I N T E R V I E W S

Typhoon Strikes

Rather than escorting the mighty bomber formations that were pummeling the Third Reich in the last year of the war, Canadian Harry Hardy flew nearly 100 ground-attack missions on a combat tour that took him from Falaise to the Rhine.

Source: World War II Magazine

Spitfire Ace in the Battle of Britain

After receiving "the best fighters in the RAF" in March 1940, Allan Wright recalled that he and his fellow pilots of No.92 Squadron had little time for practice.

Source: Eyewitness to War

Black Sheep Leader

U.S. Marine Corps ace Gregory "Pappy" Boyington was as well known for his flamboyant personality as his flying skills.

Source: World War II Magazine, June 2000

 

Dive Bomber at Midway

U.S. Navy Commander Milford Austin Merrill recalls the furious skies over Midway, where he earned the Navy Cross.

Source: Military History Magazine, June 2002

 

German Schoolboy FlaK Gunner

Pressed into military service at 15, Lothar Seifert hated the Hitler Youth armband he has to wear "as a mark that implied we were children and not soldiers."

Source: Military History Magazine, August 2002

Ilmari Juutilainen - Finland's Ace of Aces

Ilmari Juutilainen scored more than 94 victories in two wars, flying Fokker D.XXIs, Brewster B-239s and Messerschmitt Me-109Gs.

Source: Military History Magazine, February 1999

Breakout From Normandy

In July 1944, panzer commander Fritz Langanke struggled to guide his tank out of the Roncey Pocket and the maelstrom enveloping German forces trapped in it.

Source: World War II Magazine, November 2003

 
Luftwaffe Eagle Johannes Steinhoff

Flying with skill and daring, the great ace Luftwaffe Eagle Johannes Steinhoff survived the war and a horrible accident, living into his 80s.

Source: World War II Magazine, February 2000

 
Luftwaffe General Adolf Galland

Battling overwhelming odds in the air and his superiors on the ground, Germany's Adolf Galland became a legend. 

Source: World War II Magazine, January 1997
Messerschmitt Master on the Eastern Front  

Dieter Hrabak's 125 victories were modest by Luftwaffe standards, but he excelled as a leader and a mentor to other aces. 

Source: Military History Magazine, February 2004

 
Pearl Harbor to Midway: Changing Tide in the Pacific 

U.S. Navy yeoman Jack Adams witnessed the war in the Pacific from Pearl Harbor to the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway aboard the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

Source: Military History Magazine, June 2001

 
Hermann Neumann - Tank Busting Stuka Pilot  

Flying the Junkers Ju-87 with 37mm cannons slung under its wings, Hermann Neumann dueled with heavily armored Soviet tanks and withering anti-aircraft fire.

Source: Military History Magazine, August 2001
The Count - Luftwaffe Ace Walter Krupinski  

Walter Krupinski trained, led, and served alongside some of the greatest fighter pilots in history.  And with 197 victories, he was no slouch himself.

Source: Military History Magazine, June 1998