Flight Into Hell: Survival In Australia's Far North
True Adventure Australian History Young Adult Non-Fiction Biography & Memoir Aviation History Survival Non-Fiction Transportation Chronicles
First-edition 1985 paperback of Hans Bertram’s Flight Into Hell: Survival In Australia’s Far North – the gripping, illustrated true chronicle that has become one of the most sought-after titles in Australian aviation history. Bertram, a German aviator on a 1932 round-the-world flight, is forced down onto the crocodile-infested coast of Arnhem Land. With his co-pilot and little more than a sheath-knife, he endures six weeks of 40-degree heat, thirst, mangrove swamps and hostile terrain while an entire continent listens to radio bulletins and launches the biggest search the Top End had ever seen. The book’s 110 pages pack the tension of a thriller, yet every word is documented fact, making it a perfect crossover for both high-school history projects and adult collectors who crave real-life adventure.
What makes this copy especially appealing to buyers is its vintage first-edition status: the 1985 Australian imprint complete with period photographs and maps that later reprints often drop. The internal pages are clean and readable, while the exterior carries only light edge foxing and a previous owner’s neatly whited-out name—minor cosmetic issues that keep the price attractive without compromising the narrative. Because the title has never been reissued in large numbers, clean firsts are now scarce in any condition; finding one that is still tight, square and from a smoke-free home is genuinely difficult.
For enthusiasts of aircraft, remote-area survival or Australian frontier history, Flight Into Hell is the down-under counterpart to Shackleton’s polar memoirs. Teachers value it for young-adult non-fiction reading lists—its 1930s global flight angle dovetails with STEM aviation units and Australian geography modules—while transport historians rank it alongside the Derry and Gorman “Sirius” epic. Secure this affordable first edition now before the last 1980s copies disappear into private collections.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now