John Weal

Tracing its roots to Manfred, Freiherr von Richthofen and his famous "Flying Circus" of World War I, the Jagdgeschwader "Richthofen" is arguably the most famous fighter unit of all time. Designated JG 1 during World War I, and then disbanded following Germany's defeat, the Jagdgeschwader reformed as the JG 132 in 1935 with Arado and Heinkel biplanes. By September 1939 the unit had become JG 2, and it went on to see much action during the Blitzkrieg in Western Europe and the Battle of Britain which followed. This volume, the first in a series which focuses on the elite fighter and bomber units in action, charts the wartime career of JG 2 from its first aerial kills on the Franco-German border in November 1939 through to the destruction of its own Fw 190s in the face of Allied advance at Prague-Ruzyne airfield in late April 1945.

Undoubtedly the most versatile German aircraft of World War 2, the Junkers Ju 88 served as a fighter, bomber and patrol aircraft on every front on which the Luftwaffe fought. Blooded in action during the Blitzkrieg, the Ju 88 soon proved to be a formidable opponent for the beleaguered Allied air forces. This book is the first of three volumes which will cover the Ju 88's extensive wartime service in the bomber role, and it details the aircraft's early campaigns, through to its extensive use in the night Blitz of 1940-41.

This volume is the first of its type to be devoted exclusively to the Zerstörer day fighter aces, spanning the war years from Poland to the defence of the Reich. Although Messerschmitt's single-engined Bf 109 has received most of the plaudits for achieving virtual air superiority over Europe in 1939-40, the exploits of the manufacturer's twin-engined Bf 110, the Ju 88 and the Me 410 Zerstörer in the first year of the war also make for very impressive reading. Indeed, on the eve of World War 2 a posting to a Bf 110 unit was considered to be the best career move available in the Luftwaffe.

A detailed work on the Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber. The terror-weapon of German blitzkrieg on Western Europe, the Ju 87's reputation was hammered in the Battle of Britain, where its vulnerability to fighter aircraft was savagely exposed. Stukas were then sent to the Balkans to aid the Italians, where its effectiveness as a precision dive-bomber took a heavy toll of allied troops and naval vessels. This volume includes interviews with aircrews who explain the tactics used in combat with the Stuka. Scale drawings and archival photographs are presented, together with a section on uniforms worn by Stuka aircrew.

The Third Reich's last ditch efforts to combat the massed Allied bomber formations centred around the new jet-powered "wonder weapons" that were issued to the Jagdwaffe from mid-1944 onwards. Far in advance of anything the Allies had even in experimental phase, types such as the Me 262, He 162 and 163, and the Ar 234 could perform their combat sorties with relative impunity. Detailing both the planes and the pilots, this volume looks at the handful of pilots who amassed amazing scores in the last year of the war with these aircraft, flying with units like JG 7, JV 44 and NJG 6.

The cranked-winged Ju 87 Stuka dive-bomber symbolized the might of Nazi Germany in the early years of World War II. Although vulnerable to enemy fighters due to its modest speed and lack of manoeuvrability, it nevertheless took a heavy toll of the Allied forces in Western Europe. This volume covers the story of Junkers' quintessential dive-bomber in operational service from its early days within the Legion Condor to its less than successful missions against Britain in the summer of 1940. The book features first hand combat accounts from Stuka crews of the period, explaining the training and tactics employed, as well as describing just what the JU 87 was like to fly. Full unit organizational strengths are also included in appendices.

A detailed account of the aces who flew in this model of aircraft. The Fw 190 was the scourge of Fighter Command from the moment it appeared on the Western Front at Abbeville in August 1941 with II./JG 26. A nimble, speedy and well-armed adversary, the 'Butcher Bird' quickly proved superior to all Allied fighters of the time, particularly at medium to low altitude. Led by Experten of the calibre of 'Pips' Priller, Heinz Bar and Walter Oesau, the handful of Fw 190-equipped Jagdgeschwader flew against overwhelming odds, firstly on the Channel coast, and then in direct defence of the Reich when the Jagdflieger took on the might of the USAAF's Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. This is their story.

Of all the fronts fought on by the Jagdflieger during World War 2, the Russian, or Eastern, was easily the most lucrative in terms of targets for the experten. Marry an abundance of targets with the Luftwaffe's best piston-engined fighter of the war – Focke-Wulf's Fw 190 'Butcher Bird' – and it quickly becomes apparent why so many Jagdflieger achieved kills that passed the 100 victories mark. Flying in variable weather on a battlefront that was constantly changing, the Fw 190 pilots fought virtually to extinction in both the pure fighter and the crucial Schlacht ground attack roles. Aircraft of the Aces 6 and 37 are also available in a single volume as 'German Aces of the Russian Front'.