Junkers Ju 88

Junkers Ju 88 written by Malcolm V. Lowe and published by Key Publishing - £15.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

The Junkers Ju 88 was one of the most important tactical bombers of the World War

Two era. Its beginnings went back to the mid-1930s, and it flew in Luftwaffe operational

service from late 1939 until the latter stages of the war. Built in a number of specific

versions and sub-types, the Ju 88 proved to be a versatile multi-purpose design that

fulfilled the bombing role with distinction and was also successfully adapted for other

unrelated tasks. These included use as a long-range fighter, night fighting and

reconnaissance. Some examples were even used in the late-war period as explosives

-equipped flying bombs. With radar installed, the type became one of the most significant

nocturnal fighters of the conflict. Underlining its importance, the Ju 88 served on all fronts

where the Luftwaffe was operational during World War Two and was built in significant

numbers. The type also flew with a number of export customers. Containing over 150

photographs, this book tells the fascinating story of the Ju 88, from its creation through

to the end of its operational service.

You could call the Junkers JU 88 German plane the swiss army penknife of bomber planes in that the JU 88 plane, it was a plane that could be changed and developed to fulfil a number of roles and attacking advantages. The multi-designed plane of the mid-1930s as a so-called fast bomber that would be too fast for fighters of its era to intercept. It became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Like a number of other German bombers, it served as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb.

I’m really enjoying these Key Publishing books because they look at individual aircraft, machines, vehicles and men in great detail from start to finish. But the photography, pictures, diagrams and maps are just brilliant, lovely and clear, concise and interesting. I could see these book being of use to a number of people such as the person who likes his information in depth to the person who enjoys model making. I would certainly recommend this book to hose who want their history with more detail.

In Furious Skies - Flying with Hitler's Luftwaffe in the Second World War

In Furious Skies - Flying with Hitler's Luftwaffe in the Second World War written

by Tim Heath and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback - Pages 280

When a proud Adolf Hitler revealed his new Luftwaffe to the world in March 1935, it was

the largest, most modern military air arm the world had seen. Equipped with the latest

monoplane fighter and bomber aircraft manned by well-trained and motivated crews, it

soon became evident that the Luftwaffe also possessed a high degree of technical

superiority over Germany’s future enemies.

Yet within just nine years the once-mightiest air force in the world had reached total collapse, destroyed in part by the very people responsible for creating it. By 1944, the Luftwaffe, wearied by aerial battles on multiple fronts combined with tactical mismanagement from the highest levels of command, were unable to match their enemies in both production and manpower. By this time the Luftwaffe was fighting for its survival, and for the survival of Germany itself, above the burning cities of the Third Reich, facing odds sometimes as high as ten-to-one in the air.

Told through the eyes of the fighter and bomber crews themselves, this book explores previously unpublished first-hand accounts of the rise and fall of one of the most formidable air forces in twentieth-century military history. It paints a haunting picture of the excitement, fear, romance intertwined with the brutality, futility and wastefulness that is war.

My hopes were high with this book having read 4-5 of Tim Heath’s books, in my opinion, if you need information on German WWII history or the Third Reich, there is nobody much better than Tim Heath. This particular book looks at the world of being a German pilot or part of the bombing crews in the Luftwaffe, hailed as an air force that was becoming the best in the world. The biggest problem though wasn’t really with the planes and pilots, it was with the German high command, mainly Hermann Goering. It has since been seen by historians and writers that the weak link was Goering, and this was evidenced in this book by the pilot community, where Goering may have been a celebrated pilot in WWI his tactical planning, his need to save face and addictions caused him to fail himself and the Luftwaffe.

This book gives excellent attention to the thoughts and opinions of German flyers, and I think

this is what echoes in all of Heath’s books, the ability to get first-hand accounts of real people

who are doing the work on the ground or experiencing the realities of what is going on in the

thick of events. I should also say that the fans who love to read about the technical details of

planes, equipment and weaponry will not be disappointed with this book. This has been

another thoroughly good book to read, very well researched and written in excellent detail.

This book is a must for anyone wanting to read about the Luftwaffe. A quality book.

Rearming the RAF for the Second World War

Rearming the RAF for the Second World War written by Adrian Phillips and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 368

When the RAF rearmed to meet the growing threat from Nazi Germany's remorseless expansion

in the late 1930s, it faced immense challenges. It had to manage a huge increase in size as well

as mastering rapid advances in aviation technology. To protect Britain from attack, the RAF's

commanders had to choose the right strategy and the right balance in its forces. The choices

had to be made in peacetime with no guidance from combat experience. These visions then

had to be translated into practical reality. A shifting cast of government ministers, civil servants

and industrialists with their own financial, political and military agendas brought further dynamics

into play. The RAF's readiness for war was crucial to Britain's ability to respond to Nazi

aggression before war broke out and when it did, the RAF's rearmament was put to the acid

test of battle. Adrian Phillips uses the penetrating grasp of how top level decisions are made

that he honed in his inside accounts of the abdication crisis and appeasement, to dissect

the process which shaped the RAF of 1940. He looks beyond the familiar legends of the

Battle of Britain and explores in depth the successes and failures of a vital element in British

preparations for war.

I have to say what a fascinating book and the subject I find is so interesting. Primarily this is a book that looks at the competition and infighting in and amongst the RAF, but not only that, but also the unnecessary fighting with the other arms of the armed forces and other organisations. Quite a bit of the book revolves around what the RAF stood for or what it wanted to concentrate on, for example, it was torn between infighting over whether to concentrate on prioritising small fighter aircraft of big heavy bombers. Basically, it’s like having a kitchen and someone has employed a lot of chefs and they all have to try and work together with the right menu. 

A very good book and quite thought-provoking and sometimes I was left thinking how on earth did the RAF succeed, but I really enjoyed reading it because there was lots of research and because it made me think. Plus I’m not sure the average joe in the street realises this was how the armed forces were run, we never hear about this in the mainstream media. A blinking good read by author Adrian Phillips, one I most certainly recommend.

Middlesbrough at War 1939-45

Middlesbrough at War 1939-45 written by Dr Craig Armstrong and published by 

Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 128

Middlesbrough was of vital importance to Britain’s war effort. The town, and its surrounding area, contained a number of vital industries including shipbuilding, chemicals, iron, steel and other metals, and engineering, as well as a joinery firm that played a leading role in the wartime aviation industry. The ICI plant at nearby Billingham also played a leading role in the creation of petrochemicals and explosives.

As with many communities, the start of the war saw Middlesbrough faced with hastily having to bring its Air Raid Precautions and civil defence services up to full strength. With its strategic importance, it was believed that Middlesbrough would be an obvious target for the Luftwaffe. As a result, schoolchildren and other vulnerable people were evacuated from the town at the very start of the war in a scheme that did not prove entirely successful.

Middlesbrough became the first built-up urban area in mainland Britain to be bombed. In the event, Middlesbrough was raided periodically throughout the war with the worst coming on the night of 25/26 July 1942, when waves of Luftwaffe bombers dropped almost 30 tons of bombs on the town. The raid killed sixteen people and caused very extensive property damage. Meanwhile, just days later, bombs fell on the town’s railway station as a train was waiting at the platform there. The pictures of the resulting damage were wired around the world.

Due to its location on the coast and being a city dominated by industry and maritime, Middlesbrough was always going to be a target for the Luftwaffe. What we did see was the city being under regular attack throughout the war in an attempt to undermine the morale of the community, but also in the hope of hampering the British war effort. In the classic style of the Towns & Cities in World War Two series, we learn how the war affects all aspects of life, from having to rebuild after air raids and losing loved ones from the attacks. Seeing women having to work at the various factories and workplaces to replace the men who were having to go off to war. Then you have the various small organisations having to pick up and help in an hour of need and daily life structures being compromised and changed as everyone has to deal with some aspect of the war on the home front.

As I have said before this series is, in my opinion, fantastic and the author here Dr Craig Armstrong has done another brilliant job in writing about the history of a city but finding a good balance in the telling of the stories and lives of the people of Middlesbrough. The writing is excellent and this is supported throughout with some great ‘local’ pictures from around Middlesbrough. Certainly a fascinating read and an excellent addition to the series.

The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe, 1939–1945

The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe, 1939–1945 written by David Hobbs and

published by Seaforth Publishing - £35.00 - Hardback - Pages 352

For the first time, this book tells the story of how naval air operations evolved into a vital

element of the Royal Navy’s ability to fight a three-dimensional war against both the Kriegsmarine

and Luftwaffe. An integral part of RN, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organisation, with only

406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939. Nevertheless,

its impact far outweighed its numbers – it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy

aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter 'ace' with 5 or more kills. The

Fleet Air Arm’s rollcall of achievements in northern waters went on to include the Norwegian

Campaign, the crippling of Bismarck, the gallant sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau

as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air

cover for the Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled Tirpitz, and strikes and minelaying

operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that continued until May 1945.

By the end of the war in Europe the FAA had grown to 3243 pilots and 1336 aircraft.

This book sets all these varied actions within their proper naval context and both technical and tactical aspects are explained with 'thumb-nail' descriptions of aircraft, their weapons and avionics. Cross reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to put names to those aircrew killed in action wherever possible as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above and below the sea surface which more often than not outnumbered them.

The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe completes David Hobbs’ much-praised six-volume series chronicling the operational history of British naval aviation from the earliest days to the present.

This book is part of a series of six, I was lucky enough to get to read his last book Taranto, and together with this book, I’ve just finished reading it is a very fine book and written with so much detail and comprehensive detail. These books are certainly ones to treasure as they are not just written by people who know the ‘knowledge’ of the subject, but they have lived their subject and been a part of it, which cements the brilliant knowledge being written. David Hobbs is a 30 year veteran of the Royal Navy serving as a pilot, and later became the curator of the Fleet Air Arm Museum.

The book explains various aspects of the Royal Navy from the planes used, the ships used, the special operations carried out along with the weapons, dynamics and strategies. It does all this very well by writing it in chapters dedicated to each year of the war. I also enjoyed the good retrospective section in the back which preceded the bibliography and the very detailed notes section. The book also contains a large number of good b/w photographs throughout. I really enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it to others and it’s nice to see more books being written in this way about the Navy.

Fallschirm Panzer Division ‘Hermann Goring’

Fallschirm Panzer Division ‘Hermann Goring’ written by Lawrence Paterson published by Greenhill Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 320

In the early years of the Third Reich, Hermann Göring, one of the most notorious leaders

of the Third Reich, worked to establish his own personal army to rival Himmler’s SS and

Reichswehr. The result: a private Prussian police force which grew into one of the most

powerful armoured units in Nazi Germany’s Wehrmacht.

This unit fought throughout the Second World War, meeting Anglo-American forces in vicious battles across the European theatres of Tunisia, Sicily and Italy before finally being defeated by the Red Army on the Eastern Front. The Hermann Göring Panzer Division incorporates technical details of these battles with the turbulent politics and Machiavellian manoeuvring of Hitler’s inner circle, giving military-history enthusiasts fresh insights into the development and role of this unusual division through the war.

Drawing on first-hand accounts and extensive archive material, World War II historian Lawrence Paterson presents a comprehensive and unbiased history of the establishment of the famous 1. Fallschirm-Panzer Division.

When I read the description for this book, I must admit that being called the ‘Hermann Goring’ Division, my first thoughts were that it would not be a great division and it was probably a group of hand picked men and used as a personal bodyguard unit. But no surprise, surprise the ‘Hermann Goring’ Division, it turns out were quite a good and well-trained division with a number of big successes in Italy, Tunisia and Sicily before being forced into the Eastern front in which they didn’t do so well. This was a fascinating read, very well written and the detail is great, the author Paterson has written a really good Division book with a lot of balance and respect. I even enjoyed the notes at the back which also comes with a list of Knights Cross recipients and finally, I really liked the picture on the back of the book.