Specialty Press

Princes of Darkness

by  Claire Rose Knott

Reviewed By  Dave Koukol, IPMS# 46287

MSRP: $32.95 ISBN 10: 1903223954 ISBN 13: 9781903223956 Website: www.specialtypress.com "Fascinating…" is the foremost adjective which comes to mind when trying to describe Princes of Darkness, chronicling the military careers of two of Germany's leading WWII Nachtjagd (night fighter) aces. Prince Heinrich zur Sayn-Wittgenstein and Prince Egmont zur Lippe-Weissenfeld. The sample reviewed was the hardbound edition, 208 pages. A softbound edition is also available. Thanks to Marie Ray at Specialty Press for the sample. What makes this volume so fascinating is the format and approach taken by Ms. Knott. The book is a compilation of personal letters between the pilot princes, their families and friends; accounts from their contemporaries and family members; photographs from their personal collections; historical narrative by the author, and several commissioned renderings of the princes' personal aircraft. For those of us "Luftwaffe ignorant" folk, Ms Knott does a fantastic job establishing the ascendency of the German night fighter force during the early stages of the war, including tactics, technology, and Allied countermeasures. Photos and illustrations of typical nachtjagd aircraft, weapons, and instrumentation will be found useful by modelers. Immediately following "Nachtjagd 101," the author builds a compelling profile and combat history of Prince Heinrich zur Sayn-Wittgenstein, the Luftwaffe's third highest scoring night fighter ace (83 kills), through his death in 1944. Ms. Knott paints a portrait of an officer conflicted -- driven by sense of duty to the defend the civilian population and his competitive desire to be the leading nachtjagd ace of the war, but doing so in the face of his disgust for what the Nazi regime had become. The final section is devoted to Prince Egmont zur Lippe-Weissenfeld, an Austrian. Ms. Knott traces his combat career from early days as daylight fighter pilot, through his 51st kill as a night fighter in 1944. Similar to his counterpart, Prince Egmont shared contempt for the Reich, but took up defense of its people against the Allied aerial onslaught out of a sense of duty and honor. Throughout the personal profiles, the author lends insights into the princes' personalities, values, convictions, and leadership styles, supported by personal accounts from contemporaries, family members, and "significant others." All said, this book is a tremendous and quick read into the professional and combat lives of two truly noble warriors caught between their convictions and life circumstances. Contributing to the brevity of the "read" is the wealth of photos and illustrations which will greatly aid any modeler building night fighter variants of these airmen's Ju-88's and Bf-110's. Recommended! My thanks to Specialty Press for the review copy.