FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF ZEMKE'S WOLF PACK, SIGNED BY FIVE MEMBERS OF THE 56TH FIGHTER GROUP

FREEMAN, Roger A. Zemke's Wolf Pack. The Story of Hub Zemke and the 56th Fighter Group in the Skies over Europe. New York: Orion, (1988). Octavo, original half yellow cloth, original dust jacket. $450.

First American edition of this fascinating narrative of a famed fighter group's war over Europe, signed on the half title by P-38 Lightning fighter pilot Lt. Col. Milton "Andy" Anderson, John Sipek, Bill Leister and Frank "Gus" Gyidik, and on the acknowledgements page by Leo Lester, with a manuscript letter signed by Lester laid in.

A captivating history of the 56th Fighter Group personnel, including Colonel Hubert "Hub" Zemke. Zemke and his men routinely flew into the heart of Germany and confronted some of the most dangerous German fighter pilots of World War II. The 56th is credited by the Air Force Historical Research Agency with the destruction of 665.5 aircraft in air-to-air combat, with more air-to-air kills than any other fighter group in the Eighth Air Force and the second-highest number of air-to-air kills of any USAAF fighter group. This work recounts Zemke's struggles with authority alongside powerful stories about his leadership, including as Senior Allied Officer in Stalag I following his capture and imprisonment. Originally published as The Hub, Fighter Leader: The Story of Hub Zemke, America's Great World War II Fighter Commander in Shrewsbury, UK earlier the same year. Bookplate of an Air Force veteran; this copy with a laid-in manuscript letter to that veteran discussing "who is the top killer group in the ETO," signed by Leo Lester.

A fine copy.