Flames in the Desert

In Flames in the Desert, Hans Henkelburg, a German Knight of the Air from the pioneer days of military flight arrives in Egypt – where he fights alongside the feted but doomed pilot Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp – to fight the British over the Suez Canal. It wasn’t the quiet and relaxed front line on which to carry out missions that it first seemed to be.
“We only fully realised how narrow our escape from death had been this time when we set about repairing the damage we’d suffered. The wings had been riddled with bullets and both tanks and both wheels had been shot to pieces. Everywhere in the fuselage, you could see right through fist-sized holes… most of the instruments had also been smashed.”
Flames in the Desert takes us on a unique trip into the aerial battle for supremacy fought in the heat and dust of the blue African skies over 100 years ago, when boy’s-adventure-book excitement sat alongside sudden, vicious death, and the burning monotony of the endless desert.

Amazon customer review:

“Excellent book for anyone interested in the air war from a German perspective. Lot’s of rare photos and vivid accounts of the bombing of Ismailia and Port Said as well as attacks on British naval vessels during WWI.”