Re: Warriors & Wizards: Thanks!
 

Mr. Bollinger,

I just received your book today in the mail. Although I haven't begun to read it yet, I of course looked through it and am impressed. It seems well researched and dense with information. I'll begin reading it in a few days and I'm looking forward to enjoying it. Thank you for producing what promises to be an excellent book.

Re: Warriors & Wizards: Thanks!
 

To respond to an earlier question, I focus the analysis on the antiship missions. I do discuss the attack on the Oder River bridges in just a few sentences in the Epilogue. I don't think you'll find anything particularly new here on that topic.

Marty

Re: Warriors & Wizards: Thanks!
 

Thank you very much for your answer.

Michal Skawinski

Re: Warriors & Wizards: Thanks!
 

Dear Mr. Bollinger,

I read your book with great interest and must congratulate you on a well researched and highly detailed book.

It was a great read, and seeing that you used "41 Sekunden bis zum Einschlag" written by Klaus Deumling as one of the sources for your book, I decided to read that book as well. I found it to be a very interesting personal account that presents detailed information from the German side.

After reading this book I have a question:
Klaus Deumling states that the Fritz X bomb that was dropped and guided by Unteroffizier Penz from his aircraft was the first one to hit Battleship Roma. In his book he presents a copy of the document that acknowledges his crew as the one that damaged battleship Roma. This document is signed by Geschwaderkommodore Major Jope.

In your book you state that the first Fritz X bomb was dropped and guided by Unteroffizier Klapproth from the aircraft of Geschwaderkommodore Major Jope.

Did your research yield conclusive information that the crew of Major Jope was responsible for the first hit?

By the way:
Klaus Deumling is the subject of an article in the last (January) issue of the German magazine Flugzeug Classic. Mr. Deumling is still active and acts as a guide in the German Aviation Museum Laatzen near Hannover.

Nurflügel Forever!

Huib Ottens

Re: Warriors & Wizards: Thanks!
 

Hello Huib,

Many thanks for your kind words about my book and my apologies for a delayed response to your message.

My primary source for the Luftwaffe side of the attack on Roma was Ulf Balke. He writes in his history of KG 100 that the first hit on Roma was guided by Uffz. Klapproth. He also writes that the second (and fatal) hit was guided by Uffz. Degan. While I cannot state with absolute certainty that Balke's account is correct, I did conclude based on all of the research I've done that Balke's history of KG 100 is quite definitive and thus I went with his account rather than Deumling's, especially since Deumling's was written down many decades after the event.

In end end, I cannot answer the question for certain, unfortunately.

Best regards,

Marty Bollinger

Re: Warriors & Wizards: Thanks!
 

Hi Marty

I recently obtained a copy of your book. Very interesting and useful to my own work.

Well done.

Cheers
Brian