Focke-Wulf Fw 200

Author: Chris Goss
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1848324898
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 211

Book Description
In Dawn of D-Day David Howarth weaves together the testimony of hundreds of eye-witnesses and has produced a breath-taking and atmospheric account of the greatest amphibious landing ever attempted.Based on interviews with survivors and accounts by participants, including America paratroopers, British engineers, French civilians and German soldiers, this enthralling story brings all the drama of 6th June 1944 to life. David Howarth looks not only at the famous incidents but at the full range of D-Day experiences, relating the running battles between parachutists and Germans in the Norman countryside, the torment of being under fire for the first time, the agony on the invasion beaches, the shock of the German defenders and all the confusion, elation and horror of battle.Dawn of D-Day is superb history from the mouths and pens of the men who fought on that first day of the battle for Normandy.

The Blitz 1940–41

Author: Julian Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472857860
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
An illustrated history of how the Luftwaffe intended 'the Blitz' to knock Britain out of the war, emphasising the German point of view and detailing how Britain's defences and civilians responded. The Blitz - the German 'blitzkrieg' of Britain's industrial and port cities - was one of the most intensive bombing campaigns of World War II. Cities from London to Glasgow, Belfast to Hull, and Liverpool to Cardiff were targeted in an attempt to destroy Britain's military-industrial facilities and force it out of the war. Most histories of the Blitz concentrate on the civilian experience of 'life under the bombs' or the fighter pilots of the RAF but, in military terms, the Blitz was also the Luftwaffe's biggest and most ambitious strategic bombing campaign. Focusing on both sides, this book places particular emphasis on the hitherto under-represented Luftwaffe view of the campaign and looks at the new technology and tactics at its heart. From the innovative development of specialist night-fighters to the 'Battle of the Beams' that pitted German electronic navigation systems against British countermeasures, the Blitz demonstrated the effects of developing technology on aerial warfare. Describing and analyzing the strategy, tactics and operations of both the Luftwaffe and the UK's air defences during the period between September 1940 and May 1941, author Julian Hale demonstrates that, for a variety of reasons, there was little chance of the Luftwaffe achieving any of its aims. Using primary sources, spectacular original artwork, 3D diagrams and maps, this study shines a fresh light on how and why the world's first true strategic air offensive failed.

Arctic Convoys 1942

Author: Mark Lardas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472852419
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

Book Description
A new history of the most crucial few months of the Arctic Convoys, when Germany's air power forced the Allies to retreat to the cover of winter. Between spring and autumn 1942, Germany was winning the battle of the Arctic Convoys. Half of PQ-15 was sunk in May, PQ-17 was virtually obliterated in July, and in September 30 percent of PQ-18 was sunk. The Allies were forced to suspend the convoys until December, when the long Arctic nights would shield them. Mark Lardas argues that in 1942, it was Luftwaffe air power that made the difference. With convoys sailing in endless daylight, German strike aircraft now equipped and trained for torpedo attacks, and bases in northern Norway available, the Luftwaffe could wreak havoc. Three-quarters of the losses of PQ-18 were due to air attacks. But in November, the Luftwaffe was redeployed south to challenge the Allied landings in North Africa, and the advantage was lost. Despite that, the Allies never again sailed an Arctic convoy in the summer months. Fully illustrated with archive photos, striking new artwork, maps and diagrams, this is the remarkable history of the Luftwaffe's last strategic victory of World War II.

Hitler’s Eagles

Author: Chris McNab
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782003118
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
Hitler's Eagles charts the turbulent history of the Luftwaffe from its earliest days to its downfall. At the beginning of World War II, the Luftwaffe was the world's most advanced air force. With superior tactics, aircraft and training, it cut through opposition air forces. Despite this auspicious beginning, by 1945 the Luftwaffe was a dying force. The Allies were destroying German aircraft at unequal rates, and Luftwaffe aviators were dying in their thousands in an unbalanced battle to save Germany from destruction. Once Hitler was in power, the Luftwaffe came out of the shadows and expanded under a massive rearmament programme, then embarked upon the war that would define its existence. As well as providing a detailed history of the Luftwaffe's combat experience, the book expands on its human and material aspects. Aces and commanders are profiled and aircraft are described both technologically and tactically. The book conveys all the drama of the Luftwaffe's existence with Osprey's famous aviation artwork bringing the story incomparably to life.

Focke-Wulf Fw 200

Author: Chris Goss
Publisher: Classic
ISBN: 9781906537548
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Conceived and developed as a civilian airliner during the 1930s, the elegant four-engined Focke-Wulf Fw200 Condor soon became one of the Luftwaffe's most immediately recognizable and potent maritime armed reconnaissance aircraft. Following its introduction into service in 1939, the Condor took part in the German campaign against Norway and the British Isles in 1940 before being subsequently deployed over the Mediterranean in 1941 and the Atlantic between 1940 and 1944. Used as a transport for high-level German personnel in the Fliegerstaffel des Führers, as well as military transport missions on the Eastern Front, the Condor became involved in the catastrophic Stalingrad airlift. Later in the war, over the Atlantic convoy routes and despite the introduction by the Allies of escort carriers, catapult-fighter ships and long-range patrol aircraft, the Fw 200 continued to wage an anti-shipping campaign, but by the autumn of 1944 and into 1945, it was relegated to pure transport missions flying from bases in Norway. In Focke-Wulf Fw 200: The Condor at War, Chris Goss presents the most richly detailed narrative ever written on the campaigns undertaken by the Fw 200. Their account is accompanied by hundreds of rare images, many previously unpublished, representing the largest assembly of photography relative to the aircraft ever published. A unique reference source for historians and modelers alike.

Junkers Ju 88: The Twilight Years

Author: Chris Goss
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473892384
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 253

Book Description
Designed as a fast bomber that could outrun the fighters of the era, the twin-engine Junkers Ju 88 became one of the most versatile aircraft of the Second World War. Such was the success of the design that its production lines operated constantly from 1936 to 1945, with more than 16,000 examples being built in dozens of variants more than any other twin-engine German aircraft of the period. From an early stage it was intended that it would be used as a conventional light bomber and as a dive-bomber. As such, it served in the invasion of Poland, the Norway campaign, the Blitzkrieg and the invasion of France and the Battle of Britain. This latest volume in Frontlines Air War Archive examines the Ju 88s use in the latter years of the Second World War. The types use as a torpedo bomber or reconnaissance aircraft, as well as its deployment in Russia, over the Bay of Biscay and in the Mediterranean theater are all explored. Even its use in the Mistel flying-bomb is covered.In this selection of unrivaled images collected over many years, the operations of this famous aircraft in its twilight years are portrayed and brought to life.

Eagles of the Third Reich

Author: Samuel W. Mitcham
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811744515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Book Description
Character-based study of why the German air force was defeated. Recounts the Luftwaffe in combat from the blitzkrieg of 1939-40 and the Battle of Britain to the Eastern Front and the Normandy campaign.

Propaganda Postcards of the Luftwaffe

Author: James Wilson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473817374
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 531

Book Description
Propaganda Postcards of the Luftwaffe focuses on the efforts of the powerful Nazi propaganda machine to promote the technical achievements and might of the then newly created German airforce. The Luftwaffe had been announced to the world in March 1935, despite the restrictions contained in the Versailles Treaty signed after the First World War denying Germany the right to develop military aircraft. All major aircraft types used by the Luftwaffe together with many lesser known, obscure and secondary types are represented in this book. There is a section covering the main figures of the Luftwaffe and the leading aces who flew the aircraft. The German Air and Propaganda ministries worked together and, using professional photographers produced quality images, which were then made available to the general public in an attempt to inspire the nation and create strong moral.

Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot

Author: Wolfgang Fischer
Publisher: Grub Street Publishing
ISBN: 1908117982
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
A Nazi Germany fighter pilot gives readers a bird's-eye view from the cockpit of aerial combat against the Allied forces in World War II. Within weeks of war being declared, Wolfgang Fischer had volunteered to join the Luftwaffe and spent nearly five of the succeeding six years of hostilities in uniform. During this time he was given a succession of postings varying from a long-range recce unit; as a decoder in a met office in occupied France; to a bomber squadron; and as a flying instructor, before joining a squadron of the famous Richthofen Geschwader in Italy, from where he was shot down in his FW 190 by Mustangs en route to Normandy. By now a Lieutenant, he survived to fly offensive rocket attacks over Gold Beach on D-Day, only to be shot down again on D+1, and captured and sent first to a hospital in the UK, then into captivity in the USA. He was finally repatriated in April 1946. His description of all these events is entertaining and well-written, ranging from comic to tragic. It is unique in flavor, giving a valuable insight into the undeniably typical lot of those serving in the air arm of the Third Reich. Expertly translated and edited by John Weal, this is a worthy accompaniment to Norbert Hannig's Luftwaffe Fighter Ace published by Grub Street in 2004.

An Eagle's Odyssey

Author: Johannes Kaufmann
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1784382809
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Book Description
‘I realised that this brief but abortive sortie was to be the final mission of my Luftwaffe flying career.’ Johannes Kaufmann’s career was an exciting one. He may have been an ordinary Luftwaffe pilot, but he served during an extraordinary time, with distinction. Serving for a decade through both peacetime and wartime, his memoir sheds light on the immense pressures of the job. In this never-before-seen translation of a rare account of life in the Luftwaffe, Kaufmann takes the reader through his time in service, from his involvement in the annexation of the Rhineland, the attack on Poland, fighting against American heavy bombers in the Defence of the Reich campaign. He also covers his role in the battles of Arnhem and the Ardennes, and the D-Day landings, detailing the intricacies of military tactics, flying fighter planes and the challenges of war. His graphic descriptions of being hopelessly lost in thick cloud above the Alps, and of following a line of telegraph poles half-buried in deep snow while searching for a place to land on the Stalingrad front are proof that the enemy was not the only danger he had to face during his long flying career. Kaufmann saw out the war from the early beginnings of German expansion right through to surrender to the British in 1945. An Eagle’s Odyssey is a compelling and enlightening read, Kaufmann’s account offers a rarely heard perspective on one of the core experiences of the Second World War.