In 1944, in response to the bombing of German cities and factories by the Allies, an inventor named Erich Bachem developed "Projekt Natter" ("Viper"), an extraordinary, highly-secret, vertical take-off, semi-expendable, single-seat rocket-fighter armed with a nose-mounted "honeycomb" of 73-mm or 55-mm spin-stabilized air-to-air rockets as well as 30-mm cannon. The Natter was intended to offer high-speed defense of key targets. Once blasted into the air from its vertical launch tower, the pilot of the Natter was to climb towards an enemy formation using an internal rocket, target an enemy bomber and fire his battery of rockets. He would then use the remaining kinetic energy to climb higher than the bombers in order to mount a ramming attack. Just before impact, the pilot was to trigger a mechanism that would activate an ejection seat and separate the rocket unit, which would return to earth by means of an automatically deployed parachute for reuse. Relatively little has been published on the Natter and this book will provide a detailed and definitive account of this unusual but fascinating aircraft. This will be required reading for all those interested in the history of the Luftwaffe during World War II, particularly for those fascinated by the radical and revolutionary projects which German aircraft designers contrived toward the end of the Nazi regime.  Hardcover, 9" x 12", 144 pages, 170 b+w and color photos.(rzm) Price: $44.95

Following the harsh winter of 1941/42, the Germans renewed their offensive operations across the entire Eastern Front once the spring thaw had set in. As in 1941, they made significant advances, particularly on the southern half of the front, penetrating to the River Volga and the city of Stalingrad. The battle for Stalingrad was undoubtedly one of the turning points in the war. Before the German defeat there and at the battle of El Alamein, they had never been beaten. After these defeats, the Germans never again achieved a significant victory. While the land battle for Stalingrad is well known, the air battle fought by the Luftwaffe and the Soviet air force is less well documented but was very important in determining the ultimate fate of the city and the opposing combatants.

This book covers the significant air battles which took place over Stalingrad between August and November 1942 and the subsequent airlift operation in the winter of 1942/43 intended to relieve the German Sixth Army, which was by then trapped in Stalingrad. It also covers the air war during the Russian counter-offensive in early 1943 where the Luftwaffe played a major role in saving the whole German Eastern Front (and thus the whole German war effort) from collapsing. This is an aspect of the war in the East that has previously not been covered in such depth. The strength of the author's writing lies in its detail and his ability to tell the story from the viewpoint of both sides. Hardcover, 9" x 12", 144 pages, 125 b+w and color photos. (rzm)Price: $49.95

 

 

The Wilde Sau Geschwader JG 300 played a key role in the aerial defense of the Reich during the last two years of WWII but has never before been the subject of a serious and detailed study until now. This work thus fills a major void in the history of the war in the air. This chronicle has been assembled with the participation of more than 130 veterans and their families, traced and interviewed in the course of more than twenty years research. It sheds new light on flying operations and aerial combat as experienced by German fighter pilots in the battles that took place over Germany. Interspersed with numerous vivid personal accounts, it is a work that has a uniquely human and personal dimension. The authors have undertaken an in-depth comparative study of German, British and American primary sources and archival records, with the chief aim of minimizing errors and inaccuracies and ruling out dubious information. Far from seeking the 'glorify' German or Allied aviators, they have reconstructed as accurately as possible the fates of the actors in this immense human drama and pay them due tribute. This history of JG 300 also deals with those aspects of the air war often neglected in the specialist literature such as the daily routines of the ground personnel and the navigation methods practiced by single seat fighters. Included are comprehensive loss and victory listings, and more than 800 photographs in the two volumes collected from private sources. Over 40 color profiles and paintings by Thomas A. Tullis and Richard Goyat are planned.
Hard Cover, Size: 8½" x 11," 400 Pages, 800 photos and color plates. (rzm)Price: $75.00

 

The Wilde Sau Geschwader JG 300 played a key role in the aerial defense of the Reich during the last two years of WWII but has never before been the subject of a serious and detailed study until now. This work thus fills a major void in the history of the war in the air. This chronicle has been assembled with the participation of more than 130 veterans and their families, traced and interviewed in the course of more than twenty years research. It sheds new light on flying operations and aerial combat as experienced by German fighter pilots in the battles that took place over Germany. Interspersed with numerous vivid personal accounts, it is a work that has a uniquely human and personal dimension.

The authors have undertaken an in-depth comparative study of German, British and American primary sources and archival records, with the chief aim of minimizing errors and inaccuracies and ruling out dubious information. Far from seeking the 'glorify' German or Allied aviators, they have reconstructed as accurately as possible the fates of the actors in this immense human drama and pay them due tribute. This history of JG 300 also deals with those aspects of the air war often neglected in the specialist literature such as the daily routines of the ground personnel and the navigation methods practiced by single seat fighters. Included are comprehensive loss and victory listings, and more than 800 photographs in the two volumes collected from private sources. Over 40 color profiles and paintings by Thomas A. Tullis and Richard Goyat are planned. Hard Cover, Size: 8.5" x 11," 376 Pages, 800 photos and color plates. (rzm)Price: $85.00

 

 

 

Book covers Luftwaffe rank insignia, Waffenfarbe, uniforms, headgear, cuff titles/armbands, special uniforms, Fallschirmjger equipment, accessories, specialty badges, clasps, decorations, standards, flags, pennants, aircraft markings. Size: 6"x9", over 200 photos, 320 pages. (sch) Price - $39.95 

The legendary World War II Luftwaffe fighter unit Jagdgeschwader 2 “Richthofen” is the subject of this new, large-format, illustrated volume. Tracing their history back to World War I fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen (the legendary “Red Baron”), JG 2 was at the forefront of aerial combat. Flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters during World War II, JG 2 produced many famous aces – among them Wilhelm Balthasar, Walter Oesau, Egon Mayer, Hans Hahn, Erich Rudorfer, and Helmut Wick. Using a day-to-day chronology, the book covers JG 2’s combat history during the early campaigns in Poland and France, through the Battle of Britain, North Africa, and in the later defense of the Reich battles. A short chapter also covers their post-World War II transformation to JG 71 “Richtohofen” under the command of Erich Hartmann, when they flew the F-86, F-104 and F-4 Phantom. Size: 8.5"x11", over 680 b/w photos, 352 pages. (sch) Price - $69.95

Volume II covers: JG 53 Pik-As, JG 54 Grnherz, JG 77 Herz-As, JG 300, JG 301, JG 302 Wilde Sau, and JG 400. Size: 8.5"x11", over 700 color and b/w photos, 208 pages. (sch) Price - $49.95

This book covers the complete development history of those variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 powered by inline engines. The first Fw 190 equipped with a Daimler Benz liquid-cooled engine took to the air in early 1942, followed six months later by another powered by a Jumo 213. Production of the Fw 190 C, Fw 190 D and Ta 153 was delayed by the German air ministry. Not until 1944, by which time Germany had lost control of the air, did the Fw 190 D-9, an interim fighter powered by the Jumo 213 A, enter production. The Fw 190 D-9 proved an immediate success, largely due to an excellent prototype test program under Dipl.Ing. Hans Sander. The type quickly entered service with the Luftwaffe and more than 1,700 examples were completed by the end of the war. 208 pp., over 250 black and white, drawings, charts, color aircraft profiles, Large Format Hardback. (sch) Price: $59.95

 

From the time of its appearance in 1939 the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was one of the best fighter aircraft of WW II - a masterpiece produced by chief designer Kurt Tank. In 1943 he developed a new fighter aircraft based on this successful concept. The project soon deviated far from the original Fw 190 concept and as an honor to the designer it was designated the Ta 152. The Ta 152 could stand up to the best Allied fighter aircraft, such as the P-51 Mustang. The heavy Allied bombing at the end of the war prevented production from beginning as planned, and as a result only a few Ta 152Hs could be delivered. 144 pp., over 165 b&w photographs and line drawings. Large Format Hardback. (sch) Price - $35.00

March 1937 - May 1942
JG 53 - or as it was better known, the "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) Geschwader - was one of the oldest German fighter units of World War II with its origins going back to the year 1937. This first volume, of a planned three volume set, covers the early years of the Geschwader from its founding in the spring of 1937 up to May of 1942. This book appears here for the first time in English, and contains over 200 additional photos not published in the original German language edition. Size: 9"x12", over 700 color and b/w photos, drawings and maps,400 pages. (sch) Price - $89.95

Jochen Prien, author of the definitive Messerschmitt Bf 109 F/G/K Series, and the extensive three volume study of JG 53, presents JG 3 in its complete history from formation to the end of World War II. This volume begins with a brief account of the Stab from the time of its formation in 1938 until it reequipped on the Fw 190 in the summer of 1944, then follows the operational history of I Gruppe, beginning with the first unit to bear the designation I/JG 3, which was formed in autumn 1938, fought in the French campaign, the Battle of Britain, and Operation Barbarossa, and then in January 1942 was redesignated as II/JG 1 and left the Geschwader to join Jagdgeschwader 1, then being formed. 400 pp., over 350 black and white photographs, line drawings, Large Format Hardback. (sch) Price - $69.95

II./JG 3 in Action with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 Jochen Prien, author of the definitive Messerschmitt Bf 109 F/G/K Series, and the extensive three volume study of JG 53, presents JG 3 in its complete history from formation to the end of World War II. This second volume presents the unit history of the "Udet" Geschwader's second Gruppe, II./JG 3, beginning with its formation in early 1940 and the subsequent service of the newly formed Gruppe in the Campaign in the West from 1940-1941. Next the Gruppe's 1941 tour of duty in Russia is dealt with, followed by a short spell in the Mediterranean theatre of war, where II./JG 3 was involved in the fighting over Malta in the spring of 1942. In June 1942, the Gruppe was again shifted to the east where it took part in the advance on Stalingrad where it suffered serious losses. 1943 saw the Gruppe still in Russia until it was recalled to the Reich to see further service in the defence of Germany between August 1943 and early June 1944. After its return to the Reich and a short period of rest and re-equiping, II./JG 3 was again called upon for service in the Reichsverteidigung, this coming to an abrupt end when in November 1944 the Gruppe was separated from its parent Geschwader in order to re-equip with the new Me 262 jet fighter and become part of the first jet fighter Geschwader of the Luftwaffe, JG 7. Vol. II then takes up the history of the newly formed II./JG 3, a former bomber unit that was transformed into a fighter Gruppe at the end of 1944; this new Gruppe came too late to see significant service against the Western Allies but was transferred to the east at the beginning of 1945 in order to counter the massive Soviet offensive that overran the eastern parts of the Reich since mid-January 1945. Hopelessly outnumbered, its operations being curtailed now by a lack of fuel, the new II./JG 3 struggled on until the collapse of the Reich. Size: 8.5"x11", over 350 b/w photos, line drawings, 400 pages. (sch) Price - $69.95