[drgondog]

Originally Posted by jim norton

hi,

i´ve seen this flugbuch at ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.de/Flugbuch-Oberst-L...item4aa0a10cf1

did such high ranks really fly during the war? did he died in an accident?

all the best
jim

Jim - are you asking if it was rare for field grade/flag grade officers to fly combat missions?

Not so much for USAAF.. a lot of 8th and 12th and 15th AF missions were flown by Brigadier generals leading large combat wings on important targets. About 1/3 of the Fighter Groups were commanded by full Colonels and there were quite a few Lieutenant colonels leading squadrons or serving as Group Ops and Deputy Group commanders.

Galland, of course, still snuck in combat missions as head of Luftwaffe Fighter Command and there were quite a few experten like Ihlefeld and Priller at the head of Gruppe and JG's..