Customer Reviews

Battle Over Bavaria: The B-26 Marauder Versus German Jets -April 1945

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A well-researched and well-written effort which puts the reader in the cockpits of Me-262's, B-26's, and P-47's alike in the final desperate days of the battle for Germany.

After thorough overviews of the individual units involved in the last battles, and a nice look at the operational development of the three main aircraft involved, the book dissects each encounter.

Too little, too late for the Me-262's? It doesn't appear so: the aircraft was burdened by so many operational problems (touchy turbines, difficulty in training pilots, difficulty in developing tactical applications) that it doesn't seem likely that even large numbers of the fighters would have changed the outcome of the airwar. Jets had to slow down to make the best use of their weaponry against slow-flying bombers, and with the loss of speed the jets were very vulnerable to conventional fighters. The early Jumo turbines did not provide the instant acceleration that modern jets have, leaving the aircraft dangling helplessly in the sights of Allied fighters.

A very good book!