World War II magazine

[Richard T Eger]

The World War II magazine contains numerous articles of interest to the Luftwaffe researcher. The magazine's website lists all articles from the magazine, some of which are available on-line. The site provides a search engine. Back issues may be purchased. The site address is:

http://www.thehistorynet.com/WorldWarII/

Articles of interest include:

VOLUME 8 * NUMBER 6 * MARCH 1994

WEEK OF RELENTLESS BOMBING
By Eric Hammel
For seven consecutive days in February 1944 the Allied air forces assaulted cities and military targets
inside the Third Reich. Long-range fighter escorts made the Bf-109s and Fw-190s of the Luftwaffe
another quarry.

THE REAL GREAT ESCAPE
Interview by Mason Webb
An underground cottage industry in escape accessories existed at Stalag Luft III. But all of those
creations would be worthless if the Allied prisoners could not tunnel their way out.

VOLUME 9 * NUMBER 5 * JANUARY 1995

Bodenplatte: Luftwaffe's Last Gasp
By Timothy J. Kutta
In its last major offensive action, Operation Bodenplatte, the Luftwaffe shot up 200 Allied planes on the
ground on New Year's Day, 1945.

VOLUME 9 * NUMBER 6 * MARCH 1995

Luftwaffe Ace Günther Rall Remembers
Interview by Colin Heaton
Günther Rall became a legend flying the Messerschmitt Bf-109, scoring 275 aerial victories against the
aerial armadas of Britain, Russia and the United States.

UNDERCOVER
The Allies gained a windfall of technical information
through Projects Lusty and Paperclip.
By Allan E. Turner

VOLUME 10 * NUMBER 1 * MAY 1995

UNDERCOVER
The Nazi atomic bomb was a horror that nearly
became reality.
By Danny Parker

VOLUME 10 * NUMBER 7 * MARCH 1996

The Air War: 1939-1945
By Jon Guttman
The basic principles of aerial warfare were already in place and evolving in the interwar years, but World
War II accelerated the development of technology and tactics at an unprecedented rate, while epic air
battles were fought over every corner of the globe. This special section-an artists' gallery-illustrates and
describes some of the war's most famous aircraft and significant events.

VOLUME 11 * NUMBER 5 * JANUARY 1997

Luftwaffe General Adolf Galland
By Colin D. Heaton
Battling overwhelming odds in the air and his superiors on the ground,
Germany's Adolf Galland became a legend.
Available on-line

VOLUME 11 * NUMBER 6 * FEBRUARY 1997

Luftwaffe Ace Günther
Rall Remembers
Interview by Colin Heaton
Pulled from the wreckage of his Messerschmitt, Günther Rall was
paralyzed, his back broken in three places. Nevertheless, he returned to the
air.
Available on-line

Air War's Greatest Aces
By Jon Guttman

[Richard T Eger]

I understand that there is a good Luftwaffe article in the March 2026 issue of World War II magazine. However, my efforts to learn about this or the contents of past issues by utilizing the above site address have now been met with great frustration. It appears that the index to past issues is no longer available on this site. If anyone can help direct us as to where these can now be found, it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

An article that appeared in World War II magazine entitled Luftwaffe Eagle Johannes Steinhoff, has been reproduced on about.com and can be found at:

http://history1900s.about.com/library/prm/bljohannessteinhoff1.htm

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From within a thread on 12 O'Clock High!:

Tom Davis
Gabelschwanzteufel
Wed Jun 18 01:21:53 2026
198.81.26.177

Rabe,

Thanks for your reply. I thought you may find Johannes Steinhoff's comments from an interview with World War II Magazine (see http://history1900s.about.com/library/prm/bljohannessteinhoff3.htm)
Luftwaffe Eagle Johannes Steinhoff

Page 3

WWII: Of all the Allied fighters you encountered, which was the most difficult to handle with a good pilot at the controls?

Steinhoff: The Lightning. It was fast, low profiled and a fantastic fighter, and a real danger when it was above you. It was only vulnerable if you were behind it, a little below and closing fast, or turning into it, but on the attack it was a tremendous aircraft. One shot me down from long range in 1944. That would be the one, although the P-51 [Mustang] was deadly because of the long range, and it could cover any air base in Europe. This made things difficult, especially later when flying the jets.

Tom

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Rabe Anton
Gabelschwanzteufel
Wed Jun 18 02:03:23 2026
205.188.209.112

Hi Tom!

I read the article that you presented with a lot of interest. Very worthwhile comments from a generally respected Luftwaffe figure.

Please understand that I did not intend to try to paint the P-38 Lightning as some kind of dog. It certainly wasn't.
It's very interesting that the positive qualities that Steinhoff mentions were exactly those you would expect from the Lightning: high diving and overall speed and so forth.

There is a fairly straightforward way to get a good combat ranking for the three top USAAF fighters, and that is the comparative percentages of losses endured per combat mission in Europe versus aerial victories gained. One could argue endlessly about such statistics, but backing away and taking them in the overview, I still don't think that the P-38 came off at the top.

There is one other stark historical development which seems to me to prevail over all others: the USAAF's high command in Europe (USSTAF and Eighth AF) consistently worked to REDUCE the P-38 inventory in Western Europe, converting P-38 groups as expeditiously as possible to P-47s and especially P-51s. I feel that these very experienced, realistic, and responsible generals (Eaker, Doolittle, Spaatz, etc.) had solid information and a keen sense of what fighter types were going to give the desired results in the most direct and least costly way. Their vote clearly was NOT for the Lockheed P-38 in the European air war arena. The Jagdwaffe must have had something to do with their verdict!

RA