Hitler's Forgotten Secret Weapon: The Amazing Story of the Heinkel He113 "Super Fighter" in the Battle of Britain

by Rupert Matthews

The last great untold story of World War II, the career of Hitler’s “Super Fighter” intended to destroy the RAF in the Battle of Britain and why it never succeeded.The super-secret Heinkel He113 fighter was designed to be a high-speed, high-altitude fighter that could outperform, outgun and outfight any other aircraft in the world when it entered service with the Luftwaffe in 1940. Hitler’s airforce commander, Hermann Goring declared that the Spitfire was “so much scrap metal”. As the Battle of Britain opened the RAF issued directives to pilots about the new Superjaegar, or Super Fighter, and squadrons of these aircraft were met in combat over the Channel.Yet all was not what it seemed. There was a fatal flaw at the heart of the Superjaegar Projekt that meant that the aircraft would never achieve its potential and so would become Hitler’s forgotten secret weapon.In this fascinating book the author traces the development of the He113 Wonder Fighter from the drawing board at Heinkel to the war torn skies over Britain in the fateful summer of 1940.About the AuthorRupert Matthews has written over 150 books for different publishers, achieving significant sales in a variety of markets both in the UK and abroad. His works have been translated into 19 languages and have been shortlisted for a number of awards. Rupert has been a freelance writer for 20 years, working in-house at a major book publisher before going freelance.

64 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Gordon Thomas]

I read this short but fascinating book in a couple of hours. I just had to see what it had in store. There was something odd about this masterpiece of a war machine which Hitler's man, the educated and bright Goebbels, had commissioned Ernst Heinkel to build. The HE113 terrified the lives out of Spitfire and Hurricane pilots in the Battle of Britain. There were many sightings of it descending and attacking at speed from above 30,000 feet. And Air Marshal Dowding kept our planes out of France for fear of its destructive powers. Rupert Matthews has constructed a great little story here. He has combined an amazing mastery of his subject, gained through meticulous research, with a natural ability to tell a good yarn to produce this gripping volume! For anyone interested in the War in the Air it's a 'must read'. Gordon Thomas, author of The Harpist of Madrid

[T E Bletso]

I was fooled as well!

Having read many books on the Battle of Britain, I was surprised at the number of sightings of He 113s listed in the first half of the book and began to doubt its authenticity, however all was explained in latter half and it seems I was fooled as much as others were at the time. Not what I expected, but an interesting and compelling read.