CHECKERBOARD HUNTERS - INFORMATION

The Croatian Volunteers of 15./JG 52 on the Eastern Front

Marko Jeras & Dragina Brasnovic
Illustrations by Zdenko Kinjerovac

Delayed until further notice ISBN 0 9545605 2 3 RRPrice: About £30 Format: 297 x 210mm, casebound Pages: About 176, including 16 pages of highly detailed aircraft colour profiles About 350 previously unpublished black and white photos. Maps, combat reports, victory claims, loss lists, Orders of Battle, aircraft on strength etc Croatian rank insignia, medals and decorations

CONTENT:
The exploits of the Luftwaffe's allies and volunteers on the Eastern Front are not well known. Overshadowed by the Luftwaffe's own propaganda during the war and subject to fierce Communist repression post-war, only now can the true stories of the Croatian volunteers who manned the 15. Staffel of JG 52, one of the most successful fighter units in the Luftwaffe, be told. Mostly inspired by the ideal of an independent Croatian homeland, the men were in an unenviable position, subjected to military and political pressure from Nazis and Communists alike, yet they continued to fly and fight and did their duty as they saw it. Based entirely on Croatian and Luftwaffe archive materials, the combat records of the men and their machines are recorded here in enormous detail, on an almost daily basis.

AUTHOR NOTES:
The authors and illustrator have been researching the story of the Croatian airmen for several years and have met personally a number of the living participants. All have a passionate interest in accurately and objectively recording the history of their countrymen in those difficult times. All three are Croatian nationals.