Digital version of this book

Editorial

A German Fighter Pilot in 1945

This issue contains an exceptional account: that of a fighter pilot from Jagdgeschwader 26 at the end of the war. Arriving at the front after the Normandy landings, Karl Ossenkop fought against the best Allied fighters, claiming several aerial victories until a Tempest sent him to the hospital in April 1945. The memories he shares reveal the daily life of a German air force that was fighting only for its survival at that time. This account was collected by a new author of PLANES, Holger Ziehm. A former Luftwaffe fighter pilot on F-4 Phantoms and Tornados, Holger was able to interview such famous aces as Adolf Galland, Günther Rall, Hajo Hermann, and Willy Reschke, the "Flying Fortress Killer" who ended the conflict on the Ta 152… You'll soon find other articles from him in these columns.

Your favorite magazine naturally contains the continuation of the adventures of the RAF Short Stirling bomber, this time the operational section with numerous aircrew accounts, but also the traditional article on 1914-1918 (with a surprise for those who thought they knew the Storks squadron well, thanks to a previously unpublished photo from our friend Philippe Guillermin), a presentation of the Clément Ader Museum, as well as a Readers' Letters section and a very comprehensive Info-leisure section.

Contrary to what I announced too quickly in my last editorial, due to lack of time, I am forced to postpone the special "Spanish Civil War" issue of AVIONS by two issues. It will ultimately be issue 267, to be published this fall. To tide you over, I invite you to discover, starting with this issue, the fates of two aces, one Republican and the other Nationalist, who curiously ended their careers in the same way, fighting Nazi Germany during World War II! Yesterday's adversaries and tomorrow's allies in the same fight... An example to reflect on in these turbulent times.

Christophe Cony

Summary

4 Readers' Letters

6 Fw 190 "Long-Nose" vs. Tempest:
Karl-Heinz Ossenkop, pilot at JG 26 in 1944-1945
Full story, by Holger Ziehm

20 Short Stirling: The Big Toy Put to the Test
Part Two, by Guy Julien with the participation of Christophe Cony

50 Juan Lario Sánchez,
from the Spanish Civil War to the Great Patriotic War
Full story, by Carlos Lázaro Ávila with the participation of Christophe Cony

62 1916: The Twelfth Stork
Full story, by Marc Chassard

72 From One War to Another:
Ace Rodolphe de Hemricourt de Grunne
Full story, by Jean-Louis Roba with the participation of Christophe Cony

88 News: The Clément Ader Museum in Corbas,
a gem of French aeronautical heritage
By Philippe Guillermin

94 Infoloisirs
By M. Ledet, J. Druel, C. Archambault, J.-L. Fouquet, P. Guillermin, and C. Cony