LW books...

[wetrat]

I read "The Blonde Knight" and "The First and the Last" about a year ago, and really enjoyed them... I've recently found myself with even more free time than usual, so are there any other good ones out there along those lines? Preferably LW, maybe something about the RCAF. Not much interested in USA stuff.

[Morpheus]

buy lockon f/c or Falcon 4 A/F and come play with me.

[Guppy35]

Originally posted by wetrat
I read "The Blonde Knight" and "The First and the Last" about a year ago, and really enjoyed them... I've recently found myself with even more free time than usual, so are there any other good ones out there along those lines? Preferably LW, maybe something about the RCAF. Not much interested in USA stuff.

Hit the Schiffer books website. All kinds of LW unit histories as well as detailed LW aircraft histories

http://www.schifferbooks.com/newschiffer/category_books.php?category_id=99

You'll go broke but the information is top of the line

[NoBaddy]

Try JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe by Donald L. Caldwell. (Just saw this on Amazon, used, for $.01.)

If you ever get into the ground stuff, try 2 by Franz Kurowski...Panzer Aces and Infantry Aces. Originally in German, translated in the early '90's. They can really give perspective to the European war.

[Airscrew]

I just pick this one up at Half-Price books here in Austin

Hurricane / Messerschmitt.   Two books in one,  Chaz Bowyer - Hurricane at War  and Messerschmitt Bf109 at War - Armand van Ishoven, printed about 1977,  reprinted 1995  about 160 pages for each part.  
Mostly stories related by pilots, commanders, mechanics, test pilots, etc.  The good and the bad, operations at different fronts and such.  theres got to be at least 600 pictures in the book of both planes, pilots and crews.
The Hurricane part follows from prototype to Battle of France and Brittan, to the North Africa and Night Ops.   Bf109 part runs from prototype to Spain, France and Britain, Swiss service, North Africa, Russian front, to the very end of the war.   It covers a lot, doesnt get to deep.  I only wished it had color pictures, they are all black and white

[Treize69]

Mike Spick's Luftwaffe Fighter Aces is great for tactics and brief little bios on some of the piolts, broken down chronologically and by theater.

[ghi]

Originally posted by wetrat
I read "The Blonde Knight" and "The First and the Last" about a year ago, and really enjoyed them... I've recently found myself with even more free time than usual, so are there any other good ones out there along those lines? Preferably LW, maybe something about the RCAF. Not much interested in USA stuff.

    this is the best place i know, you"ll  find whatever you want, close to Pearson, hwy427/401,
 http://www.aviationworld.net/about/ ,

[wetrat]

Originally posted by Treize69
Mike Spick's Luftwaffe Fighter Aces is great for tactics and brief little bios on some of the piolts, broken down chronologically and by theater.

Read that... it was ok.

[Treize69]

Ok as a read, yes. But if you fly LW planes, especially in historical matchups, its a great intro (or occasional refresher) to the historical tactics used. Great diagrams and stories.

Also has good comparison tables between contemporary aircraft.

[gatt]

Wetrat,

the best book by Mike Spick is: "The Ace Factor: Air Combat and the Role of Situational Awareness", rare but very interesting.

Then you could read Heinz Knocke's "I flew for the Fuhrer" and Johannes "Macky" Steinhoff's "Messerschmitt over Sicily". The first book of "JG300" by Jean-Yves Lorant is very interesting, with many pilot's AAR, but very expensive.

[B@tfinkV]

most of the Biggles Trilogy are great.....


my personal favorite is 'Biggles of the Fighter Squadron'


'Biggles Deffends the desert' is also a top read...







on a more serious note, i am ploughing through 'Luftwaffe' written by Harold Faber. seriously in depth book with hardly any pictures

to be honest though, its more a study of the LW chain of command and how things were run, more than about dogfights and pilots.

[Bruno]

Wetrat what do you prefer? Unit histories, Pilot biographies, Technical junk?

Norbert Hannig's Luftwaffe Fighter Ace is decent, so is Reschke's JG 301/302 'Wild Sau'.

As Gatt said other pilot/Authors such as  Knocke's "I flew for the Fuhrer" and Steinhoff's "Messerschmitt over Sicily" are ok.

JG 300 - A Chronicle of a Fighter Geschwader in the Battle for Germany - Vol 1
by Jean-Yves Lorant and Richard Goyat (translated by Neil Page) is most excellent:

A few quotes:

"In my earphones, someone called out that the towns under attack were Remscheid and Solingen. My attention was caught for a few moments by a Lancaster trapped in a beam attempting some desperate maneuvers to escape the attentions of a nightfighter. Finally, the English pilot pulled up the nose of his aircraft but miscalculated his stall-turn. At that moment he was hit by a burst of fire from the fighter and the bomber literally disintegrated."

 Uffz. Hubert Engst.

"...Suddenly I saw several aircraft with their characteristic silhouettes, glinting: P-51B Mustangs! Events unfolded at a prodigious speed. Having reassured myself that there were no enemy aircraft on my tail, I dove after the Americans which were in pursuit of other 109s and 190s at lower altitude. A brutal maneuver and a black veil started to come down across my eyes. Too bad! I pulled the stick back a little more. The P-51 which I was following disappeared beneath my 190's bulky engine cowl. I opened up at that moment with everything I had and let the American fly through a deadly cone of 20mm shells. There was a single explosion in the Mustang which rolled several times and broke up in front of my eyes. All this in much less time than it takes to say it!"

Ernst Schröder while flying Fw 190A-8 "Red 19" "Kölle Alaaf"

"I recall one afternoon, when we were sitting out on the terrace of the small country house where we were quartered. Around the table were seated the pilots of the best Schwarm that I ever had the privilege of leading: Hajo Riedel, "Lumpi" Hundsdörfer, "Hänschen" Dahmen and myself were absorbed in a game of cards. It was a pleasantly mild afternoon and as usual when not at readiness, the Kasino orderly was serving tea on the terrace. Out of the blue, our youngster "Hänschen" Dahmen, who was not yet 20 years old, suddenly asked - without interrupting the game -, "What do you think, how old do you imagine we'll live to be?"

This question caused some scratching of heads. We discussed the possibilities for a while before deciding, all things considered, that we would probably reach the age of seventy. We would perhaps even live a few years longer if we were still in good health... The game continued, but after ten minutes, "Lumpi" Hundsdörfer pushed back his chair, stood up, threw his hand of cards onto the table, declared "You're all completely crazy!" and turning his back on us, left the terrace.

You know the rest of the story. A few days later, Hajo Riedel died a tragic death. In early 1945, Uffz. "Hänschen" Dahmen was shot down by a Russian anti-aircraft gun and "Lumpi" Hundsdörfer also failed to survive the war. On the day I reached seventy years of age, I sat late in the evening drinking a glass of champagne, remembering that day in Bad Frankenhausen and the men of my best ever Schwarm..." Ofhr. Friedrich-Wilhelm Schenk, 2./JG 300.

Also the Black Cross / Red Star series by Christer Bergström are well done.

As is Bergström's Graf & Grislawski, A Pair of Aces...

Bodenplatte, The Luftwaffe's Last Hope by  John Manrho & Ron Pütz is great IMHO..

Focke-Wulf Fw 190D camouflage & markings - Part 1 from Japo is well done but if you can wait  Jerry Crandall's 'The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Dora D-9  D-11  D-13' should be out sooner or later. With in it will be included a reprint (with new information) of his 'Doras of the Galland Circus', which is currently out of print. It won't be cheap though 85 USD for the standard edition and 225 for the deluxe edition.

[Eagler]

Fighter Boys - Bishop

[Mustaine]

Originally posted by Airscrew
I just pick this one up at Half-Price books here in Austin

Hurricane / Messerschmitt.   Two books in one,  Chaz Bowyer - Hurricane at War  and Messerschmitt Bf109 at War - Armand van Ishoven, printed about 1977,  reprinted 1995  about 160 pages for each part.  
Mostly stories related by pilots, commanders, mechanics, test pilots, etc.  The good and the bad, operations at different fronts and such.  theres got to be at least 600 pictures in the book of both planes, pilots and crews.
The Hurricane part follows from prototype to Battle of France and Brittan, to the North Africa and Night Ops.   Bf109 part runs from prototype to Spain, France and Britain, Swiss service, North Africa, Russian front, to the very end of the war.   It covers a lot, doesnt get to deep.  I only wished it had color pictures, they are all black and white

got that book at a used store too.... good book, a bit slanted towards the RAF though IMHO

[DipStick]

Originally posted by NoBaddy
Try JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe by Donald L. Caldwell. (Just saw this on Amazon, used, for $.01.)

Yea I'm selling it for $.01 but can you guess the shipping wet?