Description
The Nachtjagd Combat Archive is possibly the largest WWII aviation project ever published running to over 1.3 million words with over 1200 original photos, a remarkable 70% of which are previously unpublished.
In simple terms, the NCA is a comprehensive record of over 6000 Luftwaffe Night Fighter Claims and over 2100 Flak claims which have been painstakingly matched to RAF Bomber Command losses resulting in over 95% of them now being identified. This means that for the first time ever, the fate of the vast majority of RAF Bomber Command losses can be clearly understood with exact locations, times and identities of the pilots or Flak units responsible for bringing them down.
This wealth of information has been further brought to life with over 1200 original photos, full summaries of each night’s operations and compelling first-hand accounts of the Luftwaffe night fighter pilots who often were the only witnesses to the last moment of thousands of RAF airmen. The books are further enhanced with maps that detail the crash sites and routing of RAF bombers for selected raids.
To make this huge work accessible for everyone, the publishers have decided to break it down into a series of 128 page softback books that are grouped into years. This will allow Bomber Command researchers to focus on particular periods of operations without having to invest in a single huge and expensive hardback book.
FAQs
I have the Nachtjagd War Diaries. Why do I need this?
The Nachtjagd War Diaries were published in 2008 – ten years ago – and much of the research was carried out before then. Naturally, historical research evolves as new material becomes available that adds to, or revises, ones knowledge. The Flak claims are ‘new’, the crash locations and fighter claims greatly improved, and there are new photographs.
The Combat Archive also features maps of the most significant raids, showing routes, and the locations of downed RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft.
The ‘Diaries’ only covered night fighter claims (partly based upon what are now known to be falsified and incomplete records). The Combat Archive has ironed out all these ‘fake’ claims, documented many hitherto unknown claims.
Why is this so important?
By using a combination of all available German records – and British intelligence records – we are finally able to tell the truth about the sacrifice of so many young men fighting in the night air war on both sides. ‘New’ sources such as decrypted Enigma messages and analyses of intercepted Tagjagd and Nachtjagd traffic, show the most complete picture possible of the why, how and where of virtually all Bomber Command and Nachtjagd combat losses occurred.
This will hopefully contribute to the next of kin’s knowledge and understanding of their family’s loss.
Why is this not in one book?
This work provides full summaries of each night’s operations and first-hand accounts of the Luftwaffe night fighter pilots who often were the only witnesses to the last moment of thousands of RAF airmen. Out of respect for all involved neither the authors or publishers wanted to ‘edit out’ any of the information to save space.
To make this huge work accessible for everyone, the publishers have decided to break it down into a series of 128 page softback books that are grouped into years. This will allow Bomber Command researchers to focus on particular periods of operations without having to invest in a single huge and expensive hardback book.
The first set of three softback volumes covers 1943 – as this was a major transitional year in the night air war – and then will release the volumes for 1940-42. The series will be concluded with volumes covering 1944-45 and on the night air war over Russia and the Mediterranean. It is estimated the series will run to between 12 – 15 volumes and be published every two months.
