Gray Eagles

by Duane Unkefer

Thirty-one years after WWII, eight Luftwaffe aces force a rematch in the skies over America. An adventure novel about the last Luftwaffe air attack against America--in Texas, in 1976! In April 1944, Major Theo Heinrich and Hauptmann Rudi Felbeck have their Messerschmitt 109s forced out of the German air by American Mustangs led by fighter ace Colonel Roger Lowen, who then shoots up the landed planes on their runways but is himself shot down. Thirty-two years later, in 1976, Theo is a wealthy German businessman and for four years has been shipping junk 109s to Rudi in Arizona to be rebuilt. Now, in a secret, camouflaged hangar and airfield in the desert, Rudt has rebuilt eight mangificent 109s to better than their original condition (with newly designed parts), and there they sit in battle colors and tail swastikas awaiting Theo's next move. The next move is a staff of ex-Luftwaffe pilots to man the 109s, and Rudi rounds them up and has tailored uniforms and boots cut for them by a Hollywood railer used to outfitting ersatz Nazis for war movies. When Theo arrives, he jumps into his new uniform, drives out to the sweltering hangar and is overwhelmed by the planes. The staff for the last Luftwaffe squadron ever to be is a gathering of gray eagles and Rudi explains their battle they are going to attack the Confederate Air Force during its air show in Texas.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller

467 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1985

Reviews

[Chris Tschirhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction: An improbable story about ex Luftwaffe pilots who res-erect a squadron of ME 109s and go to war against Allied WWII aircraft at a local air show. A quirky story but I got this 25 years ago and I go and read it every 5 years or so.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tremendous guilty pleasure. It is non-sensical yet invitingly realistic for lovers of all things warbirds and military aviation. Although I laugh trying to explain it to people, I enjoyed reading it thoroughly.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: I admit I skimmed over this book in places. At some point I'll give it a reread and update this review accordingly.

I really wanted to like Gray Eagles, but it just didn't work for me. The premise is fascinating and compelling: A group of former Luftwaffe aces, now approaching old age, enact revenge on an American pilot...In fully-restored messerschmitts! Unkefer clearly did his research, and the book is filled with details about aerial combat and the planes themselves. However, as a layman, a lot of this jargon went completely over my head. I would have appreciated a glossary or index explaining these things. Also, I appreciate how the author tried to inject depth and substance into what could have been another lurid, pulpy thriller. But I simply couldn't bring myself to care about these characters and their struggles. It also doesn't help that there are too many characters, and most don't add much to the plot. The book plodded on longer than it should have, and there were many scenes that felt slow-paced and boring to me.

However, I will give Gray Eagles another chance and try again. It's not necessarily a bad book- just flawed- and I don't think I'm in the right audience for it. Aviation enthusiasts would probably get more enjoyment out of it than me.

[Joe Gaskill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It had a plausible plot, that some WWII German aces wanted a rematch with the American aces.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

plot was good, believable... when i had time to read, it was a fast paced read.... very entertaining, great twist on a common genre.