The adaptation of the award-winning book, The Star of Africa, is currently under development. For further inquiries regarding this project, please contact Colin Heaton at: cdheatonii@aol.com or visit his site at https://www.heatonlewisbooks.com/
Hans-Joachim Marseille was arguably the greatest fighter pilot who ever lived. His 158 aerial victories notwithstanding, his destruction of expensive Allied aircraft and the cost of training pilots/crews and other war materiel accounted for over $115 million in losses in today’s currency.
Marseille broke all the rules of both combat and National Socialist military and racial policies. He was a proficient killer who was also by nature a humanitarian. He often put as much effort into saving the lives of the enemies he shot down as he did in destroying their aircraft.
When he was not in trouble for having affairs with famous actresses, married women and daughters of high ranking officers (including a niece of Benito Mussolini), he was reprimanded for his rebellious nature and nonconformity to strict Nazi regulations.
He flew five times to enemy airfields to notify his enemies of the fates and dispositions of their fliers he had shot down. He also dropped the coordinates of wounded and killed pilots so that the Allied forces could locate and retrieve them, all against specific orders from Hermann Goering. His befriending and protecting his black South African POW Cpl. Matthew “Mathias” Letuku placed him and his unit in great danger and controversy.
After his death, his comrades kept their word and protected Letuku, smuggling him out of North Africa into Greece keeping him out of the hands of the SS and Gestapo. He was finally released into British custody in Greece.
On October 2, 1942 Marseille’s death was reported in The New York Times.
GENRE: Historical Military Drama