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Luftwaffe Test Pilot: Flying Captured Allied Aircraft of World War 2
This book is based on the author's wartime logbooks, which chronicle some of the most remarkable aviation episodes of the war. The author flew all the major German warplanes from the six-engined Junkers 390 to the Messerschmitt 109 fighter, as well as many of the minor and experimental types. He specialized, however, in flying Allied aircraft which fell intact into German hands --- the Avro Lancaster, B-17, B-24, B-26 Marauder, and Wellington bombers and the Spitfire, Mustang, Thunderbolt, Hawker Typhoon, Tempest, Yak-3 and Lavochkin La-5 fighters.
Lerche had no flight manuals for these aircraft and had to fly them by intuition. It was a task that demanded the utmost concentration, adaptability and an inborn flying ability. Throughout his career, Hans-Werner Lerche did not crash or even seriously damage a single aircraft --- a unique testimony.
Among Lerche's more hair-raising exploits was flying a captured Avro Lancaster over Berlin in August 1944 to test experimental night-fighter radars, when the radio failed shortly before an incoming RAF raid --- when even the large German crosses and yellow markings would have been of little used in identifying friend from foe.
This book gives a fascinating insight into the Luftwaffe's war effort and the qualities, good, bad or indifferent, of the many types that Lerche flew. The appendix lists the total of 125 types flown by the author and the book is illustrated with rare and fascinating photographs.
Lerche had no flight manuals for these aircraft and had to fly them by intuition. It was a task that demanded the utmost concentration, adaptability and an inborn flying ability. Throughout his career, Hans-Werner Lerche did not crash or even seriously damage a single aircraft --- a unique testimony.
Among Lerche's more hair-raising exploits was flying a captured Avro Lancaster over Berlin in August 1944 to test experimental night-fighter radars, when the radio failed shortly before an incoming RAF raid --- when even the large German crosses and yellow markings would have been of little used in identifying friend from foe.
This book gives a fascinating insight into the Luftwaffe's war effort and the qualities, good, bad or indifferent, of the many types that Lerche flew. The appendix lists the total of 125 types flown by the author and the book is illustrated with rare and fascinating photographs.
- GenresAviationWorld War II
158 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
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About the author
Hans-Werner Lerche
1 book1 followerHans Werner-Lerche was a Luftwaffe Test Pilot during the Second World War. He flew over 120 different aircraft types, including evaluation of many captured Allied aircraft. He was the principal pilot of the Luftwaffe test site at Mecklenburg Rechlin.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 7, 2013
This is the kind of aviation book that was tailor-made for the dyed-in-the-wool aviation aficionado. It is not wholly suited for the layperson with only a cursory or casual interest in the subject, for some of the quasi-technical language in this book would be lost on him/her.
The book is divided into 13 chapters, the majority of which are replete with the author's wartime experiences of flying a variety of captured Allied aircraft at the Luftwaffe's chief flight testing center at Rechlin near Berlin. Lerche's deep love for aviation shines forth, as well as his keen desire to fly as many different types of aircraft as possible --- from sleek, single-seat fighters to the heaviest multi-engined transports, gliders, long-range reconnaissance planes (e.g. the Junkers Ju 390), and bombers.
In flying the various types of captured Allied aircraft that came his way, Lerche did not have the benefit of falling back upon any pilot's notes or operations manual to help him know how each type worked. As a test pilot and a qualified engineer, Lerche learned by doing, taking the aircraft aloft and putting it through its paces. Among the Allied aircraft Lerche flew were the Avro Lancaster bomber, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the B-26 medium bomber, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk II, the Hawker Tempest, the Yak-3 and Lavochkin La-5 Soviet fighters, the P-51B Mustang, and the P-47 Thunderbolt. (He also had the opportunity of test flying various Italian aircraft during a brief sojourn in Italy in 1943 with his Italian counterparts.)
I was particularly interested in Lerche's comments about the Thunderbolt, with which he was much impressed. He flew 2 variants of the fighter, one of which he went to Italy to retrieve in June 1944, just days before Rome came under American control. (Indeed, Lerche managed to get to Rome shortly before it was declared an open city and enjoy a good meal and its cultural delights with his comrades.) His following comments are full of fulsome praise for the Jug:
“The strength of the Thunderbolt in dive was particularly impressive, and to this I probably owe my life. I am thinking here of a really critical situation, the critical things being that afterwards I could not remember the actual sequence of events. It happened this way: during a high-altitude flight in the Thunderbolt between 9000 and 11,000 m (29,500-36,000 ft) the oxygen supply must have been insufficient, with the effect that after some time I found myself at about 4000 m (13,000 ft) with the engine throttled back. That I had been temporarily dead to the world could also be noted from the fact that the engine was so cool that it could not be revved up any more. With the cowling gills closed I then very gradually and carefully let out the throttle until I slowly managed to get the engine running at speed again, found my way back to base and landed safely. It only became clear to me later on what had really happened, or rather what could have happened! Altitude sickness, especially in single-seat aircraft, is quite an insidious thing and it is perhaps a little-known fact that at the beginning of the war our losses of flying crews due to altitude sickness were higher than those due to enemy action. It works like an intoxication, the danger being that one feels so well that one doesn’t notice becoming slowly drowsier and is then gone for good without oxygen. As was shown in my case, an altitude of 11,000 m (36,000 ft) was about the maximum a human being could manage without a pressurized cabin.”
Lerche also sheds light in one chapter on how it was he got into flying in the first place -- by first qualifying as a glider pilot and instructor in the early 1930s. All in all, this book is a gem. Absolutely priceless, full of amazing photos of the various aircraft Lerche flew, excerpts from his personal logbook, and appendices for readers hungry for more specific details about Lerche's wartime service.
The book is divided into 13 chapters, the majority of which are replete with the author's wartime experiences of flying a variety of captured Allied aircraft at the Luftwaffe's chief flight testing center at Rechlin near Berlin. Lerche's deep love for aviation shines forth, as well as his keen desire to fly as many different types of aircraft as possible --- from sleek, single-seat fighters to the heaviest multi-engined transports, gliders, long-range reconnaissance planes (e.g. the Junkers Ju 390), and bombers.
In flying the various types of captured Allied aircraft that came his way, Lerche did not have the benefit of falling back upon any pilot's notes or operations manual to help him know how each type worked. As a test pilot and a qualified engineer, Lerche learned by doing, taking the aircraft aloft and putting it through its paces. Among the Allied aircraft Lerche flew were the Avro Lancaster bomber, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the B-26 medium bomber, the Supermarine Spitfire Mk II, the Hawker Tempest, the Yak-3 and Lavochkin La-5 Soviet fighters, the P-51B Mustang, and the P-47 Thunderbolt. (He also had the opportunity of test flying various Italian aircraft during a brief sojourn in Italy in 1943 with his Italian counterparts.)
I was particularly interested in Lerche's comments about the Thunderbolt, with which he was much impressed. He flew 2 variants of the fighter, one of which he went to Italy to retrieve in June 1944, just days before Rome came under American control. (Indeed, Lerche managed to get to Rome shortly before it was declared an open city and enjoy a good meal and its cultural delights with his comrades.) His following comments are full of fulsome praise for the Jug:
“The strength of the Thunderbolt in dive was particularly impressive, and to this I probably owe my life. I am thinking here of a really critical situation, the critical things being that afterwards I could not remember the actual sequence of events. It happened this way: during a high-altitude flight in the Thunderbolt between 9000 and 11,000 m (29,500-36,000 ft) the oxygen supply must have been insufficient, with the effect that after some time I found myself at about 4000 m (13,000 ft) with the engine throttled back. That I had been temporarily dead to the world could also be noted from the fact that the engine was so cool that it could not be revved up any more. With the cowling gills closed I then very gradually and carefully let out the throttle until I slowly managed to get the engine running at speed again, found my way back to base and landed safely. It only became clear to me later on what had really happened, or rather what could have happened! Altitude sickness, especially in single-seat aircraft, is quite an insidious thing and it is perhaps a little-known fact that at the beginning of the war our losses of flying crews due to altitude sickness were higher than those due to enemy action. It works like an intoxication, the danger being that one feels so well that one doesn’t notice becoming slowly drowsier and is then gone for good without oxygen. As was shown in my case, an altitude of 11,000 m (36,000 ft) was about the maximum a human being could manage without a pressurized cabin.”
Lerche also sheds light in one chapter on how it was he got into flying in the first place -- by first qualifying as a glider pilot and instructor in the early 1930s. All in all, this book is a gem. Absolutely priceless, full of amazing photos of the various aircraft Lerche flew, excerpts from his personal logbook, and appendices for readers hungry for more specific details about Lerche's wartime service.
November 11, 2019
Such an interesting book
February 10, 2012
Interesting book! Incredible to read how many (Allied) planes Lerche has flown during the war, about 125 different types. And sometimes four or five in one day. He really must have had a number of angels flying with him, as almost no mishap occurred during all those years and he didn't encounter any Allied opposition even in 1944 and 1945.
The book is a bit light on the results of all the testing Lerche did. That is too bad, as it would have been interesting to see what the Luftwaffe thought about the kites the 'opposition' used.
And might you ever be in the NASM Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, you can see the only surviving DO-335 Pfeil fighter-bomber which Lerche flew on his last flight in 1945. A fitting conclusion of a remarkable carreer
The book is a bit light on the results of all the testing Lerche did. That is too bad, as it would have been interesting to see what the Luftwaffe thought about the kites the 'opposition' used.
And might you ever be in the NASM Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport, you can see the only surviving DO-335 Pfeil fighter-bomber which Lerche flew on his last flight in 1945. A fitting conclusion of a remarkable carreer
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews