Great book covering the top aces of the Luftwaffe with an overview and personal stories of pilots such as Rall, Barkhorn, Marseille and Hartman. First published in 1968, the stories are more immediate to the events, that is these fellows were still alive.
Also as 1968, the authors spend some time explaining the credibility of the 200 or 300 victory counts, which were discounted at the time; explained away as shoddy accounting, grounded aircraft kills or for battling easy 'inferior' Russian pilots and aircraft.
The most successful
fighter pilots of all time spring to vibrant life again in this edition of the classic account of Germany's greatest aces in
action.
Ride into combat with such Luftwaffe luminaries as ace of aces
Erich Hartmann, Gunther Rall, Gerhard Barkhorn and dozens of others as
they provide first-hand accounts of the German fighter arm's epic battle
for the skies over Europe, Africa, and Russia.
Accurate pen portraits
illuminate outstanding fighter leaders and tutor like Werner Molders,
Adolph Galland, "Macky" Steinhoff and many more, who invested the
Luftwaffe Fighter Arm with its characteristic spirit and vigor.
Legendary air heroes like Marseille, and mercurial "Star of Africa", are
shown in hundreds of photos from German collections.
Personal combat
accounts appear against the backdrop of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring,
who undermined his own pilots.
From early aerial ascendancy, followed by
its triumphant assault on the Red Air Force, the Luftwaffe Fighter Arm
was inexorably crushed by overwhelming Allied air power.
Unquenchable
courage, devotion to the defense of their country's civilians, and
unmatched combat skills were of no avail.
The great aces, even in
Germany's revolutionary Me 262 jet fighter, could not win, yet they
fought to the final hour in an unforgettable combat saga. All of it is
here, exactly as it was lived by the German aces.
This book is
considered by surviving Luftwaffe aces to be their monument. Also
included are data lists covering all known Luftwaffe aces, night fighter
aces, jet aces, and tops & firsts.
