Description
This book is a detailed, comprehensive daily reference to the air operations flown by the Luftwaffe against the daylight strategic missions by the United States Army Air Force against the German Reich and the western zone occupied by Germany. It is a unique look at the German air defenses as they struggled to cope with the threat posed by the American 8th and 15th Air Forces, which were charged with destroying Germany’s critical war industries and wresting control of the air over the Reich from the Luftwaffe. The previous volume in this series, The Luftwaffe over Germany: Defense of the Reich is an award-winning narrative history of these defenses. This book extends the story in an unprecedented fashion, and includes:• A brief narrative and a table of statistics detailing every mission of every Luftwaffe unit defending the Greater German Reich or the western occupied zone against strategic raids by the USAAF. • A summary of every 8th and 15th US Army Air Force strategic mission over this area in which the Luftwaffe was encountered. • Tables of monthly sorties, losses and victory claims by the USAAF and the Luftwaffe over the Reich and the western occupied zone. The growth of the American juggernaut can be followed in detail, as can the ever more futile struggle by the Reich Defense Force. The data allow validity of USAAF and Luftwaffe victory claims to be estimated. • Quarterly orders of battle and casualties for the Reich Defense Force, broken down by aircraft type. The unsuccessful struggle of the Luftwaffe to keep its fighter units up to strength while introducing superior types and the relative vulnerability of its various fighters can be seen at a glance. • Maps for 32 major missions showing the tracks of the bombers and every defending Luftwaffe unit, including their points of attack on the bombers. • 189 photographs of Luftwaffe personalities and aircraft, many previously unpublished. • 72 combat accounts by Luftwaffe pilots, most previously unpublished and all readily available in English for the first time.
Hardcover, 8 x 10, 480 pages, 160 photographs, 8 diagrams, 36 maps
