Book Review of
Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe 1939-42
Men – Battles – Weapons
Author: Neil Page
Casemate Illustrated
ISBN: 978-1-61200-848-6
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $24.95
ISBN: 978-1-61200-848-6
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2020
MSRP: $24.95
The flying aces of the Great War enjoyed huge “celebrity” status. Some twenty years later the Germans were still obsessed with the concept of the ace.
In fact, the Luftwaffe of 1939 – developed mostly in secret before Hitler’s seizure of power, and then tested during the Spanish Civil War – was largely the offspring of these surviving aces of the Great War.
Blooded in the Spanish Civil War, the Luftwaffe of 1939 was a mighty force. Supporting the Blitzkrieg campaigns, the day fighter pilots quickly began to accrue victories. In May 1940, poor strategy during the Battle of Britain saw them neutralized by the RAF, but in 1940/42 with the invasion of the USSR and the North Africa/Mediterranean campaigns in full swing, the Luftwaffe was to achieve more staggering successes.
Through the early campaigns of WWII, the Legion Condor veterans were virtually a “breed” apart. Attrition started to take its toll during the hard-fought day fighter sorties of the Battle of Britain, although many younger fighter pilots acquired the tactics and skills for scoring victories, downing the Hurricanes and Spitfires of the RAF.
The launch of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, subsequently enabled many German pilots to run up large scores. By early 1942, long serving Luftwaffe fighter pilots had flown and fought on any number of different fronts.
But the day fighters would find aerial combat over the Mediterranean and North Africa very different to combat over the Eastern Front, and their rate of victories would begin to slow.
During WWII, around 500 Luftwaffe fighter pilots were awarded the Knight’s Cross, many of them completing hundreds of sorties. A similar number achieved more than 40 victories – each of them scoring more than the two leading USAF and RAF fighter pilots.
This first volume of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe traces the story of the Luftwaffe’s day fighter arm (the Tagjag) from its inception to the end of 1942, 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.
This Casemate Illustrated series explores key elements of military history. Extensively illustrated with photos, maps, and color profiles of tanks, aircraft, and other vehicles, each volume provides a wealth of visual detail. Profiles of key individuals and units, a timeline and explanatory text boxes support of the narrative, which provides a clear overview of the battle or campaign and the experience of the forces involved.
THE BOOK:
Casemate is a distributor of books and also a book company in itself based in Pennsylvania.
This book is soft-cover with a fold-over flap on the front and rear covers.
The front cover has a black and white photo of Lt. Gen Meyer climbing into the cockpit of his Bf-109F, white 4, as Staffelführer of 7/JG 2.
This is over a color side profile of a Bf-109E flown by Helmut Wick (more about this profile later).
Next is a photo of two Fw-190s parked on a field and a pilot standing in a cockpit of a Bf-109, looking to the rear and a rare color photo showing the yellow rudder of a Bf-109, flown by Oblt. Hubert Mutherich, with 1/JG 72, showing 8 victories over British aircraft and 2 over Yugoslavian ones.
The back cover shows another rare color photo of a pilot painting kill marks on the rudder of his 109, for a total of 12. A photo of Ernst Udet seated in the cockpit of his Albatros biplane fighter in WWI is next and a photo of a wrecked 109 in a field.
The flap on the front cover gives the history of the book. The flap on the rear cover tells about the book’s author, over 4 color cover arts of Casemate Illustrated series books: “The Luftwaffe in Africa 1942-43”, “Day Fighters of the Luftwaffe 1943-45”, “Operation Typhoon” and “Kursk 1943”.
The book contains 128 pages in 7” x 10” page format.
It contains 169 black and white wartime photos and 7 rare color ones.
Photos are shown of pilots and ground crews, a Bf-109G-6, a Bf-109D, a Bf-109E, a Bf-109E-3, a Bf-109E-4, a Bf-109F, a Soviet Polikarpov I-16, a Fw-190, a Bf-109E-7, a Bf-109F-2, a Fw-190A-2 and a Bf-109F-4.
A WWI photo of Ritter Von Greim in his Albatros biplane fighter.
A Heinkel 51 biplane, a photo of Herman Goring.
There are 9 color side profiles in the book. They show:
A Bf-109A flown by Oblt Werner Lutzow in the Legion Condor.
A Bf-109D flown by Hptmn Johannes Gentzen, who had 7 aerial victories in Poland flying for 1/JG 2.
A Bf-109E with III/JG 3 in France in 1940.
A Bf-109E with black skeleton emblem, flown by Staffelkapitan Helmet Henz in Yugoslavian campaign, April 1940, with 5/JG 77.
A Bf-109E flown by Helmut Wick with 3/JG 2, with 18 aerial victories.
A Bf-109E-7 flown by Staffel Kapitan Josef Priller, with 1/JG 26, with 20 victories and awarded the Knight’s Cross.
A Bf-109F RI flown by Lt. Wolfram Stecher of 8/JG 77, summer offensive of Kharkov.
A Bf-109F of JG 54 “Green Hearts”.
This is one neat book. It will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and aviation historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All their book titles and the titles of other publisher’s books can be seen on their website at:
In fact, the Luftwaffe of 1939 – developed mostly in secret before Hitler’s seizure of power, and then tested during the Spanish Civil War – was largely the offspring of these surviving aces of the Great War.
Blooded in the Spanish Civil War, the Luftwaffe of 1939 was a mighty force. Supporting the Blitzkrieg campaigns, the day fighter pilots quickly began to accrue victories. In May 1940, poor strategy during the Battle of Britain saw them neutralized by the RAF, but in 1940/42 with the invasion of the USSR and the North Africa/Mediterranean campaigns in full swing, the Luftwaffe was to achieve more staggering successes.
Through the early campaigns of WWII, the Legion Condor veterans were virtually a “breed” apart. Attrition started to take its toll during the hard-fought day fighter sorties of the Battle of Britain, although many younger fighter pilots acquired the tactics and skills for scoring victories, downing the Hurricanes and Spitfires of the RAF.
The launch of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, subsequently enabled many German pilots to run up large scores. By early 1942, long serving Luftwaffe fighter pilots had flown and fought on any number of different fronts.
But the day fighters would find aerial combat over the Mediterranean and North Africa very different to combat over the Eastern Front, and their rate of victories would begin to slow.
During WWII, around 500 Luftwaffe fighter pilots were awarded the Knight’s Cross, many of them completing hundreds of sorties. A similar number achieved more than 40 victories – each of them scoring more than the two leading USAF and RAF fighter pilots.
This first volume of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe traces the story of the Luftwaffe’s day fighter arm (the Tagjag) from its inception to the end of 1942, 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.
This Casemate Illustrated series explores key elements of military history. Extensively illustrated with photos, maps, and color profiles of tanks, aircraft, and other vehicles, each volume provides a wealth of visual detail. Profiles of key individuals and units, a timeline and explanatory text boxes support of the narrative, which provides a clear overview of the battle or campaign and the experience of the forces involved.
THE BOOK:
Casemate is a distributor of books and also a book company in itself based in Pennsylvania.
This book is soft-cover with a fold-over flap on the front and rear covers.
The front cover has a black and white photo of Lt. Gen Meyer climbing into the cockpit of his Bf-109F, white 4, as Staffelführer of 7/JG 2.
This is over a color side profile of a Bf-109E flown by Helmut Wick (more about this profile later).
Next is a photo of two Fw-190s parked on a field and a pilot standing in a cockpit of a Bf-109, looking to the rear and a rare color photo showing the yellow rudder of a Bf-109, flown by Oblt. Hubert Mutherich, with 1/JG 72, showing 8 victories over British aircraft and 2 over Yugoslavian ones.
The back cover shows another rare color photo of a pilot painting kill marks on the rudder of his 109, for a total of 12. A photo of Ernst Udet seated in the cockpit of his Albatros biplane fighter in WWI is next and a photo of a wrecked 109 in a field.
The flap on the front cover gives the history of the book. The flap on the rear cover tells about the book’s author, over 4 color cover arts of Casemate Illustrated series books: “The Luftwaffe in Africa 1942-43”, “Day Fighters of the Luftwaffe 1943-45”, “Operation Typhoon” and “Kursk 1943”.
The book contains 128 pages in 7” x 10” page format.
It contains 169 black and white wartime photos and 7 rare color ones.
Photos are shown of pilots and ground crews, a Bf-109G-6, a Bf-109D, a Bf-109E, a Bf-109E-3, a Bf-109E-4, a Bf-109F, a Soviet Polikarpov I-16, a Fw-190, a Bf-109E-7, a Bf-109F-2, a Fw-190A-2 and a Bf-109F-4.
A WWI photo of Ritter Von Greim in his Albatros biplane fighter.
A Heinkel 51 biplane, a photo of Herman Goring.
There are 9 color side profiles in the book. They show:
A Bf-109A flown by Oblt Werner Lutzow in the Legion Condor.
A Bf-109D flown by Hptmn Johannes Gentzen, who had 7 aerial victories in Poland flying for 1/JG 2.
A Bf-109E with III/JG 3 in France in 1940.
A Bf-109E with black skeleton emblem, flown by Staffelkapitan Helmet Henz in Yugoslavian campaign, April 1940, with 5/JG 77.
A Bf-109E flown by Helmut Wick with 3/JG 2, with 18 aerial victories.
A Bf-109E-7 flown by Staffel Kapitan Josef Priller, with 1/JG 26, with 20 victories and awarded the Knight’s Cross.
A Bf-109F RI flown by Lt. Wolfram Stecher of 8/JG 77, summer offensive of Kharkov.
A Bf-109F of JG 54 “Green Hearts”.
This is one neat book. It will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and aviation historians alike.
I want to sincerely thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All their book titles and the titles of other publisher’s books can be seen on their website at: