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Based on the author's personal World War II diary. An unflinching look at Luftwaffe combat, tactics, and leadership during the campaign for Sicily. A concluding chapter assesses the war's lessons for air forces.
A major historical document, this book contains interviews with more than 150 Germans who witnessed, participated in, or resisted the rise of Adolph Hitler. The testimony comes from well-known figures like Manfred Rommel and Helmut Kohl; former soldiers and ordinary civilians; and victims of the criminal policies of the Nazi regime. Haunting and extraordinary tales of horror, courage, grim determination, and moral confusion fill these pages. Voices from the Third Reich takes the material of epic history and presents it in the form of the individual human experiences of men, women, and children subjected to the pressures of total war in a fascist state. Preface by Helmut Schmidt
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 The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans.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.
A rare contemporary account of Germany's defeat, free from the whitewashing of decades of reflection
Forfatteren beretter om luftoperationerne over Messina-strædet, hvor Luftwaffe forsøgte at stoppe de allieredes fremrykning fra Nordafrika mod Sydeuropa under 2. verdenskrig
Steinhoff recounts gripping episodes from his Luftwaffe wartime career. Focusing on this ace pilot's defence of Sicily before and after the Allied landings, we read of the technology and intrigue within the German military machine; how Goering had fallen out of favour with Hitler and was condemning his leading pilots as cowards and then how many senior air officers plotted to depose the brutish Luftwaffe leader. This is an action-packed insight into the beginning of the demise of the once-mighty German Air Force that ruled the air in the early years of World War II. Author Details Johannes Steinhoff became a senior commander and was given an elite Luftwaffe unit whose purpose was to train pilots to fly the first German jet fighter, the Messerschmitt 262. His account provides an unflinching account of wartime life in the Luftwaffe.
Based on the author's personal World War II diary, Messerschmitts Over Sicily is an unflinching look at Luftwaffe combat, tactics and leadership during the campaign for Sicily. A concluding chapter assesses the war's lessons for air forces.
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 ...
Drawing on a vast array of original source material that has survived for decades and previously classified information, this thrilling narrative history documents a young soldier’s miraculous survival in war-torn Europe during World War II. Soon after joining the U.S. Army Corps, a wiry, baby-faced 17-year-old found himself a seasoned warrior desperately battling head-to-head against the Luftwaffe’s best fighter pilots over Nazi Germany. Having amazingly escaped the fiery wreckage of his B-17, he relied on his ingenuity and determination to get him through two bitter winters in confinement as a POW in the infamous Stalag 17. Along with other American prisoners, he was coerced to flee the rapidly advancing Red Army as the European war came to a close and endure a brutal 18-day march where he witnessed firsthand the horrors of the Mauthausen concentration camp. Weighing an emaciated 110 pounds, he was finally rescued by Patton’s Third Army just days before Germany surrendered.
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").