The Luftwaffe Fighter Force

The Luftwaffe Fighter Force PDF

Author: Adolf Galland

Publisher: Skyhorse

Published: 2016-08-16

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1510703675

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

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.

Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers Over Britain

Luftwaffe Fighter-Bombers Over Britain PDF

Author: Chris Goss

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0811706915

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

- Chronicles the air war above Britain from March 1942 to June 1943 and includes in-the-cockpit accounts from German and British pilots - Assesses offensive and defensive tactics - Incorporates hundreds of rarely seen photos As the Battle of Britain came to a close, the Luftwaffe began arming its single-engine fighters with bombs and using them instead of bombers for many daylight raids against shipping and coastal installations, railways, fuel depots, and other military and civilian objectives. The fighter-bombers also launched unopposed attacks against London and numerous other cities and towns across England. Known as "tip and run" attacks, these raids had a detrimental effect on British morale.

Six Months to Oblivion

Six Months to Oblivion PDF

Author: Werner Girbig

Publisher: Schiffer Military History

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

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.

Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis

Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis PDF

Author: Kevin A. Mahoney

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2013-04-25

Total Pages: 519

ISBN-13: 081088495X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In Fifteenth Air Force against the Axis: Combat Missions over Europe during World War II, historian Kevin A. Mahoney provides a detailed combat history of the crucial role played by this air force from November 1943 through May 1945. Presented by month in chronological order, Mahoney describes all the major bombing and fighter missions carried out by this air force within a strategic context. Each chapter includes an introduction describing developments in the evolution of the strategic air campaign against the Germans, highlights the purpose and importance of the month’s operations, and reviews the Luftwaffe’s resistance and changes in tactics and important developments in the Fifteenth Air Force’s organization. Each monthly narrative further explores most missions, detailing the number of aircraft lost during these missions. Losses are based on an exhaustively researched database compiled by Mahoney that contains details of almost 3,000 aircraft. Target damage is mentioned, while enemy opposition is also described for each mission. Appendices include four short essays on bombing operations (planning and flying of missions, tactics and techniques, bomb types, and bombing accuracy), tactics employed by fighter escort in aerial combat and strafing, combat crews and their aircraft (including a comparison of American fighters and bombers, the training of the crews, and their combat tours), and the Fifteenth Air Force command structure (including the use of intelligence, photo and weather reconnaissance, and the considerable effect of weather on Fifteenth Air Force operations). This work of military history is ideal for students and scholars of the air war in Europe.

Luftwaffe Fighter Aces

Luftwaffe Fighter Aces PDF

Author: Mike Spick

Publisher: Frontline Books

Published: 2011-07-19

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1783375787

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In this exciting book Mike Spick shows how the Luftwaffe's leading fighter pilots were able to outscore their allied counterparts so effectively and completely during the Second World War. When the records of the Jagdflieger pilots became available after the war, they were initially greeted with incredulity _ the highest claim was for 352 kills, and more than 100 pilots had recorded more than 100 victories. However postwar research proved that these claims had in fact been made in good faith and confirmation had only been given after rigorous checking. To discover the secret of this success, aviation history expert Mike Spick examines the exploits of these aces and sets out the context in which it took place. Every major theater is covered in detail including the conditions peculiar to each: climate, relative numerical and qualitative strengths, the presence or absence of radar and other measures, and the relative merits of the planes being flown. He focuses on the methods and tactics used by individual aces and uses firsthand sources wherever possible to put the reader right alongside the pilot in the cockpit.

Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II

Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II PDF

Author: Philip Kaplan

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2007-03-22

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1844154602

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book examines the reality behind the myths of the legendary German fighter aces of World War II. It explains why only a small minority of pilots - those in whom the desire for combat overrode everything - accounted for so large a proportion of the victories. It surveys the skills that a successful fighter pilot must have - a natural aptitude for flying, marksmanship, keen eyesight - and the way in which fighter tactics have developed. The book examines the history of the classic fighter aircraft that were flown, such as the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke Wulf Fw 190, and examines each type's characteristics, advantages and disadvantages in combat. The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans. The pilots included are Werner Molders, Gunther Rall, Adolf Galland, Erich Hartmann and Johannes Steinhoff.

Luftwaffe Emergency Fighters

Luftwaffe Emergency Fighters PDF

Author: Robert Forsyth

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-06-29

Total Pages: 91

ISBN-13: 1472819969

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In late 1944, the German Air Ministry organised what it called an 'Emergency Fighter Competition' intended to produce designs for quick-to-build yet technically and tactically effective jet fighter aircraft capable of tackling the anticipated arrival of the B-29 Superfortress over Europe, as well as the British Mosquito and US P-38 Lightning which were appearing in ever greater numbers. Thus was born a cutting-edge, highly sophisticated series of aircraft including the futuristic and elegant Focke-Wulf Ta 183; the extraordinary Blohm und Voss P.212, and the state-of-the-art Messerschmitt P.1101 series. Armed with heavy cannon and the latest air-to-air rockets and missiles, these were designed to inflict carnage on American bomber formations at high speed. Using stunning three-view illustrations of each prototype along with full colour artwork, aviation expert Robert Forsyth traces the history of the extraordinary aircraft of the 'Emergency Fighter Competition', Hitler's last throw of the dice in the air war against the Allies.

The Luftwaffe: A History

The Luftwaffe: A History PDF

Author: John Killen

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2013-06-12

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1473819482

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

An extensive history of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany’s air force. In his thoroughly researched study, John Killen examines German air power between 1914 and 1945, from the early days of flying when Immelmann, Boelke, Richtofen, and other First World War aces fought and died to give Germany air supremacy, to the nightmare existence of the Luftwaffe as the Third Reich plunged headlong to destruction. Here are the aircraft: the frail biplanes and triplanes of the Kaiser’s war; the great Lufthansa aircraft and airships of the turbulent Thirties; the monoplanes designed to help Hitler in his conquest of Europe. Here are the generals who forged the air weapon of the Luftwaffe: the swaggering Goering, the playboy Udet, the ebullient Kesselring, and the scapegoat Jeschonnek. Here, too, are the pilots who tried to keep faith with their Fatherland despite overwhelming odds: Adolf Galland, Werner Molders, Joachim Marseille, and Hanna Reitsch. Not least are the actions fought by the Luftwaffe from the Spanish Civil War to the Battle of Britain, through the bloody struggle for Crete, and the siege of Stalingrad to the fearful twilight over Berlin. “A good, readable account of the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe that covers all of the main fronts on which it fought, and examines the reasons for the eventual failure as well as providing a readable narrative.” —History of War