Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

I am a verry verrrrrry happy camper today!

I finally received a mint copy of "HS 129 Panzerjäger!" today.
after nearly 4 years of hunting for that particular book, I got the example I bought at ebay today :)

now my collection of LW books is a little bit more complete.

and the price was not that particular high either, a mere 125 Euros excluding packing and shipping :)

ah the joys of collecting.....

Re: Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

Congrats! It's a special moment when you get to hold the object of your long-time quest. Those moments tend to occur more frequently nowadays, thanks to Google, book search engines, and eBay. The downside is that they also make your list of wants much longer too!

In the dark ages (i.e. before the internet), it might well have been impossible to find a complete set of Niko Fast's JG52 books, or Plocher's three books on the Luftwaffe in Russia, or Karl Ries's 5-volume set on Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings, or back issues of Jägerblatt, or many of the limited-run unit histories and biographies that have appeared over the decades. With enough patience and effort, you can now find just about anything.

For my part, I'm still looking for a copy of Christiaan Vanhee's "Vinnige Valken, Vlammende Bliksems", "Fliegerhorst Venlo" by Marcel Hogenhuis, and Petersen's "Tyske Fly I Danmark 1940-1945, Bind 1 & Bind 2", amongst others. The quest goes on...

Leon Venter

Re: Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

Hello Leon,

I was quite surprised to hear from your list of Holy Grails and a presumed publication by myself haha!
In 1995 I wrote my thesis at the University of Amsterdam. Title (translated) Fliegerhorst Venlo. The role of airfield Venlo in the German air defense in WW-2, a manuscript of approx. 80 pages. This paper however is not published but I do plan a publication in one of the next years, because many people are interested in a book about Venlo airfield and the amount of info is such, that it will cover all important facts of this airfield and its main occupant unit, the I.NJG 1.

A bit patience! All the best, Marcel Hogenhuis

Re: Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

Hi Marcel,

Thanks for the clarification and for the news about your publishing plans! I don't remember where, but I saw your Venlo manuscript listed as a source in some book, so I added it to my want list. I look forward to news about its release.

Airfield histories are interesting because they provide a perspective that complements those presented by unit histories and biographies -- each of them fills in different pieces of the puzzle that we study.

Regards,
Leon Venter

p.s. I recently got "Huzaren van de Nacht, deel 1", the first volume in Coen Cornelissen's set on III./NJG 1, mainly based at Twente. Ab Jansen's "Wespennest Leeuwarden" provides some details on IV./NJG 1 at Leeuwarden, so after your book is published, we just need someone to cover Gruppe II...

Re: Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

Hi leon,

I was lucky enough to get a new copy of Christiaan Vanhee's 'Vinnige Valken' De Vliegbasis van Saint Truiden 1941 1945.

Its a great book, well produced and contains many, many interesting photographs, predominantly of NJG 1. I'm not sure how you can get a copy now, as someone i knew bought it from Holland for me about 5 or 6 years ago.

Try abebooks.com This is a very usual search engine for new and out of print books. All the very best and good luck with your search.

David.

Re: Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

Here is another copy of Pegg's book via the ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Luftwaffe-Hs12...QQcmdZViewItem

Re: Today I got one of the Holy Grails of LW books
 

it will be interesting to see how high this book will go :)

I snatched another good buy recently off the bay when I got Vol.2 of the JG-300 chronicle for a mere 39 Euros.
complete with shipping costs from the US to Vienna, I only paid 68 Euros for the book, which is about 30 Euros cheaper than buying the book here in a bookstore.
the best thing, the book arrived in pristine 1a condition.

so I am still a happy camper :)