The Luftwaffe: A History (ePub)
Imprint: Pen & Sword Aviation
File Size: 8.5 MB (.epub)
Pages: 310
Illustrations: 32 b/w
ISBN: 9781473819481
Published: 12th June 2013
John Killen's exhaustive work is a study of German air power between 1915 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
The author has produced an outstanding review of the history of the Nazi German air force called the Luftwaffe. Its origins lie in the fields of France and Flanders during the early days of the First World War.
Military Archive Research
Many of the key personnel of the Luftwaffe served in World War 1 and when World War 2 started they were often in the most important and powerful positions. One cannot separate the history of the Luftwaffe from its First World War origins. The book recounts the history of the Imperial German Air Force and their aircraft and aces.
If you are looking for an outstanding and entertaining account of the development of the Luftwaffe, its key personalities and the developments of its aircraft then there is no need to look any further – you have just found it. This volume is highly recommended and it deserves shelf space on any serious student of aeronautical history.
First published in the UK in 1967, John Killen's work is a study of German air power between 195 and 1945 from the early days of flying when Immelmann, Richtofen and other First World War aces fought and died to give Germany aerial supremacy, to the nightmare existence of the Luftwaffe as the Third Reich plunged headlong into destruction.
Britain at War