Und mit uns fliegt der Tod

Und mit uns fliegt der Tod

And death flies with us

The book recounts the daring exploits, during a severe storm, of the four Else’s aircrew, an aircraft named after the newly married pilot officer’s wife. Else is undergoing repairs and they are unable to go on the latest raid. They hide Else during a RAF attack on the airbase and ensure the airstrip is repaired before the German aircraft return.

The following evening, they take off causing significant damage to an English power station in the face anti-aircraft fire. They also damage an airfield and hangar with several aircraft. However, their right engine is hit and they land in a field to make repairs. They are then spotted by the English and have to take off. They attack a cargo steamer but suffer damage to their second engine and fuselage.

Three of the crew have to parachute out of the plane with an inflatable dinghy and torches. The three eventually make it to a rescue buoy where they are able to dry their clothes, sleep and have provisions.

The pilot officer has been shot in the upper arm and struggles to get enough height to land the aircraft but is ultimately successful. The first lieutenant at the airbase insists on giving him the blood transfusion he requires.

The three other crew members are rescued by a ship.

The book ends with the pilot officer in his hospital bed, insisting that he is ready to fly again as soon as Else is ready for take-off.

One illustrated booklet

This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.

MSchulzePJP[Ser#-DoB]-221112-02