Boasting pilots who had been blooded in the Spanish Civil War, Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) 'Pik As' or 'Ace of Spades' achieved great success in the skies over France and Britain in 1940. It was infamous amongst its opponents for the quality and calibre of its aces – men such as Werner Mölders, Hans-Karl Mayer and Rolf Pingel. These aces won numerous Knight's Crosses for their exploits in 1940, credited with 258 victories, with 51 pilots being killed or captured. This study follows these pilots of JG 53 into battle, telling the stories of their victories, losses, and ultimate fate. Containing 36 profile illustrations depicting the drastic change in appearance of their aircraft over time, and complemented by thorough research, this book is a welcome addition to Osprey's popular Aircraft of the Aces series.
Arguably the archetypal Luftwaffe fighter unit of World War 2, JG 53 aircraft were encountered on almost every fighting front from the first day of hostilities until the last. During almost six years of near-constant campaigning, JG 53 took a steady toll of Allied aircraft in every theatre it fought over. The variety of camouflage finishes worn by its machines -winter white, desert dapple and Reich's defence black - and the progression of variants are reflected in an eye-opening colour section. John Weal has spent several years researching in German archives and this, together with his personal contact with several veterans, results in an authoritative and human account of JG 53's long and eventful war.
"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" - Churchill on the RAF. The fate of Britain was balanced on a knife edge after Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to destroy the RAF. German aircraft outnumbered Britain's forces four to one, and the Luftwaffe was inexorably gaining the upper hand. It was touch and go whether the nation could survive. This landscape-format book presents an incredible pictorial history of the Battle of Britain. Over 200 full-page photographs reveal the twists and turns of this momentous air battle and the men and women who fought for their nation. Images feature: • The courageous 'Few' who fought from the skies, including Douglas Bader and Johnnie Johnson. • Local defence volunteers who prepared on the ground • The various aircraft that defined this battle, featuring the iconic Spitfire, the Hurricane and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109. • Scenes of tragedy and jubilation, including the London Blitz and final VE day celebrations in Trafalgar square. These spectacular photographs are accompanied by fascinating captions and chapter text which narrates the action. Emphasising the human side to this battle, The Battle of Britain is a moving tribute to a men and women who pulled together in the face of overwhelming odds and pushed back against Adolf Hitler.
Aces is an illustrated history of the brave World War II fighter pilots who earned the title of ace, with archival and modern photos of their aircraft.
This vivid account of WWII aerial warfare follows two frontline fighter units locked in deadly combat during the Battle of Britain. This is the story of the Air Battle for England as experienced by the men of 609 (West Riding) Squadron, based in southern England, and 1/JG53, a Luftwaffe staffel based in northern France. Historian Chris Goss presents a day-by-day, blow-by-blow account that captures the tension of aerial combat, the elation of a successful ‘kill’, the tragedy of seeing a friend shot down, and the relief felt by survivors on both sides of the fight. We learn of exhausting, unremitting action, and days of frustrating weather-induced inactivity, along with those brief moments of leisure and pleasure grasped from the daily struggle for survival. What we also discover is that there was, in many regards, little difference in the experiences and reactions between the men defending king and country and those fighting for the Führer—creating a form of bond derived from those shared experiences of, indeed, brothers in arms.
This WWII history examines Nazi air force operations in Egypt and Libya with more than 100 rare wartime photographs. When Mussolini’s army was defeated on the Libyan-Egyptian border at the beginning of 1941, Adolph Hitler had no choice but to send reinforcements to help his ally. The Luftwaffe deployed an air detachment, first to Sicily, then to North Africa. This volume examines the small expeditionary force, solely devoted to protecting Italian possessions in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern theater. When General Erwin Rommel launched his Afrika Korps to the east, the Luftwaffe had to go on the offensive to cover the advance. As British air forces were strengthened, German High Command was obliged to send more aerial units into what it had initially considered a peripheral arena of the war. Losses in bombers and fighters were high on both sides. By the time the Allies landed in Morocco and Algeria at the end of 1942, the Wehrmacht’s fate was sealed. The last German units capitulated in Tunisia in May 1943.
The personal reminiscences of Luftwaffe veterans and original documents and images give a unique insight into the Mediterranean theatre and late aerial war battles.
Hell Hawks sets a new standard for histories of the tactical anti-war in Europe. Veteran authors Bob Dorr and Tom Jones combine masterfully crafted veteran interviews with the broader picture of the air war fought by the Thunderbolt men. You gain a new appreciation of just how tough their deadly task was, and the courage needed to fly close air support against the Nazi fighters and flak. This outstanding book raises the bar on aviation history as it brings alive the true story of an aerial band of brothers." - Colonel Walter J. Boyne, National Aviation Hall of Famer, former director of the National Air & Space Museum, and best-selling author Hell Hawks! is the story of the band of young American fighter pilots, and their gritty, close-quarters fight against Hitlers vaunted military. The "Hell Hawks" were the men and machines of the 365th Fighter Group. Beginning just prior to D-Day, June 6, 1944, the groups young pilots (most were barely twenty years old and fresh from flight training in the United States) flew in close support of Eisenhowers ground forces as they advanced across France and into Germany. They flew the rugged, heavily armed P-47 Thunderbolt, aka the Jug. Living in tents amid the cold mud of their front-line airfields, the 365ths daily routine had much in common with that of the G.I.s they supported. Their war only stopped with the Nazi surrender on May 8, 1945. During their year in combat, the Hell Hawks paid a heavy price to win the victory. Sixty-nine pilots and airmen died in the fight across the continent. The Groups 1,241 combat missions -- the daily confrontation of sudden, violent death -- forged bonds between these men that remain strong sixty years later. This book will tell their story, the story of the Hell Hawks.
The World War II fighter-pilot story On the very first day of the invasion of Sicily, three months into his combat career, Allan Knepper flew his P-38 Lightning fighter in a squadron sent out to sweep the island and interdict German ground targets. Retreating German infantry unexpectedly pounded the American flyers. Knepper was one of two shot down; he was never found. Knepper’s story is the story-in-microcosm of thousands of American fighter pilots in World War II. Richardson recounts Knepper’s experiences from training through combat and uses them to discuss the aircraft, tactics and doctrine, training, base life, and aerial combat of the war. This is the intimate account of one pilot at war, but also the anatomy of the fighter-pilot experience in World War II.
At the close of World War II, Allied forces faced frightening new German secret weapons—buzz bombs, V-2's, and the first jet fighters. When Hitler's war machine began to collapse, the race was on to snatch these secrets before the Soviet Red Army found them. The last battle of World War II, then, was not for military victory but for the technology of the Third Reich. In American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets, Wolfgang W. E. Samuel assembles from official Air Force records and survivors' interviews the largely untold stories of the disarmament of the once mighty Luftwaffe and of Operation Lusty—the hunt for Nazi technologies. In April 1945 American armies were on the brink of winning their greatest military victory, yet America's technological backwardness was shocking when measured against that of the retreating enemy. Senior officers, including the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, knew all too well the seemingly overwhelming victory was less than it appeared. There was just too much luck involved in its outcome. Two intrepid American Army Air Forces colonels set out to regain America's technological edge. One, Harold E. Watson, went after the German jets; the other, Donald L. Putt, went after the Nazis' intellectual capital—their world-class scientists. With the help of German and American pilots, Watson brought the jets to America; Putt persevered as well and succeeded in bringing the German scientists to the Army Air Forces' aircraft test and evaluation center at Wright Field. A young P-38 fighter pilot, Lloyd Wenzel, a Texan of German descent, then turned these enemy aliens into productive American citizens—men who built the rockets that took America to the moon, conquered the sound barrier, and laid the foundation for America's civil and military aviation of the future. American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets details the contest won, a triumph that shaped America's victories in the Cold War.
