Author: NEIL. PAGEPublisher: Tempest Books
ISBN: 9781911639718
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1943–45
Author: Neil PagePublisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612008801
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 128
Book Description
The second volume of this “excellent” overview of Germany’s World War II fighter pilots, filled with photos, maps, and aircraft profiles (Air Power History). This volume of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe traces the story of the Luftwaffe’s day fighter arm from 1942 through to the end of the war in Europe, covering missions over Russia in 1943, over the West and the Reich, the Eastern Front and the Mediterranean. Organized campaign by campaign, this chronological account interweaves brief biographical details, newly translated personal accounts, and key moments in the careers of a host of notable and lesser known Luftwaffe aces. Fully illustrated with 200 contemporary photographs, maps, and profiles of the aircraft flown by these aces, this is a visual delight for anyone with an interest in the day fighter aces of the Luftwaffe.
Luftwaffe Combat Reports
Author: Bob CarruthersPublisher: Coda Books Ltd
ISBN: 1781580510
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 402
Book Description
"My Luftwaffe is invincible... And so now we turn to England. How long will this one last - two, three weeks?" Hermann Goering, June 1940. These detailed accounts of Luftwaffe combat operations are taken from the extensive series of interviews conducted with higher echelons of the German Fighter Force by the USAAF very shortly after the end of the Second World War. The new generation of German fighters such as the Me.262 was at the forefront of the agenda and the USAAF were particularly keen to learn as much as they could about these machines and their successes and failures. These fascinating insights cover the experience of the Luftwaffe during the whole war and are drawn from the interviews conducted by those who managed to excel despite all that was thrown at them: Heinz Bar, an ace with 240 victories to his credit; Walter Dahl, an anti-bomber specialist; 'Hitsch' Hitschhold, who undertook many high-risk operations with his Stukas and FW-190's; and Adolf Galland, last commander of the Luftwaffe and author of the classic memoir, "The First and the Last." The frustrations which the pilots of the Luftwaffe encountered in their own aircraft is well voiced within these pages, as is the tenuous relationship between the fighter and bomber wings of the Luftwaffe. Political interference, the bane of the Wehrmacht, also raised its head within the Luftwaffe and the consequences of intermeddling by Hitler and others in the Nazi machine are expressed in the interviews. These absorbing primary source accounts of aerial combat at the tactical, operational and strategic level provide a unique window on the Luftwaffe at war.
Author: Norbert HanningThe Luftwaffe Fighter Force
Author: Adolf GallandPublisher: Skyhorse
ISBN: 1510703675
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314
Book Description
The Luftwaffe was the official Nazi air force during World War II and The Luftwaffe Fighter Force features thirty-four accounts of its missions given by pilots and members of its flight crews. Stories included give a rarely heard perspective on the war and Luftwaffe members are frank in revealing the difficulties they encountered and what they believe led to their downfall. The Luftwaffe pilot and crew members featured in this unusual collection divulge what was once highly-confidential information, including fighter tactics, aircraft technology and operations, how they received their commands, and what the chain in carrying out their orders was. Also included are thirty rarely seen photographs and five maps and diagrams. Images feature things such as uniformed Luftwaffe officers, close-up shots of fighter planes, and the boundaries the planes were authorized to carry out their missions in. This unique volume was compiled by acclaimed military historian David C. Isby and is extraordinarily comprehensive. To make it, Isby poured over accounts of the war given by members of the Luftwaffe shortly after the events they describe. Much of the information in the book has been shared for the first time within it, and after a limited print run nearly twenty years ago, is finally, seventy years after the Luftwaffe missions, finally back in print. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
Six Months to Oblivion
Author: Werner GirbigPublisher: Schiffer Military History
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
This book covers the last chapter, the decline and fall of the air defense of Germany. It is a diary of losses and a chronicle in which the fighter pilot plays the lead. It tells of the young men who joined their squadrons full of optimism and derring-do, only to give their lives to no purpose in a last desperate endeavour.\nIts focal point is the controversial Operation "Bodenplatte" on the morning of New Year\s Day 1945, an operation in which the German fighter force received its final mortal wound - losing some 230 aircrew in less than 4 hours, the fighter units suffered their most severe defeat. Only now, after years of evaluation of all available sources, can the true figures of fighter losses on January 1, 1945 be reported. \nBut this picture of the sacrifice of fighter formations does not mean that fighter pilots were unable to score successes. The figures for enemy aircraft shot down and the contact reports show clearly that the German pilots could still both parry and deal out hard punches.\nFew people have any real idea of the actual scale of the German fighter force\s sacrifice. The imagination boggles at the tragic events that took place in the skies over Europe as the war neared its end, even in the perspective of history the full extent of the debacle can scarcely be depicted.\nIn Six Months to Oblivion Werner Girbig explains these last months of the Luftwaffe and the fall of a once mighty air force.
To Fly and Fight
Author: Clarence E. "Bud" AndersonPublisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1524563420
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 576
Book Description
Bud Anderson is a flyers flyer. The Californians enduring love of flying began in the 1920s with the planes that flew over his fathers farm. In January 1942, he entered the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program. Later after he received his wings and flew P-39s, he was chosen as one of the original flight leaders of the new 357th Fighter Group. Equipped with the new and deadly P-51 Mustang, the group shot down five enemy aircraft for each one it lost while escorting bombers to targets deep inside Germany. But the price was high. Half of its pilots were killed or imprisoned, including some of Buds closest friends. In February 1944, Bud Anderson, entered the uncertain, exhilarating, and deadly world of aerial combat. He flew two tours of combat against the Luftwaffe in less than a year. In battles sometimes involving hundreds of airplanes, he ranked among the groups leading aces with 16 aerial victories. He flew 116 missions in his old crow without ever being hit by enemy aircraft or turning back for any reason, despite one life or death confrontation after another. His friend Chuck Yeager, who flew with Anderson in the 357th, says, In an airplane, the guy was a mongoosethe best fighter pilot I ever saw. Buds years as a test pilot were at least as risky. In one bizarre experiment, he repeatedly linked up in midair with a B-29 bomber, wingtip to wingtip. In other tests, he flew a jet fighter that was launched and retrieved from a giant B-36 bomber. As in combat, he lost many friends flying tests such as these. Bud commanded a squadron of F-86 jet fighters in postwar Korea, and a wing of F-105s on Okinawa during the mid-1960s. In 1970 at age 48, he flew combat strikes as a wing commander against communist supply lines. To Fly and Fight is about flying, plain and simple: the joys and dangers and the very special skills it demands. Touching, thoughtful, and dead honest, it is the story of a boy who grew up living his dream.
Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front
Author: John WealPublisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782005285
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
The highest scoring aces of any aerial conflict were the Luftwaffe pilots involved in the bloody combats on the Russian Front. The most common fighter used by these pilots was the Bf 109, which was involved in the action from Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, through to the doomed Defence of the Reich in 1945. Units like JGs 5, 52 and 54 all flew the Messerschmitt fighter, progressing from Emil to Gustav variants. This volume includes all the high-scoring aces, and explains just how difficult a job the Jagdwaffe faced on the Russian Front, and how its experts achieved such overwhelming scores. Aircraft of the Aces 6 and 37 are also available in a single volume as 'German Aces of the Russian Front'.
Author: David DonaldJagdflieger
Author: Robert F StedmanPublisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178096983X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155
Book Description
Over the years much has been written about Luftwaffe aces, but this book seeks to examine the lives of the ordinary men who took to the skies. These men all shared the same “aggressive spirit, joy of action and the passion of a hunter.” Rich with fascinating first-hand accounts exploring every step of the fighter pilot's career from his enlistment and intensive training to his exploits in the Battle of Britain and on the Eastern Front, this book is an invaluable insight into the life of a Luftwaffe fighter pilot.
