A World War II memoir by the renowned German fighter pilot—from his Hitler Youth glider training to combat missions against the Soviet Air Force.Herr Norbert Hanning's wartime career makes for fascinating and highly informative reading on an aspect of the 1939-45 air war not often covered in the English language; primarily that of the campaign against the Soviet Union.He was one of the midwar-generation Luftwaffe fighter pilots and began operations with JG 54...

"Well-written and holds the reader's attention . . . an engaging book and a rare personal view of flying one of the most iconic aircraft of WWII." — FiretrenchAfter recounting his early days as a naval cadet, including a voyage to the Far East aboard the cruiser Köln and as the navigator/observer of the floatplane carried by the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer during the Spanish Civil War, Helmut Mahlke describes his flying training as a Stuka pilot....

A Nazi Germany fighter pilot gives readers a bird's-eye view from the cockpit of aerial combat against the Allied forces in World War II.Within weeks of war being declared, Wolfgang Fischer had volunteered to join the Luftwaffe and spent nearly five of the succeeding six years of hostilities in uniform. During this time he was given a succession of postings varying from a long-range recce unit; as a decoder in a met office in occupied France; to a bomber squadron; a...

The Ju 87 Stuka was the most feared weapon in the German arsenal in the first year of World War 2, the Luftwaffe using it to deadly effect during the Blitzkrieg between September 1939 and June 1940. Although vulnerable to the enemy fighters due to its moderate speed in level flight and general lack of manoeuvrability, the Ju 87 nevertheless soon came to symbolise the might of Nazi Germany as the mere handful of Stukageschwader supporting the Wehrmacht rampaging out of the Fatherland took a...

The first instalment of the Aviation Elite Units series, a detailed history of this key unit, featuring photographs and colour illustrations throughout.Tracing its roots to Manfred, Freiherr von Richthofen's 'Flying Circus' of WWI, the Jagdgeschwader 'Richthofen' is arguably the most famous fighter unit of all time. Designated JG 1 during the Great War, then disbanded following defeat, the Jagdgeschwader reformed as JG 132. By September 1939 the unit had become JG ...

Operating astride and above the Arctic Circle, Luftwaffe pilots fought an isolated and almost self-contained war facing environmental challenges in freezing skies that set their experiences apart from those of any other pilots in World War 2.Once Nazi Germany had conquered Norway in 1940, just a handful of Gruppen flying the Bf 109 and Bf 110 fighters were able to shatter all opposition and dominate the air in the Arctic Circle. Yet as the dual threats of the RAF a...

An illustrated combat history of the He 111, with its distinctive glazed nose, which came to symbolise the German mastery of the skies in the early war years, especially the Russian campaign.The twin-engined He 111 was the mainstay of the Luftwaffe's bomber arm at the start of World War ll. Accompanied by the Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber, it provided the aerial striking power for all the early Blitzkrieg campaigns, sweeping all before it throughout the first 12 months o...

This book details the pilots who were credited with scores of between 50 and 100 and includes detail of the harrowing conditions and thrilling aerial battles that the Luftwaffe pilots endured.The four-year long Eastern Front campaign fought between Germany and the Soviet Union produced not only the greatest number of aces, but also the highest individual and unit scores ever recorded in the history of aerial warfare. An ideal complement to its bestselling predecess...

The Hurricane saw widespread action with Allied forces, as the RAF's first monoplane fighter. This book describes its many feats throughout 1945.It served as a fighter-bomber on the Channel Front, where the American Eagles and Polish units were amongst the Fighter Command squadrons flying the Hurricane, and where some of its highest-scoring aces operated. The Sea Hurricane was the principal fighter deployed by the Fleet Air Arm in the Mediterranean, and Hurricane u...

Arguably the archetypal Luftwaffe fighter unit of World War 2, JG 53 aircraft were encountered on almost every fighting front from the first day of hostilities until the last.During almost six years of near-constant campaigning, JG 53 took a steady toll of Allied aircraft in every theatre it fought over. The variety of camouflage finishes worn by its machines -winter white, desert dapple and Reich's defence black - and the progression of variants are reflected in a...

The first virtually all-jet war, the conflict in Korea saw F-86 Sabres of the USAF take on MiG-15s of the North Korean and Chinese air forces.Although the Allied pilots were initially taken aback by the ability of the communist fighter in combat, sound training and skilful leadership soon enabled Sabre pilots to dominate the dogfights over the Yalu River. In all 39 F-86 pilots achieved ace status, and a number of these are profiled in this volume, as are notable pi...

One of the most important, and yet least publicised, components of the front-line Luftwaffe was the Schlacht, or ground attack, arm. This book details the Schlacht units who were in the thick of the fighting from the first day of the war until the last.They played a vital part in the heady successes of the early Blitzkrieg campaigns and went on to perform an equally essential role in the dark hours of last ditch defence and ultimate defeat. In between, they fought ...