Books on the air war over the Eastern Front

[Richard T Eger]

The acclaimed book series Black Cross/Red Star: Air War Over the Eastern Front, by Christer Bergström and Andrey Mikhailov has now been published in 2 volumes with the promise of four more. To read more about this series, go to the "Useful Websites" forum with the title of the book as the topic. Christer and Andrey have created a special website to discuss their book series.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Gielle
Stalingrad operations
Sun Feb 24 16:10:53 2002
62.98.221.199

I'm interested in aerial operations during the battle of Stalingrad.
Could anyone supply me with url links or books, focused on the Luftwaffe and VVS squadrons (such as JG's, KG's, IAP's, ShAP's) involved in that fight?
Many thanks in advance.

Gielle

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

NickM
RE: Stalingrad operations
Sun Feb 24 18:04:45 2002
152.163.195.176

Gielle:

The single best source I can recommend to you is 'Stopped at Stalingrad:the Luftwaffe and Hitler's defeat in the East, 1942-1943', by Joel Hayward. A great overview of the air effort in support of the drive thru the Crimea into the Caucasus & the 'spreading thin' of these air forces between the Caucasus & Stalingrad...good info on the airlift effort too...and a great picture is painted of the man on the spot Field Marshal Wolfram von Richtofen & the economic reasoning that drove much of the war in the East;

Hope it helps!

NickM

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Gielle
Re: RE: Stalingrad operations
Mon Feb 25 21:27:14 2002
62.98.227.39

NickM

thanks for your suggestion. I'll try to get a copy of the book.

Regards.

Gielle.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Geroge Hopp
The Stalingrad airlift
Mon Feb 25 05:53:04 2002
134.117.137.76

Nick,
The book you mentioned "Stopped at Stalingrad" sounds interesting. Any idea where I might be able to obtain a copy of it?

David Irving, in covering the life of Erhard Milch, has at least a chapter on Stalingrad in "The rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe." And Franz Kurowski wrote "Luftbrucke Stalingrad" on both the land and air battle for Stalingrad.

George

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Jim Haycraft
Re: "STOPPED AT STALINGRAD"
Mon Feb 25 20:51:38 2002
209.240.222.132

Hello George,
Try Amazon.com. Although the book is out of print, they have several used copies available at various prices.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

George Hopp
Thanks, Jim n/t
Tue Feb 26 03:24:32 2002
134.117.137.87

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Christer Bergström
Books on the air war over Stalingrad
Tue Feb 26 22:19:58 2002
213.65.46.120

It is a bit crazy, but the Air Battle over Stalingrad - the fiercest and largest air battle fought over such a small geographical area - has received such little coverage in history writing. While making research for this period for my "Black Cross/Red Star", Vol. 3, it struck me how unknown this extremely dramatic air battle really is.

The Air Battle over Stalingrad was unique in several cases: Nowhere else has there been such a concentration of highly skilled and experienced fighter aces as with the Luftwaffe at Stalingrad in the late summer and fall of 1942. In fact the majority of the Luftwaffe fighter pilots at Stalingrad were aces according to "American standards" (5+ vics). And it was here that one of them, Hermann Graf, broke all records by shooting down 62 enemy aircraft in only around five weeks, surpassing the 200-victory mark as the first fighter pilot in history. It was here that the famous stamina among the Soviet airmen for the first time really was smashed to pieces - it was here that the tough Soviet airmen simply couldn't take any more. And it was here that the Luftwaffe lost the contest of air superiority to the "reborn" Soviet Air Force only three months later. (And, yes, thoroughful research shows that the Luftwaffe's losses in transport aircraft during the air bridge to Stalingrad were much higher than the figure 488 which is so frequently published.)

Joel Hayward's "Stopped at Stalingrad" is a really good book - highly recommendable! Without question, it is the best book so far on the air war over Stalingrad. It is 99% based on German sources, but then it is a study explicitly on "the Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East". If you have even the slightest interest in the most dramatic air war over Stalingrad - go get this book!

Vol. 3 of my "Black Cross/Red Star: The Air War Over the Eastern Front" will describe the air battle over Stalingrad in detail, day by day, from the perspectives of both sides (in the same style as the two first volumes). This volume will be published approximately early next year or maybe late this year.

Before that, in my forthcoming book "Graf & Grislawski: A Pair of Aces" (will be published by Eagle Editions later this year, maybe in July), I will deal in detail with the air battle over Stalingrad during its most dramatic month - September 1942 - from the perspective of Hermann Graf, who was the most successful fighter pilot during this battle, bringing down 62 Soviet aircraft in around five weeks.

My co-author Vlad Antipov and I have closely compared Soviet records with Graf's and other German records, and we have been able to reconstruct the mosaic and identify several of the airmen whom Graf met and shot down over Stalingrad. We have included the corresponding Soviet combat accounts in several occasions - including the occasion when Hermann Graf became the first pilot ever to achieve the 200th victory.

The air battle over Stalingrad is covered in two long chapters in "Graf & Grislawski: A Pair of Aces".

Best wishes

Christer Bergström

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Gielle
Re: Books on the air war over Stalingrad
Thu Feb 28 20:36:27 2002
62.98.231.87

Mr. Bergstrom

thanks a lot for your contribute. I'm aware of your BC/RS series, and my question arose from the fact that by now it stops to summer 1942. Glad to know your third book release is scheduled for early next year!
By now, I'm getting a copy of Mr. Hayward's work.

Regards

Gianluca Mantellini

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Dénes Bernád
My first book, 'Horrido', auctioned on eBay
Tue Feb 26 19:15:43 2002
204.101.53.233

I accidentally stumbled across a copy of my first book, 'Horrido. Aerial Battles over the Eastern Front', being auctioned on eBay.
Because the book (both editions) is long out of print and a few persons have already asked me earlier for a copy - which I could not offer - I decided to post this message here.
Those interested in it may chech out the following URL:
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1076668230
Please note that I have no financial interest whatsoever in this deal. All I wanted is to help out those who may want to purchase it for their book collection.

Dénes

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

RD
Book review : The German Air War in Russia
Sat Mar 30 17:05:19 2002
203.216.66.140

by Richard Müller, 300 pages, 1992

I can't find any review of this book anywhere. Now out of print, I felt like buying it second hand than I saw that it wasn't even mention in the four A4 size pages of bibliography of BC/RS vol.2.

As my library counts already more books than I will be able to read during the next ten years I want to be very selective in what I buy from now on.

300 pages on such a wide subject tells me that the author doesn't go much into combat details but a solid anlysis would be interesting to read. No much has been written since Plocher, German Air Force versus Russia (1968)

Thanks in advance.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Larry deZeng
Re: Book review : The German Air War in Russia
Sat Mar 30 19:47:36 2002
205.188.199.164

The Richard Müller book deals with strategic and tactical theory, not with operations. If you are looking for details on specific air operations and battles, units and related information, then this book is not for you. The only exception might be a chapter on IV.Fliegerkorps strategic bombing in spring 1944. Müller is a professor of air science at the Air University, Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama. He teaches this and similar theoretical subjects to field grade USAF officers.
(Larry)

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

RD
Thank you !
Sat Mar 30 20:44:01 2002
203.216.66.238

I am not looking specifically for air operations and battles but neither for anything too theoretical. Just for a good analysis of the air war on the Eastern Front. But you gave enough elements to clear my question.

One can not open a book about WW2 aviation without seeing your name in the acknowledgements section. It seems that you have already spent a quarter of a century into researching and that a lot of authors owe you something or another. Thank you for that as well as your contribution to this board Mr deZeng.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Larry deZeng
Thank you for the kind words, RD! (n/t)
Sat Mar 30 23:29:01 2002
64.12.101.176

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Ruy Horta
Re: Thank you !
Sun Mar 31 09:01:58 2002
194.109.243.112

RD,

Clear indication that I must hurry the work on TOCH2002.
One major part of the revamped site will be a more thorough book section (of course in part to generate funds through affiliation programs). I'd say that Muller's book is a perfect addition to anyone who is seriously interested in the Luftwaffe.

To name a list of similar more theoretical works:

The German Air War in Russia, Muller

The Luftwaffe's Way of War, Corum & Muller

The Luftwaffe - Creating the Operational Air War, Corum

Arming the Luftwaffe, Homze

and of course

Strategy for Defeat, Murray

There are some exellent German language books on the topic as well. Part of "Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg" deals with the Luftwaffe on a more theoretical level and is worth a look at.

Got an original copy of Vom Luftkriege, by Von Rohden, however I haven't read it yet - published before the war and thus less tainted with hind sight.

Personally as time passes I find myself departing more and more from a technical and tactical area of interest to a theoretical and strategic one. Of course it does help to start from the former as you can fit the ideas to material and battlefield performance. Nothing worse then a theoretical or broad historical work filled with errors in the detail...

Ruy Horta

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

Goran
He 177 on the Eastern front
Mon Apr 1 23:57:33 2002
213.250.9.38

How many He 177 were used on the eastern front? Were they used as bombers, transports..? Did they fly daytime bombing missions? How many were lost in combat and how many in incidents?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Ota Jirovec
He 177 of KG in the East
Sat Apr 6 13:05:11 2002
62.177.92.93

Hi Goran,

the following information is based on "The last year of the Luftwaffe" by Alfred Price:

The KG 1, led by Obstlt. Horst von Riesen arrived in the Königsberg area in early summer 1944 (having almost 100 4-engine bombers it was the mightest strategic bomber formation of the Luftwaffe at that time). But although there were many "attractive" targets within their range, they could hardly attack them due to the lack of fuel. When, ocassionally, the fuel supplies arrived, the KG 1 operated as efficiently as it could - the Heinkels usually flew at 7000 m at large formations and Soviet fighters designed mainly for low-level operations were not the serious threat at that time. The solitary fighters that could climb to the bomber´s altitude were usually deterred by the return fire. The greatest raid (as far as the numbers of He 177) are concerned, was aimed at Welikije Luki, and important railway junction 500 km W of Moscow - 87 He 177 took part in this raid (unfortunately, Price does not mention the date of this raid).

The situation changed, however, during the Soviet summer offensive in late June 1944: the desperate Göring ordered von Riesen personally to let his He 177 attack the Soviet tanks in low-level. This time the Heinkels attack just in pairs and were an easy prey to Soviet fighters - the Geschwader lost approx. a quarter of their remaining 40 bombers during these attacks, mainly to russian fighters.
According to Price it is also doubtful whether He 177 managed to destroy a single russian tank during these attacks.

The most curious incident occured on 20.7.1944 - in the vicinity of Königsberg there was Rastenburg -Hitler´s "Wolf Lair". During the forming of formation of some 80 Heinkels in that area some of the bombers had problems with engines and had to dropp their bombs. After the return, von Riesen was informed to be in deep trouble since one of his planes allegedly dropped the bombs over the Führer´s HQ. After several frustrating hours the relief came suddenly: the explosions were cause by von Schauffen- berg´s attempt to kill Hitler, not by the bombers! (a ridiculous story, indeed)

The op of 20.7.1944 was one of the last actions made by this unit. Due to the lack of fuel, the Geschwader was withdrawn back to Germany to be disbanded soon.

Hope this helps a little,

Ota

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

C. Herrera
"Trophies of Air Combat"1941-1945
Fri Apr 5 03:04:28 2002
63.255.45.12

Just received my new Russian Frontline Illustration publication and I have to say it's a must-buy!

This magazine (book?) clears up some lingering questions
I've had for many years.
For instance, in the old profile publication on the Bf-109F, there was a picture of a crashlanded Bf-109F,yellow 5, of an unknown Third Gruppe.Here it is identified as the Bf-109F of Lt. Ottmar Maurer of 9./JG-51, lost on August 11,1941.By the way, there is a great shot of this same aircraft in the Monogram Closeup 9 Bf-109F,taken from a different angle and with better photo quality.

There is also a picture of a Bf-109E, with an unknown unit insignia that id driving me crazy since I remember having seen that insignia in one of my Luftwaffe Verband but i can't find it.

Some of the pictures i've seen before, others are brand new.
Also,some of the pictures I have seen are depicted in better quality. Some of the captions are obviously incorrect,e.g., a Bf-109F of JG-3 (the unit emblem is obvious!)is purported as being from JG-53.

As a bonus, there are some good shots of captured Japanese
airctaft from the Manchurian War against Japan-August 1945.

Only drawback is it's all in Russian, but the photos are English/Russian...

Carlos

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Jim P.
Where/how do I get a copy?? n/t
Fri Apr 5 13:26:46 2002
64.223.199.2

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Carl-Fredrik Geust
See http://www.aviapress.com/news.htm
Fri Apr 5 19:33:17 2002
194.251.240.106

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

C. Herrera
Airconnection
Fri Apr 5 15:11:02 2002
192.31.106.34

Jim,

I got my copy from "Airconnection"

Here is their Website:
http://www.airconnection.on.ca/Default.htm

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Larry Hickey
Russian publication
Fri Apr 5 16:08:40 2002
12.253.95.180

Is the subject material in this publication only relating to the campaign in the East/Russia, or are some of the photos relevant to the 39-40 period of Poland and the Western campaigns?

Thanx

Larry Hickey

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

C. Herrera
Only in the East(1941-1945)n/t
Fri Apr 5 18:42:38 2002
192.31.106.34

[Richard T Eger]

The Aviapress site provides the following description of the above book:

"Trophies of air battles 1941 - 1945
This book is devoted to estimation of the Luftwaffe losse at the Eastern front in 1941 - 1945. Brief review of the main operations of the Great Patriotic War is given, including the war of the USSR against Japan at the Far East. The majority of trophy aircraft photos is published for the first time.
The book contains more 100 photos and 16 colour profiles of trophy German and Japan aircraft."

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

EFeit
air war in the Arctic 1941
Thu Apr 18 16:34:42 2002
4.23.177.2

Can anyone supply the numbers and types of Red Air Force deployed in the Murmansk/Arctic front area in 1941-43? ...and the corresponding numbers for the 5th Luftwaffe Flotte opposing them. Of course, the 5th covered both Finland and Norway and io am trying to isolate a/c available in the arctic near Murmansk and Salla
/Kestenga /Kandalaksha. I am trying to explore why the LW did not, or could not become a decisive adjunct to the German drive on Murmansk and the RR. Most Red fighters at the beginning were I-16 or I15b or I-153...just how bad were these up againsy an ME109? could thery compete with a BF110?
>
> i seem to be having trouble locating this data. Anyway i am a bit of a novice on air war details in the East. Perhaps i am just not as talented at this research as others are. Any help would be appreciated. Someone told me "those [you] guys know everything.

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Kari Lumppio
A start...
Thu Apr 18 22:35:29 2002
193.229.6.165

Hi!

First. You already asked the same question in the FinnAF in WW2 -forum without any great results. A real name and e-mail given might help getting answers... As would a little bit different tone for your questions.

As far as I know there is nothing great published of the topic in English. Please correct me, if I am wrong.

In German there are some unit histories, like Girbig's "Eismeerjäger", Stahl's memories etc. I don't think you will find any answers for your questions from them.

There are great researched books "Luftwaffen pohjoinen sivusta" (Norhtern Flank of Luftwaffe" and "Pohjoinen ilmasota" (Northern Airwar). Both written by Hannu Valtonen and it's all in Finnish. SO if you are a Finn, check your local library. If not, then try getting the book and vocabulary.

Also start getting back issues or copies of different Russian magazines which do have articles by Juri Rybin. He has written a lot about the airwar in North. His articles are in Russian (which I don't handle too well). I suppose some of our Russian (or Norwegian) friends are able to produce a list of his articles. Quite a lot of Rybin's material is used in Valtonen's books too (the authors do/did co-operate).

After you have read the material above then you are able to ask a more precise questions. There are much more in there than just the numbers and quality of aircraft involved. What I have read it is actually a bit unclear exactly what Germans tried to achieve in Murmansk area. In all practical sense they already had the Kolosjoki/Petsamo nickel mines before Barbarossa. And when German troops entered Finnish Lapland they had the Swedish iron ore mine area (Kiruna and Gällivare) secured. Those two were AFAIK The Main Goals in Far North, What else there was to gain in (the general) Murmansk area? I doubt Germans could see in advance the importance of Lend-Lease which only started late 1941/42 and then the German resources were more badly needed in Moscow area. Would that be a partial answer to your question?

As far as I know and remember Finnish politics were involved in the ("no-show") Kantalahti operation. If I have got it right US of America threathened Finland with declaration of war if the railway connection between Archangel/Murmansk and Leningrad is cut. That played a major role in the decisions of Finnish support for such operations.

About I-16 quality. A Finnish pilot who got enough flight time in it (captured one) said it was better performer than the Brewster FinnAF had. Later Ishaks had 1000 hp engine and some had two 20 mm cannons. Soviet naval pilots generally seem to have been a level above their Army (VVS KA) colleagues. In the beginning there was only VVS SF (Northern Fleet Air Force) units in the Murmansk area. They seemed to able to fight back like Pokryshin's unit in South (read his "War Sky"-memories to feel the athmosphere). Maybe VVS SF fighting morale was not broken as it was in so many other places?


And for last thing a comment about your sentence "Of course, the 5th covered both Finland and Norway". It is not entirely correct. Luftflotte 5 operational sector consisted only the Northern part of Finland. For the rest of Finland was responsible Finnish Air Force. Luftwaffe a/c needed prior permission (excluding emergencies) to enter the Finnish sector and vice versa.


Regards,
Kari Lumppio

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Andreas Brekken
Offensive strength of Luftflotte 5
Fri Apr 19 08:52:24 2002
129.240.8.184

Hi.

There are several resources available to a person interested in this area, both on the internet and in book form. I find it hard to believe that Yuo have been looking into this matter and found nothing. A simple internet search with the words "JG 5" and "Luftwaffe" should get You going.

Regarding the actions by the Bf 110 unit (Stab/ZG 76 + Z-Staffel/JG 77, later 6.(Z), 10.(Z) and 13.(Z)/JG 5) You could go to the book published by Eric Mombeek on this issue.

Other resources where You can obtain information on the strength of the units available in the area at given time are:

http://www.ww2.dk
http://www.stormbirds.com/eagles

I suggest You use these sources in addition to those mentioned by Kari.

And as I do most of the time, I agree with Kari on most of his comments.

Regards,

Andreas

[This message has been edited by Richard T Eger (edited 19 May 2002).]

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Christer Bergström
Luftflotte 5 and Soviet aviation
Sat Apr 20 10:27:19 2002
213.65.46.213

"Can anyone supply the numbers and types of Red Air Force deployed in the Murmansk/Arctic front area in
1941-43? ...and the corresponding numbers for the 5th Luftwaffe Flotte opposing them."

There are detailed Orders of Battle for both Luftflotte 5 and its Soviet adversaries (the Northern Fleet AF, VVS SF; the AF of the Northern Front/later Karelian Front/later 7th Air Army, 7 VA; and elements of the Home Defence aviation) for June 1941 through June 1942 in Andrey Mikhailov's and my "Black Cross/Red Star: Air War Over the Eastern Front", volumes 1 and 2 (Pacifica Military History, 2000 and 2001). Also, in those two volumes, the air war in the Far North June 1941 - June 1942 is covered in totally 37 pages.

In "Black Cross/Red Star", Vol. 3, which will be published around late 2002, the continued air war in the East - including that in the Far North - during the period July 1942 through November 1942 will be covered. There you will also find detailed Orders of Battle for both Luftflotte 5 and its Soviet adversaries during that period. I am presently working on volume 4 - together with my new co-authors Vlad Antipov and Andrey Dikov - and this will cover the period November 1942 through June 1943.

Some material on the Far North can be found at my website:

http://www.blackcross-redstar.com

Best wishes

Christer Bergström