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Originally Posted by P Alvim
As the english edition of this book seems to be a born-dead, I would like to ask a owner of the german version if it has a useful index: I can't read german so I'm thinking of getting the book and going through selective translation of the parts I'm interested... A thourough index would be an effective time saving tool.
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No index, unfortunately.
The book is not so much a autobiography as it is a unit history of JG 54 during Trautloft's three years as Geschwaderkommodore (Aug 40 to Jun 43.) I haven't finished reading it, but it's detailed and has an appealing immediacy because Trautloft was a very consistent diarist, even under trying conditions. (Hans-Ekkehard Bob edited the contents from over 2000 A4 pages of pencilled notes.)
The book consists of 323 pages. The first 70 describe the Geschwader's origins and its involvement in the French and British campaigns, followed by 14 pages on the Balkans. The bulk of the book (213 pages) covers the first two years on the Eastern Front. The text concludes with 7 pages summarizing the final two years of the war.
The appendices include a timeline of Trautloft's career highlights, a summary of JG 54's achievements and losses, a list of JG 54's experten, a brief description of Luftwaffe awards, a glossary and a bibliography.
The book contains a great selection of photos of people and aircraft, distributed throughout its pages. While it's nice to have so many pictures, the reproductions are disappointingly small.
It has good reference value as a unit history, but it also provides many interesting anecdotes and observations about everyday experiences and conditions. It's reminiscent of Rall's "My Logbook", and it joins that book and Priller's "Geschichte eines Jagdgeschwaders" on the must-have list.
Highly recommended, even without an index.
Hope that helps,
Leon Venter