Very interesting to see the perspective of someone on the other side of the Allies. You get to see from an actual participant the way they felt towards the war and their feelings about Hitler. At one point at the end of the book, he said he wasn't continuing to fight because he was some fanatic of Hitler and the regime, but only because of his personal integrity and the rest of the guys around him that relied on his decisions and attitude. Spoiler Alert: The other side wins! ( )

Very interesting to see the perspective of someone on the other side of the Allies. You get to see from an actual participant the way they felt towards the war and their feelings about Hitler. At one point at the end of the book, he said he wasn't continuing to fight because he was some fanatic of Hitler and the regime, but only because of his personal integrity and the rest of the guys around him that relied on his decisions and attitude. Spoiler Alert: The other side wins! ( )

Radar, Lichtenstein, chaff, Hamburg raid
"The enemy bomber grew larger in my sights and the rear gunner was sprayed by my guns just as he opened fire. The rest was merely a matter of seconds. The bomber fell like a stone out of the sky and exploded on the ground. The nightmare came to an end."In this enthralling memoir, the author recounts his experiences of the war years and traces the story of the ace fighter pilots from the German development of radar to the Battle of Britain.Johnen flew his first operational mission in July 1941, having completed his blind-flying training. In his first couple of years he brought down two enemy planes. The tally went up rapidly once the air war was escalated in spring 1943, when Air Marshal Arthur Harris of the RAF Bomber Command began the campaign dubbed the Battle of the Ruhr.During this phase of the war Johnens successes were achieved against a 710-strong force of bombers. Johnens further successes during Harriss subsequent Berlin offensive led to his promotion as Staffelkapitan (squadron leader) of Nachtjagdgeschwader and a move to Mainz. During a sortie from there, his Bf 110 was hit by return fire and he was forced to land in Switzerland. He and his crew were interned by the authorities. The Germans were deeply worried about leaving a sophisticatedly equipped night fighter and its important air crew in the hands of a foreign government, even if it was a neutral one. After negotiations involving Gring, the prisoners were released.Johnens unit moved to Hungary and by October 1944 his score was standing at 33 aerial kills. His final one came in March the following year, once Johnen had moved back to Germany.

Very interesting to see the perspective of someone on the other side of the Allies. You get to see from an actual participant the way they felt towards the war and their feelings about Hitler. At one point at the end of the book, he said he wasn't continuing to fight because he was some fanatic of Hitler and the regime, but only because of his personal integrity and the rest of the guys around him that relied on his decisions and attitude. Spoiler Alert: The other side wins! ( )

By mid 1943 Germany was being bombed around the clock. While the effectiveness of this offensive is often called into question, the evidence suggests that roughly 50% of Germany's entire war effort was devoted to defending against the RAF's strategic night bombing campaign. By the time the RAF launched it's first 1,000 bomber raid in May 1942 the city of Cologne, for example, had devoted nearly one hundred million RM to civil defence including bunker building. Hitler of course had ordered the 'Sofortprogram' of huge civil defence projects from the first raids on Berlin that took place in mid-1940. But despite these huge investments Bomber Command effectively blinded and defeated German defenses over Hamburg in July 1943 - including the German night fighter arm, the Nachtjagd. One German night fighter ace airborne in defence of Hamburg on 27 July 1943 was 23-year old Bf 110 night fighter pilot Wilhelm Johnen. Thanks to the deployment of ‘Window’ Johnen had - in his rage and frustration -found himself heading towards Amsterdam; « ..it was obvious no-one knew exactly where the enemy was or what his objective would be, (yet) an early indication of the direction was essential so that the night fighters could be introduced into the stream as early as possible.. » Johnen’s long out-of-print memoir « Duel under the stars - a factual report from a German night fighter pilot » is recently republished by Pen and Sword imprint Greenhill. In simple, uncomplicated language which does much to preserve the ‘immediacy’ of an account first published in English in 1957 - Johnen describes his initial training, the creation of the German fighter force established to counter Bomber Command’s night offensive, his posting to NJG 1 and the first victories as the lumbering four-engine bombers are stalked through the night skies by growing numbers of ‘panther-like’ fighters bristling with cannon and stag-antler radar antennae guided by an all-embracing system of radar defence. Johnen was one of those night-time ‘stalkers’ and his book features some remarkable descriptions of night-fighting and of life on an operational air-base in war-time Germany. The author has much in common with the young crews of Bomber Command. He also describes in detail the backdrop of tactical innovations by the ‘boffins’. And while the RAF had the strategic edge at all times, German nightfighters were able to score some heavy tactical victories, the Lancaster being especially vulnerable to the upward firing armament of the Bf 110. But the reality for the Luftwaffe was one of decline and defeat. Johnen himself was briefly interned in Switzerland after being forced to land there but in October 1944 was awarded the Knight’s Cross for 33 bomber victories. In early 1945 he was appointed Gruppenkommandeur of III./NJG 6 but by this stage of the war with the Allies pressing deep into Germany itself downing bombers was no longer a priority and night-time sorties involved ground strafing armour and troop concentrations. Your reviewer was fortunate enough to know Johnen’s comrade Peter Spoden -who also features here heavily- as a friend and assisted in the preparation for publication of his memoir ‘Enemy in the Dark’. This new edition of Johnen’s ‘Duel under the stars ‘ is introduced with a new 10-page Foreword from historian James Holland, features a selection of over 100 photos and can be recommended to a new generation of readers without reservation ( )