German Fighter Ace Werner Molders

This book is an illustrated biography of the legendary Luftwaffe fighter pilot Werner Mölders in more than 480 rare photographs, documents and commentaries. Who was this once much-admired and honored man? Why did the German people show such a great interest in his fate during World War II? This illustrated book provides answers. Here Oberst Werner Mölders is objectively portrayed: as a pilot, soldier, and man.

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 The accounts of the experiences of fighter pilots are based on archival research, diaries, letters, published and unpublished memoirs and personal interviews with veterans.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.

“An extraordinary analysis of the ‘scores’ chalked up by individual fighter pilots serving in the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. So much detail!” —Books Monthly The term “fighter ace” grew in prominence with the introduction and development of aerial combat in the First World War. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an “ace” has varied but is usually considered to be five or more. For the Luftwaffe, a number of its fighter pilots, many of whom had fought with the Legion Condor in Spain, had already gained their Experte, or ace, status in the Battle of France. However, many more would achieve that status in the hectic dogfights over southern England and the Channel during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. A number would also be either killed or captured. Some of these men, individuals such as Adolf Galland, Werner Mölders, and Helmut Wick, who between them had claimed 147 aerial victories by October 31st1940, are well-known, but most are less so. In this book, the story of each of the Luftwaffe’s 204 Messerschmitt Bf 109 “aces” from the summer of 1940 is examined, with all of the individual biographies, detailing individual fates during the war, being highly illustrated throughout. Original German records from the summer of 1940, have been examined, providing a definitive list of each pilot’s individual claims. It also covers, to a lesser extent, those forgotten fifty-three Messerschmitt Bf 110 pilots who also achieved ace status by day and also by night between 10 July and 31 October 1940. “A fascinating book indeed.” —UK Historian

A pictorial history of Hitler’s fighter pilots that “will be of great interest to aircraft modelers and aviation historians alike” (AMPS Indianapolis). Military and aviation history enthusiasts have always been interested in the fighter pilots of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. Around five hundred Luftwaffe fighter pilots were awarded the Knight’s Cross, accumulating huge numbers of missions flown. A similar number achieved more than forty victories—more than the two leading USAF and RAF fighter pilots. Indeed, some of their stories are extraordinary. Fighting from the Arctic Circle to the North African deserts, from the Caucasus in the East to Normandy in the West, the German fighter pilot flew and fought until he was shot down, “flown out,” wounded, or killed in action. A handful survived from “first to last.” This first volume of Day Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe traces the story of the Luftwaffe’s day fighter arm (der Tagjagd) from its inception to 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.

In this exciting book Mike Spick shows how the Luftwaffe's leading fighter pilots were able to outscore their allied counterparts so effectively and completely during the Second World War. When the records of the Jagdflieger pilots became available after the war, they were initially greeted with incredulity _ the highest claim was for 352 kills, and more than 100 pilots had recorded more than 100 victories. However postwar research proved that these claims had in fact been made in good faith and confirmation had only been given after rigorous checking. To discover the secret of this success, aviation history expert Mike Spick examines the exploits of these aces and sets out the context in which it took place. Every major theater is covered in detail including the conditions peculiar to each: climate, relative numerical and qualitative strengths, the presence or absence of radar and other measures, and the relative merits of the planes being flown. He focuses on the methods and tactics used by individual aces and uses firsthand sources wherever possible to put the reader right alongside the pilot in the cockpit.

The life of Luftwaffe fighter pilot Walter Nowotny - in photographs, documents, and commentary. Nowotny was highly decorated for his 258 aerial victories, but was well known, above all, for his deployment and command of the Messerschmitt Me 262 Erprobungskommando. Later his "Kommando Nowotny" was the first combat operational jet fighter unit in history (Nowotny won three spectacular air victories with the Me 262). Factual and neutral, this illustrated book explores his short life, and is a highly interesting contribution to World War II aviation history.

In 1939, The Luftwaffe was arguably the world's best-equipped and -trained air force. Its fighters were second to none, and their pilots had a tactical system superior to any other in the world. In campaigns over Poland, Norway, the Low Countries and France, they carried all before them. Only in the summer of 1940 did they fail by a narrow margin in achieving air superiority over England. In the West, with a mere holding force, they maintained an enviable killvloss ratio against the RAF, while elsewhere they swept through the Balkans, then decimated the numerically formidable Soviet Air Force. Their top scorers set marks in air combat that have never been surpassed. Yet within three years, and despite the introduction of the jet Me 262, the world's most advanced fighter, the Luftwaffe fighter arm, the Jagdwaffe, had been totally defeated. How did this happen? Air-warfare historian Mike Spick explores the question in depth. His most surprising conclusion is that the motivation of the Jagdwaffe was fundamentally flawed. The legend of Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron v the top-scoring pilot of World War I v which was promoted by Commander-in-Chief Hermann Goering to enhance his own image, became a paradigm. What mattered most to German fighter-pilots was a high victory score and decorations, at the expense of all else. The result was often an unseemly race for the top spot, which had a pernicious effect on the efficacy of German air combat. From the failings of High Command to the scores and decorations of individuals, Aces of the Reich is a compelling study of World War II's most fearsome air force and the skilled pilots who flew with it. Mike Spick's other works include Luftwaffe Fighter Aces and Luftwaffe Victorious.

DIVDIVFor the first time, four German WWII pilots share their side of the story./divDIV/divDIVFew perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the WWII fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the sixty-five-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots’ heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries—the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?/divDIV/divDIVOf all of the Luftwaffe’s fighter aces, the stories of Walter Krupinski, Adolf Galland, Eduard Neumann, and Wolfgang Falck shine particularly bright. In The German Aces Speak, for the first time in any book, these four prominent and influential Luftwaffe fighter pilots reminisce candidly about their service in World War II. Personally interviewed by author and military historian Colin Heaton, they bring the past to life as they tell their stories about the war, their battles, their lives, and, perhaps most importantly, how they felt about serving under the Nazi leadership of Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler. From thrilling air battles to conflicts on the ground with their own commanders, the aces’ memories disclose a side of World War II that has gone largely unseen by the American public: the experience of the German pilot./div/div

Visual history of the German air force in World War II. • Hundreds of color and b/w images of pilots and crews, aircraft, uniforms, awards, sidearms, and more • Includes Stuka dive-bombers, Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters, and other planes • Must-have for historians, modelers, World War II buffs, and aviation enthusiasts