rjw 48 Posted August 15, 2013 Hi Folks;I just discovered that the BookDepository has "Ace of the Black Cross - The memoirs of Ernst Udet" back in stock.I thought I would post the link in case anyone is interested. http://www.bookdepository.com/Ace-Black-Cross-Ernst-Udet/9781848327085?utm_source=SV-Body&utm_medium=email-Service&utm_term=Ace-of-the-Black-Cross_image&utm_content=main-book&utm_campaign=EMWBIS-In-Stock Best Regards; Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 15, 2013 That is another book I must read again soon - one of the "must-have" WW1 pilots' books. It has a good humour too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MudWasp48 3 Posted August 17, 2013 He lead an interesting life, that is for sure. Saw a bio on tv a few years back...can't recall the name or channel. It seemed to focus more on his Stuka development. Did he actually do shots while inverted in the air? Damm....I like him. OK googled a bit and yes, he had a mini suitcase bar for flying Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 17, 2013 OK googled a bit and yes, he had a mini suitcase bar for flying Yep, he liked the drinking too much in the end, I'm afraid. But at last he couldn't drink away the evil anymore which had caught the war heroe in a deadly embrace of it's iron arms. Here is a picture of him in front of his Siemens-Schuckert - and the famous mini bar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjw 48 Posted August 17, 2013 Olham; That mini suit case bar looks far to big to fit into the cockpit of a WW1 aircraft don't you think? Is it not something he would have kept at his base and taken on journeys by car or passenger aircraft? Best Regards Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) Olham; That mini suit case bar looks far to big to fit into the cockpit of a WW1 aircraft don't you think? Is it not something he would have kept at his base and taken on journeys by car or passenger aircraft? Best Regards I didn't say he took it with him in his fighters - even Udet wouldn't have been allowed to do that. My personal guess is that this "travel bar" was built after WW1, in the 20s or in the 30s. when Udet became a high ranking officer in the new Luftwaffe. In the English WIKIPEDIA site about Udet, the mini-bar is shown. It seems it was transported in Udet's Siebel aircraft - that must have been in the "Third Reich" I think. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Udet Edited August 17, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjw 48 Posted August 17, 2013 I didn't say he took it with him in his fighters - even Udet wouldn't have been allowed to do that. My personal guess is that this "travel bar" was built after WW1, in the 20s or in the 30s. when Udet became a high ranking officer in the new Luftwaffe. Olham; I guess I botched up my post! I thought I had put a at the end but obviously I failed to do that . Stupid me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 17, 2013 (edited) I knew you were only kidding, Robert! (The CA Smileys are simply the best!) Edited August 17, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted August 18, 2013 Yep, he liked the drinking too much in the end, I'm afraid. But at last he couldn't drink away the evil anymore which had caught the war hero in a deadly embrace of it's iron arms. A classical example of "be careful what you wish for". As the Wiki article says, he campaigned for the job, and got it. But he was 'way out of his depth from the beginning. He was a fighter pilot and Squadron commander, not an 'industrial-level' businessman. And it was downhill from there. I knew the story of how he was invited to fly the Curtiss Hawk II in America, and was greatly impressed by its dive-bombing abilities, and how he prevailed upon the Luftwaffe to buy two for evaluation. What I didn't know was the price Goering extracted: membership in the party. (pic. of the remaining Curtiss below. Polish Museum) . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 18, 2013 (edited) Oh, wow - it still exists? Yeah, a German actress once said about her friend Udet: "Ah, Ernst - he made a contract with the devil, if he could only fly. He is such a daredevil - he should have been dead a dozen times or more..." When you make contracts with the devil, the outcome is always sombre." Edited August 18, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MudWasp48 3 Posted August 18, 2013 As Olham mentioned above, I was under the impression that he took the mini bar with him in a twin engine VIP personal transport plane used by the Nazi party , the Siebel Fh-104 . I didn't know he used a parachute in WWI..... Udet was one of the early fliers to be saved by parachuting from a disabled aircraft. On 29 June 1918, he jumped after a clash with a French Breguet. His harness caught on the rudder and he had to break off the rudder tip to escape.[2] His parachute did not open until he was 250 ft (76 m) from the ground, causing him to sprain his ankle. His suicide was tragic, as all are. I wonder if he saw the "writing on the wall" with Hitler's war with Stalin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 18, 2013 His suicide was tragic, as all are. I wonder if he saw the "writing on the wall" with Hitler's war with Stalin. His suicide was tragic, as all are. I wonder if he saw the "writing on the wall" with Hitler's war with Stalin. He sure did. When he saw Germany would be fighting a two-front war (again) he said something like "We cannot win this war - it is all lost." Each time I see that coloured photograph of him I tink "Nobody can be as good a guy as he looks here." Like a commercial for a health supply or such. Mmuahahahahaaa!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MudWasp48 3 Posted August 18, 2013 Yeah, it's "colorized" and probably touched up too. He does have that look about him... I tend to think he was a very compilicated man who served his country very well History is written by the winners. His side lost x2, yet he was regarded highly by all. I read some where where Herman took advantage of his drinking in later years, (hunting Nazi camp and general parties), and actually drugged him so that Ernst could not tell Hitler about his evaual of Soviet aviation, which would reccomend not invading them. I would have loved to have been a passenger in a two seat biplane with Ernst at the controls Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted August 19, 2013 (edited) I would have loved to have been a passenger in a two seat biplane with Ernst at the controls Like René Fonck? No joke - Fonck visited Udet in Berlin, and Ernst took him up in his two-seat plane. That was 10 years after the Great War ended. Here are two photos: Edited August 19, 2013 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjw 48 Posted August 19, 2013 Olham & Mudwasp; Thanks for your last posts with photos. I never knew about the Fonk/Udet meeting. I would love to have been there with them to listen to their reminiscence and conversation in general. I bet it would have been very interesting. I agree with your observations on the colorized photo of Udet with respect to how he projects an heir of impressiveness! Best Regards; Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MudWasp48 3 Posted August 19, 2013 Thank you for starting the thread, rjw ! Olham, I'd heard of that but never saw any photos.... Thanks! One of many things I like about these guys is that the way they lived would be frowned on now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
