The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

formed up and was at around 12,000 feet over Cambrai when one of the
pilots cried out, ‘Enemy above!’
These were French fighter aircraft, some five US-built Curtiss Hawks
and a dozen Morane 406s that happened to have been escorting a lone
French reconnaissance aircraft. The French dived down on the
Messerschmitts, for once able to begin a dogfight with the advantage of
height. Forgetting their escort duties, each German pilot now found himself
engaged in a fierce mêlée with the French attackers. Hans-Ekkehard Bob
managed to get on the tail of one of the French Curtiss Hawks, but although
his Me 109 was faster, the French pilot seemed to have the more
manoeuvrable aircraft, turning and weaving so that Hans was unable to get
a clear shot.
Hans was another of the Luftwaffe’s pre-war regular pilots. Born and
brought up in Freiburg in the Black Forest, the 23-year-old was an only son,
but with four much older sisters. ‘My youngest sister was seven years
older,’ he says. ‘They all spoiled me.’ Blond, good-looking and intelligent,
Hans had grown up to become a confident, headstrong young man. He had
first become interested in flying in 1927, when he had been just ten. One of
his sisters had become friends with the famous stunt pilot Erich Haal, and
he then invited her and her little brother to go for a flight in his biplane. It
had been the most exciting thrill of his life, but it was another seven years
before he flew again – and this time in a glider he had made himself whilst
in the Hitler Youth. It was, then, hardly surprising that he volunteered for
the air force after leaving school, and after three months’ labour service
began his training in December 1936. He soon proved himself to be a
natural and extremely gifted pilot, taking his first solo after just seventeen
flights. It had always been his intention to become a fighter pilot and that
was what he did, joining his first Staffel in September 1938.
Hans knew he was a good pilot; knew he had plenty of experience too.
He had flown every single mark of the Messerschmitt 109 and knew the
latest model, the 109E, or ‘Emil’, so well that he could make his machine
do what he wanted without even thinking about it. Now, more than two
weeks after the start of the offensive, he had combat experience too: thirty
missions and three aerial victories to his name. But the French pilot ahead
of him was good too, and after twenty minutes of twirling and weaving
through the sky without Hans getting a shot or the Frenchman able to get
away, they had fallen so low that they were now flying over the treetops and