy (or maybe the translator, John Weld) points out that its initial release in Germany was greeted with disappointment that Kaufmann had been unable or unwilling to edit his narrative of extraneous technical details, and that the English-translated version was far more reader-friendly. The bad news is that I found this to be only half true: the book, short as it is, is still weighed down with a lot of extraneous detail. The good news is that the second half of it is considerably more readable.
Kaufmann was a member of the Luftwaffe who flew 212 combat missions in WW2. By German standards this was not an overly impressive number; nor was Kaufmann's "bag" of enemy aircraft destroyed: 13. Indeed, the appeal of this book is in that it recounts the exploits of what might be described as an "extraordinary everyman" rather than those of a top ace like Adolf Galland or a legendary dive-bomber pilot like Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Kaufmann wasn't famous, he was never awarded the Knight's Cross, and never rose past the rank of major. But he had a lengthy, successful and amazingly diverse career. Indeed, you'd be hard pressed to find a pilot in any air force in the world who flew as many different types of aircraft or was employed in so many different roles. Therein lies "Odyssey's" appeal. If you are curious about flying, both for its own sake and combat, this book is for you.
Kaufmann joined the Luftwaffe the same year it was officially formed, 1935, and went through a rigorous and exhausting training proceess both in the air and on the ground. When the war finally broke out in 1939 he was flying the prosaic but crucial trimotor Junkers 52 transport plane, and spent 1940 testing captured French aircraft. By 1941, when the Germans rolled into Russia, he was at the controls of the twin-engine Me 110 "Destroyer" heavy fighter, and flew ground-attack missions against the Soviets up until the height of the Stalingrad campaign. He spent 1943 in France, training others how to fly the Junkers 88 fast bomber, and from 1944 until the end of the war flew the redoubtable Me 109, dividing his time between attacking American bomber formations over the Reich and carrying out ground attacks on Allied forces in such battles as Arnhem, the Bulge, and Berlin.
Kaufmann, like many German veterans of the war, has not penned an autobiography but written a pure military memoir almost devoid of personal detail. The "Odyssey" starts with him reporting to flight school in 1935 -- hardly a word about his family background -- and ends on May 1, 1945, with him flying his last mission over the ruins of Berlin, without one word as to his postwar fate. Aside from his combat missions (212) he logged a staggering 5,918 total flights during his 10 years of military service, and believe me, he tries to tell you about every one. Kaufmann's fascination with aircraft and flying is understandable, but unless you're a pilot yourself, or a hardcore fan of aircraft for their own sake, the first half of the book, from '35 to the summer of '41, is tough going. Neither Kaufmann nor his editor seem to know how to cut repetition or excise those details which don't really matter. On the other hand, and as I pointed out above, once the "big" war starts in Russia, the coin flips. We get an eagle-eye view of what it was like to fly combat against the Reds in the endless steppes of Russia, and experience through Kaufmann's memories the struggles of the Luftwaffe as it tries to cope not only with the enemy, but savage weather conditions, a dearth of spare parts, and conflicts about doctrine. I also found his analysis of what it was like to cross-train into the Me 109 and fly against the British and Americans in the last year and a half of the war to be very interesting. Likewise, his analysis of the Luftwaffe's faults is penetrating and lacks either bitterness or postwar omniscience. He relays the problems as they arise, the attempted solutions, and the success -- or lack of it -- as they unfold. The last chapters are rife with anxiety and dread about the course of the war, mingled with an iron determination to do his duty to the bitter end.
"Odyssey" is not a book for the casual reader of German war history that wants a "hot lead and cold steel" memoir in the style of, say, Hans Rudel, Heinz Knoke, or Willi Heilmann. It is much more reminiscent of Klaus Haeberlin's extremely interesting but heavily overwritten "A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers" and anyone who buys it should be aware of that before the charge goes through. Having said that, you will learn more about how the Luftwaffe really operated before and during WW2 from this book than any other.
Kaufmann was a member of the Luftwaffe who flew 212 combat missions in WW2. By German standards this was not an overly impressive number; nor was Kaufmann's "bag" of enemy aircraft destroyed: 13. Indeed, the appeal of this book is in that it recounts the exploits of what might be described as an "extraordinary everyman" rather than those of a top ace like Adolf Galland or a legendary dive-bomber pilot like Hans-Ulrich Rudel. Kaufmann wasn't famous, he was never awarded the Knight's Cross, and never rose past the rank of major. But he had a lengthy, successful and amazingly diverse career. Indeed, you'd be hard pressed to find a pilot in any air force in the world who flew as many different types of aircraft or was employed in so many different roles. Therein lies "Odyssey's" appeal. If you are curious about flying, both for its own sake and combat, this book is for you.
Kaufmann joined the Luftwaffe the same year it was officially formed, 1935, and went through a rigorous and exhausting training proceess both in the air and on the ground. When the war finally broke out in 1939 he was flying the prosaic but crucial trimotor Junkers 52 transport plane, and spent 1940 testing captured French aircraft. By 1941, when the Germans rolled into Russia, he was at the controls of the twin-engine Me 110 "Destroyer" heavy fighter, and flew ground-attack missions against the Soviets up until the height of the Stalingrad campaign. He spent 1943 in France, training others how to fly the Junkers 88 fast bomber, and from 1944 until the end of the war flew the redoubtable Me 109, dividing his time between attacking American bomber formations over the Reich and carrying out ground attacks on Allied forces in such battles as Arnhem, the Bulge, and Berlin.
Kaufmann, like many German veterans of the war, has not penned an autobiography but written a pure military memoir almost devoid of personal detail. The "Odyssey" starts with him reporting to flight school in 1935 -- hardly a word about his family background -- and ends on May 1, 1945, with him flying his last mission over the ruins of Berlin, without one word as to his postwar fate. Aside from his combat missions (212) he logged a staggering 5,918 total flights during his 10 years of military service, and believe me, he tries to tell you about every one. Kaufmann's fascination with aircraft and flying is understandable, but unless you're a pilot yourself, or a hardcore fan of aircraft for their own sake, the first half of the book, from '35 to the summer of '41, is tough going. Neither Kaufmann nor his editor seem to know how to cut repetition or excise those details which don't really matter. On the other hand, and as I pointed out above, once the "big" war starts in Russia, the coin flips. We get an eagle-eye view of what it was like to fly combat against the Reds in the endless steppes of Russia, and experience through Kaufmann's memories the struggles of the Luftwaffe as it tries to cope not only with the enemy, but savage weather conditions, a dearth of spare parts, and conflicts about doctrine. I also found his analysis of what it was like to cross-train into the Me 109 and fly against the British and Americans in the last year and a half of the war to be very interesting. Likewise, his analysis of the Luftwaffe's faults is penetrating and lacks either bitterness or postwar omniscience. He relays the problems as they arise, the attempted solutions, and the success -- or lack of it -- as they unfold. The last chapters are rife with anxiety and dread about the course of the war, mingled with an iron determination to do his duty to the bitter end.
"Odyssey" is not a book for the casual reader of German war history that wants a "hot lead and cold steel" memoir in the style of, say, Hans Rudel, Heinz Knoke, or Willi Heilmann. It is much more reminiscent of Klaus Haeberlin's extremely interesting but heavily overwritten "A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers" and anyone who buys it should be aware of that before the charge goes through. Having said that, you will learn more about how the Luftwaffe really operated before and during WW2 from this book than any other.
April 25, 2020
First written in German in 1989, Johannes Kaufmann’s career as a pilot in the Luftwaffe has finally been translated into English with some judicious editing and context added. This is not the story of an air ace, performing dazzling deeds at high altitudes with great success and rewards, but that of an ordinary pilot doing his best, fighting against increasingly difficult odds. That he survived the war was in itself a successful outcome.
Kaufmann’s peacetime training is covered in Part I. What stands out is his meticulous record keeping, the non-ideological nature of the trainee pilot’s life – perhaps surprising in a fascist regime – and the quiet determination of Kaufmann’s cohort to succeed. He also had the benefit of skilled instructors while undertaking rigorous flight training. That all ended abruptly when Germany invaded the Rhineland in 1936 and Kaufmann joined a combat unit, though he saw no action.
When Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Kaufmann was a 22 years old flying instructor while still practicing his own skills as often as possible. He took his last peacetime flight on 15 August 1939. From then on Kaufmann was an active combat pilot even though he flew transport planes in Poland and returned to his role as a temporary flight instructor. During the Battle of Britain, Kaufmann flew captured aircraft to Germany for testing. He returned to combat fighter training and flew BF-110s for the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. In the early phases of that war, little thought was given to tactics: those would come later when the Germans were on the receiving end.
Kaufmann fared well in the advance through the Soviet Union, bombing airfields, strafing missions, reconnaissance etc, but as with everything else on that front numbers soon ran against the Germans. It also became difficult to replace planes or find spare parts. Trained crews soon became a problem too. After months of almost constant combat missions, Kaufmann returned to Germany to train on the ME210, a plane that he considered as a disaster. Back at the front, and thankfully flying BF110s, Kaufmann undertook missions over Stalingrad but left the theatre in December 1942 after 158 missions. He was transferred to the Atlantic Coast to instruct pilots undertaking maritime missions in JU88s. By Spring 1943, that too was proving hazardous against Allied air superiority. The D-Day landings found him quite oblivious on a training mission! In July 1944, Kaufmann was promoted to Staffelkapitän flying ME109s in combat against Allied bomber raids. He turned out to be one of the lucky ones, surviving missions through catastrophic German fighter losses. Kaufmann also fought in the skies above Arnhem in his first combat against the RAF, and again over the Battle of the Bulge where he was shot down but without a scratch on him. Fortunately, he avoided the disastrous Bodenplatte operation in January 1945 that all but ended the Luftwaffe’s resistance in the west. Kaufmann ended his war back on the crumbling Eastern Front where he escorted suicide missions and fought against the rampaging Soviet fighters.
Kaufmann’s memoir, translated and edited by John Weal, is a vigorous story of a combat pilot whose skill and discipline made him more than a survivor but an accomplished fighter pilot. He kept meticulous records in his logbook from his earliest days of training so that his account carries that air of authenticity missing from many other memoirs. We do not get to know much about Kaufmann, however, and in particular his political views are ambiguous; deliberately so given who he was fighting for and when he was writing. Nevertheless, for those interested in what it was like to fight for the Luftwaffe, this is a very informative and enjoyable read.
Kaufmann’s peacetime training is covered in Part I. What stands out is his meticulous record keeping, the non-ideological nature of the trainee pilot’s life – perhaps surprising in a fascist regime – and the quiet determination of Kaufmann’s cohort to succeed. He also had the benefit of skilled instructors while undertaking rigorous flight training. That all ended abruptly when Germany invaded the Rhineland in 1936 and Kaufmann joined a combat unit, though he saw no action.
When Germany annexed Austria in 1938, Kaufmann was a 22 years old flying instructor while still practicing his own skills as often as possible. He took his last peacetime flight on 15 August 1939. From then on Kaufmann was an active combat pilot even though he flew transport planes in Poland and returned to his role as a temporary flight instructor. During the Battle of Britain, Kaufmann flew captured aircraft to Germany for testing. He returned to combat fighter training and flew BF-110s for the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. In the early phases of that war, little thought was given to tactics: those would come later when the Germans were on the receiving end.
Kaufmann fared well in the advance through the Soviet Union, bombing airfields, strafing missions, reconnaissance etc, but as with everything else on that front numbers soon ran against the Germans. It also became difficult to replace planes or find spare parts. Trained crews soon became a problem too. After months of almost constant combat missions, Kaufmann returned to Germany to train on the ME210, a plane that he considered as a disaster. Back at the front, and thankfully flying BF110s, Kaufmann undertook missions over Stalingrad but left the theatre in December 1942 after 158 missions. He was transferred to the Atlantic Coast to instruct pilots undertaking maritime missions in JU88s. By Spring 1943, that too was proving hazardous against Allied air superiority. The D-Day landings found him quite oblivious on a training mission! In July 1944, Kaufmann was promoted to Staffelkapitän flying ME109s in combat against Allied bomber raids. He turned out to be one of the lucky ones, surviving missions through catastrophic German fighter losses. Kaufmann also fought in the skies above Arnhem in his first combat against the RAF, and again over the Battle of the Bulge where he was shot down but without a scratch on him. Fortunately, he avoided the disastrous Bodenplatte operation in January 1945 that all but ended the Luftwaffe’s resistance in the west. Kaufmann ended his war back on the crumbling Eastern Front where he escorted suicide missions and fought against the rampaging Soviet fighters.
Kaufmann’s memoir, translated and edited by John Weal, is a vigorous story of a combat pilot whose skill and discipline made him more than a survivor but an accomplished fighter pilot. He kept meticulous records in his logbook from his earliest days of training so that his account carries that air of authenticity missing from many other memoirs. We do not get to know much about Kaufmann, however, and in particular his political views are ambiguous; deliberately so given who he was fighting for and when he was writing. Nevertheless, for those interested in what it was like to fight for the Luftwaffe, this is a very informative and enjoyable read.
October 3, 2019
Excellent autobiography of a long and varied career in the German air force.
The author Kaufmann gives a great account of his flying experiences both before and during the war as a professional pilot.
He wasn't limited to just one branch of the Luftwaffe and served as a transport pilot, personnel trainer, ground attack and fighter pilot. So it's a tale of great variety and war on just about all the different fronts.
Very good and an enjoyable read.
The author Kaufmann gives a great account of his flying experiences both before and during the war as a professional pilot.
He wasn't limited to just one branch of the Luftwaffe and served as a transport pilot, personnel trainer, ground attack and fighter pilot. So it's a tale of great variety and war on just about all the different fronts.
Very good and an enjoyable read.
February 1, 2020
Enjoyed the book, most interesting life of a Luftwaffe pilot. Just a bit disappointed that nothing is mentioned about what happened when the Allies arrived and Germany surrendered. His thoughts and opinions could have greatly enhanced the book. The details of the operations undertaken and aircraft used are fascinating, if you like this sort of thing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the subject.
June 17, 2022
This book is more like a chronological description of the authors flying training and war time missions. There is very little detail about individual missions other than "we straffed a goods train before heading back to base". Hardly any mention of his background or colleagues and even the last 6 months of the war done in about 10 pages. But we got about 100 pages of pre War time flying.
October 21, 2023
Very interesting book from the z German side. He was a German throughout the book fighting till the end. He never vouced anything about his beliefs or what was happening in Germany. No recriminations from the start of the war to whrn they were losing. Mostly he was using his flight logs to tell a story.
November 5, 2020
A German WW II View of the Ariel War
Interesting to read in some detail of the strain on the German Air Force and the quality of their p,@nes.
Interesting to read in some detail of the strain on the German Air Force and the quality of their p,@nes.
May 2, 2021
Ganz gut! Prima!
February 28, 2022
Very clinical approach and not at all like First Light by Geoffrey Wellum. However, a great insight into the Luftwaffe when things are going well and then very badly.
May 14, 2022
Boring!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews