Download or read book The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe written by Jay A. Stout and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 474 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dramatic story of World War II in the air How the U.S. built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force Vivid accounts of aerial combat Winner, 2011 San Diego Book Awards for Military & Politics In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion. This difficult task fell largely to the U.S., which, at the outset, lacked the necessary men, materiel, and training. Over the ensuing years, thanks to visionary leadership and diligent effort, the U.S. Army Air Force developed strategies and tactics and assembled a well-trained force that convincingly defeated the Luftwaffe.
Download or read book Luftwaffe Field Divisions 1941 45 written by Kevin Conley Ruffner and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-12-20 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hermann Göring raised the Luftwaffe Field Divisions [LwFD] during 1942, when Nazi Germany was still making spectacular gains but was first feeling the pinch of its losses on the Eastern Front. The Reichsmarschall decided to raise his own divisions for ground service under the command of Luftwaffe officers. On 17 September 1942, Göring called for volunteers from throughout the Luftwaffe for combat duty in the East. Even before that date, however, some Luftwaffe troops were heavily engaged against the enemy in Russia in a ground role. Kevin Conley Ruffner's engaging text tells the fascinating story of the LwFD.
Download or read book Luftwaffe Air Ground Crew 1939 45 written by Robert F Stedman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Luftwaffe, honed in the Spanish Civil War, played a vital part in Germany's 'Blitzkrieg' victories in 1939-41. Badly overstretched by war on three fronts in 1942-44, it was crippled by an incompetent commander-in-chief, the losses among experienced aircrew, and shortage of fuel. In 1944-45 it faced a final battle of attrition in skies ruled by the Allies as the Eastern and Western pincers closed on the Reich; but until the very end the dwindling band of veteran pilots among them the greatest 'aces' the world has ever known presented a potent threat. This fact-packed review of Luftwaffe uniforms and flying kit is illustrated with rare personal photos, insignia charts, and two dozen meticulously detailed colour figures.
Download or read book Men of Air written by Kevin Wilson and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-02-05 with total page 610 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bomber combat crews faced a wide array of perils as they flew over German territory. Bursts of heavy flak could tear the wings from their planes in a split second. Flaming bullets from German fighter planes could explode their fuel tanks, cut their oxygen supplies, destroy their engines. Thousands of young men were shot, blown up, or thrown from their planes five miles above the earth; and even those who returned faced the subtler dangers of ice and fog as they tried to land their battered aircraft back home.The winter of 1944 was the most dangerous time to be a combat airman in RAF Bomber Command. The chances of surviving a tour were as low as one in five, and morale had finally hit rock bottom. In this comprehensive history of the air war that year, Kevin Wilson describes the most dangerous period of the Battle of Berlin, and the unparalleled losses over Magdeburg, Leipzig and Nuremberg.Men of Air reveals how these ordinary men coped with the extraordinary pressure of flying, the loss of their colleagues, and the threat of death or capture. Brilliantly placing these stories within the context of The Great Escape, D-Day, the defeat of the V1 menace, and more, Wilson shows how the sheer grit and determination of these "Men of Air" finally turned the tide against the Germans.
Download or read book Eagles of the Third Reich written by Samuel W. Mitcham and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2007 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published under the title "Men of the Luftwaffe", "this insightful, well-researched book traces the rise and fall of Hitler's air force from the perspective of its top leaders, concentrating on problems of organization, policy and aircraft production rather than battles and campaigns" ("Publishers Weekly").
Download or read book To Fly and Fight written by Clarence E. "Bud" Anderson and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2017-05-12 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The Luftwaffe A History written by John Killen and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2013-06-12 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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
Download or read book Hitler s Commanders written by Samuel W. Mitcham (Jr.) and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in an expanded edition that includes biographies of the generals of Stalingrad and a new chapter on the panzer commanders, this book offers rare insight into the men who ran Nazi Germany's war machine. Going beyond common stereotypes, Samuel W. Mitcham and Gene Mueller recount the compelling lives of a varied group of army, navy, Luftwaffe, and SS men. Weaving in dramatic stories of tank commanders, fighter pilots in aerial combat, and U-Boat aces, the authors bring the battlefields of World War II to life.
Download or read book The Luftwaffe Data Book written by Alfred Price and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: -- Invaluable Luftwaffe reference book -- Fully revised and greatly extended from the original Luftwaffe Handbook 1939-1945 This is the reference book that anyone interested in World War II aviation should have on hand. This single volume presents a remarkable range of data, from the organization of the Luftwaffe High Command to details of unit identification markings on aircraft. Based on the Luftwaffe Handbook 1939-1945, long out of print, it has been fully revised and extended to almost double the original length by aviation historian Alfred Price. Lists of the strengths, serviceability states, and equipment of units at significant points throughout the war, as well as details of operational tactics of the different units are included.
Download or read book The Last Year of the Luftwaffe written by Alfred Price and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2015-11-30 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A historian analyzes Nazi Germany’s air force during its final year before Allied forces brought an end to World War II in Europe. The Last Year of the Luftwaffe is the story of a once all-conquering force struggling to stave off an inevitable and total defeat. This book gives a complete account of Luftwaffe operations during the last twelve months of the fighting in Europe—including the dramatic Bodenplatte (or “Baseplate”) offensive over the Ardennes in December, 1944. In this comprehensive examination of Hitler’s air force, Dr. Alfred Price examines its state from May, 1944, to May, 1945, analyzing not only the forces available to it, but also the likely potential, and impact, of new aircraft and weapons systems. He also assesses the Luftwaffe’s High Command’s performance and the effect of Allied attacks and operations. In doing so he rejects several long-standing myths, clarifies the impact of the jet and rocket fighters, and demonstrates that the Luftwaffe performed as well as could be expected under the harsh circumstances of fighting a losing war.
Download or read book A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers written by Klaus Häberlen and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 2001 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Luftwaffe Bomber Pilot Remembers is a bomber pilot's story from his early life prior to the ascension of the Nazi Party to power in Germany, his education and rise through the ranks of the Luftwaffe as a decorated bomber pilot, and even through his demotion at the hands of G�ring late in the war. Also covered are Haeberlen's tribulations in a prisoner of war camp run by the Allies, and his success in post war Germany as a businessman. This book offers a unique first person perspective on the development of the war and its effect on those that were not in the highest realms of power.
Download or read book Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War II written by Philip Kaplan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2007-03-22 with total page 403 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Men of the Luftwaffe written by Samuel W. Mitcham and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Luftwaffe Generals written by Jeremy Dixon and published by Schiffer Pub Limited. This book was released on 2009 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the biographies of 115 Luftwaffe officers who reached the rank of general and who were awarded the Knights Cross, and higher grades of the award during their career. This study brings together the highest ranking recipients of this special award from the Luftwaffe, the German air force: men like fighter aces Adolf Galland and Werner Mlders; one of the most successful field commanders of the war Albert Kesselring; paratroopers like Kurt Student and Eugen Meindl; Field-Marshals Erhard Milch, Wolfram von Richthofen, Robert Ritter von Greim, Hugo Sperrle, and of course Hermann Gring the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe.
Download or read book Luftwaffe Emergency Fighters written by Robert Forsyth and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-06-29 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Luftwaffe in Africa 1941 1943 written by Jean-Louis Roba and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The German Aces Speak written by Colin D. Heaton and published by Zenith Press. This book was released on 2011-11-15 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DIVDIVFor the first time, four German WWII pilots share their side of the story./divDIV/divDIVFew perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the WWII fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the sixty-five-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots’ heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries—the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?/divDIV/divDIVOf all of the Luftwaffe’s fighter aces, the stories of Walter Krupinski, Adolf Galland, Eduard Neumann, and Wolfgang Falck shine particularly bright. In The German Aces Speak, for the first time in any book, these four prominent and influential Luftwaffe fighter pilots reminisce candidly about their service in World War II. Personally interviewed by author and military historian Colin Heaton, they bring the past to life as they tell their stories about the war, their battles, their lives, and, perhaps most importantly, how they felt about serving under the Nazi leadership of Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler. From thrilling air battles to conflicts on the ground with their own commanders, the aces’ memories disclose a side of World War II that has gone largely unseen by the American public: the experience of the German pilot./div/div
