Description
Der Adler
23 January 1940 • Heft 2 • 2. Jahrgang
Confiscated Edition
Herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung des Reichs-Luftfahrtministeriums
Verlag August Scherl Nachfolger, Berlin SW 68 • Preis 20 Pf.
24 pages scanned
Cover Page
Caption: “Angriffsziel: Französischer Fesselballon” (“Target: French Barrage Balloon”)
Subject: A dramatic artwork depicting a burning French barrage balloon, from which the observer leaps by parachute as German fighters attack. The balloon has been set ablaze by German fighter fire; in the final moments the observer jumps to save himself.
Location: Western Front (implied).
Illustration credit: Richard Heß.
Major Headlines & Content
So jagten wir sie in den Grund (Thus We Hunted Them to the Bottom) — Photo spread and article on Luftwaffe bombing attacks against British ships in the North Sea and off the Firth of Forth. German bomber crews and war correspondents describe intercepting British armed merchant vessels and patrol ships; aerial photographs show vessels being struck and sinking. Photos credited to P.K. Grosse and P.K. Schaller.
“Wer weiterfliegt, wird erschossen!” — Der Jäger und seine Waffe (“Whoever Keeps Flying Will Be Shot Down!” — The Fighter Pilot and His Weapon) — Article by Josef Grabler explaining the role, tactics, and armament of the German single-engine Messerschmitt fighter (Jagdflugzeug) versus the twin-engine Zerstörer destroyer. Covers engine-synchronised machine guns, the closed cockpit, radio equipment (Bordsprecher), and the aerial battles over Borkum and Helgoland. References World War I aces Immelmann, Boelcke, Göring, Udet, and Richthofen. Schematic drawings by Stäbel; photos by Stempka and Plasek.
Der “Bristol” Blenheim — das neue Opfer unserer Jäger (The “Bristol” Blenheim — the New Prey of Our Fighters) — Photo feature with archive photography examining the British Bristol Blenheim twin-engine bomber, recently substituted for the Vickers Wellington following German successes. Technical details given: all-metal construction, 1,050 hp, 612-litre fuel tanks, crew of three (pilot, bomb-aimer, radio operator). Notes that four German fighters shot down three Blenheims from the first squadron that flew toward Germany on 10 January 1940. Photo credit: Archiv Gräbler.
Angriffsziel: Feindlicher Fesselballon (Target: Enemy Barrage Balloon) — Extended illustrated article by Herbert Scharkowski, with artwork by Richard Heß, describing a German fighter attack on a French barrage balloon on the Lorraine heights. The balloon is used by French artillery spotters on the Westwall front; the German fighters set it ablaze and the French observer parachutes to safety. Action is set in the vicinity of Dorfs X and Y, approximately 16 km from the front line.
Die “Königliche Erste” — Kriegstagebuch einer Englandstaffel (The “Royal First” — War Diary of an England Squadron) — First-person combat narrative by Oberleutnant Bülow, describing the debut mission of a Luftwaffe Kampfstaffel against British warships in the North Sea, including attacks near Scapa Flow, the Firth of Forth, and the Tyne estuary. The squadron engages the battlecruiser HMS Hood and escorts; the article is marked as a serial (Fortsetzung folgt). Locations: Nordseeraum, Schottland, Firth of Forth, Tyne-Mündung, Isle of Man, Newcastle, Edinburgh.
Malaula! — Fiction serial by Julius Buckler (concluding instalment). First-person account of a World War I German aviator, following his squadron through the armistice and its immediate aftermath, including occupation tensions in Saarbrücken and Mainz, encounters with French troops, and the fate of comrades Rudno and Strasser. Characters named include Leutnant Fleischer and Leutnant Rudno.
Other Content
Puzzles — Denken – Raten – Lösen: crossword (Kreuzworträtsel), word-deletion puzzle (Streich ab – leg zu!), rhyme puzzle (Mißgeschick), and solutions to the previous issue’s Erdkundliches Silbenrätsel, Kastenrätsel, and Kreuzworträtsel.
Advertisements — Matheus Müller (Eltviller Sekt), Chlorodont, Ly-Feder (Heintze & Blanckertz), Rotbart Klingen / Luxuosa, Dr. Hillers Pfefferminz, Gilka Liköre Kümmel, Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau GmbH (recruiting skilled workers, Bremen-Flughafen), Adler-Bücherei (Scherl-Verlag book series), Leica, Busch Prismengläser, Hess-Harmoniklas, Rheila, Radioslerin, Togal, Formamint, Trineral, Neunehn Dragees, Herbin-Stodin, Toussaint-Langenscheidt language courses, Fremdsprachenverlag Pille & Zehner.