Day of the Fighters by Nicolas Trudgian. (B)

The pilots of I Gruppe JG-1 were up early on August 17th 1943. It was high summer, and even as the first streaks of light appeared in the sky to the east, four pilots got airborne out of Deelan, Holland, and headed for the coast. It was the first routine reconnaissance of the morning. By 0730 German listening services were picking up signals indicating large formations of enemy aircraft assembling to the west of Great Yarmouth, south east England. By 0800 it was clear to the German interceptor fighter groups stationed in Holland that this was going to be no ordinary day. Shortly after 0930 the first wave of a force of some 375 B-17s and B-24s, heavily escorted by fighters, started crossing the Dutch coast south of the Scheldt estuary, their destination Schweinfurt and Regensburg. They were shadowed by the German fighters of 1, 2 and 3 Gruppe along thei entire route over Europe. When the Allied fighter escort turned back at the limit of their range, the Luftwaffe fighters made their attack. It was the start of a day of incessant aerial combat which raged all the wway across Holland, Belgium and Germany, and all the way back to the coast again as the Americans returned to England. It was one of the longest air-to-air battles of the war and became known by the Luftwaffe pilots as the day of the fighters.

Last print available of this edition, with the added signature of Gunther Kolb.
Print has a small light dent on the out white border near the bottom left corner - It is hardly noticable.

Signed by Oberleutnant Adolf Glunz (deceased),
Hauptmann Alfred Grislawski (deceased),
Major Gerhard Schopfel (deceased)
and
Unteroffizier Gunther Kolb (deceased).

Limited edition of 75 publishers proofs.
Last print available.

Paper size 35 inches x 24.5 inches (88cm x 62cm)