Together with his younger brother, Denis Adam, he was one of only three German-born pilots to serve in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Klaus (Ken) had two older siblings, Peter, Loni and a younger brother Dieter (1 February 1924 – 17 October 2018).

[8] Reluctantly coming to the conclusion that Jews had no future in Germany, Fritz, Lilli and Loni, as well as some of Ken's aunts and uncles, fled to England in the summer of 1934.

The family were declared refugees on their arrival to England and identified as "friendly aliens" with the exception of Denis who was too young to be classified.

He was introduced to Vincent Korda, a Hungarian art director, when he was working on Knight Without Armour at Denham Film Studios.

Korda not only nurtured Adam's passion for films, but encouraged him to train as an architect if he was interested in becoming a production designer.

[11][failed verification] Among his tutors was a part-time teacher who had been an assistant of famed German architect Erich Mendelsohn from whom Adam learned valuable architectural drawing techniques.

As German citizens, the Adam family could have been interned as enemy aliens, but in October 1940 Adam was able to join the Pioneer Corps, a support unit of the British Army open to citizens of Axis countries resident in the UK and other Commonwealth countries, provided they were not considered a risk to security.

After eight months service in the Pioneer Corps, Adam's application to join the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a pilot was accepted.

[14] The squadron flew the Hawker Typhoon, initially in support of USAAF long-range bombing missions over Europe.

[15] Together with his brother Denis, Adam was one of three German-born pilots to serve in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War,[14] the third being Peter Stevens.

[17] Following the end of the war Adam was the Allied officer in charge of German labour rebuilding Wunstorf Air Base.

Working in 1952 for art director Paul Sheriff on the Burt Lancaster film The Crimson Pirate, Adam designed an 18th-century hot-air balloon, a flame-throwing tank, and a rowing boat that transformed into a submarine.

The first public knowledge of his expertise came when he won an award for the sets of The Trials of Oscar Wilde at the Moscow Film Festival in 1960.

[5] This enabled Adam to make his name with his innovative, semi-futuristic sets for further James Bond films, such as Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), and Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

[23] Adam's other film credits include The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960), the Michael Caine espionage thriller The Ipcress File (1965) and its sequel Funeral in Berlin (1966), the Peter O'Toole version of Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), Sleuth (1972), Salon Kitty (1976), Agnes of God (1985), Addams Family Values (1993), and The Madness of King George (1994).

[20][24] He was also a visual consultant on the film version of Pennies from Heaven (1981), adapted from Dennis Potter's television serial.

[28] He met his wife Maria-Letizia Moauro while filming The Crimson Pirate on location on the Italian island of Ischia and they married on 16 August 1952.