Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, No 6) [Paperback]

John Weal (Author), Mike Chappell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Aircraft of the Aces | Publication Date: September 11, 1995

Of all the fronts fought on by the Jagdflieger during World War 2, the Russian, or Eastern, was easily the most lucrative in terms of targets for the experten. Marry an abundance of targets with the Luftwaffe’s best piston-engined fighter of the war – Focke-Wulf’s Fw 190 ‘Butcher Bird’ – and it quickly becomes apparent why so many Jagdflieger achieved kills that passed the 100 victories mark. Flying in variable weather on a battlefront that was constantly changing, the Fw 190 pilots fought virtually to extinction in both the pure fighter and the crucial Schlacht ground attack roles.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series combines full colour artwork, the best archival contemporary photography, and first hand accounts from aces to bring history's greatest airborne conflicts to life.

About the Author

Arguably the finest profile artist in the business, John Weal’s love of German aircraft makes his work a treat for students of the subject. He has written several Aces volumes, and two books on the JU 87 in the companion series Combat Aircraft.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855325187
• ISBN-13: 978-1855325180
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.3 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,161,725 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A RICHLY FASCINATING STORY OF THE FW-190 ON THE OSTFRONT, October 17, 2003

By 

MONTGOMERY (WASHINGTON, DC - U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, No 6) (Paperback)

Osprey has produced a first-class book on what was, arguably, one of the finest, most versatile fighter planes to see combat in the Second World War. The Focke-Wulf 190 was rugged, capable of taking enormous punishment in combat (the chapter describing the service of FW-190s in the Schlachtgruppen bears this out), and excelled at low to medium-level altitudes, which was typical of aerial combat on the Ostfront.

This book offers an excellent overview of the operating and handling characteristics of the FW-190. And it also provides interesting accounts by some of the pilots who flew the FW-190 on the Ostfront.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like the Fw 190, in a class of its own., May 3, 2002

By 

Denys Mkhize (Durban, South Africa.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, No 6) (Paperback)

The sixth in the outstanding Osprey "Aircraft of the Aces" series, "Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Eastern Front" details the ilustrious service and operational record of Kurt Tank's "butcher bird" in the East, from its combat debut with I./JG 51 in the autumn of '42 to the the final (?) 190 "kill" on the Eastern Front (8 May 1945) by a II./JG 54 pilot escaping to the West with his mechanic tucked away in the tiny fuselage compartment!
Stylishly, the book, another of John Weal's brilliant servings, begins with this astonishing incident and closes with a crafty re-working of it. In between is a well-documented history accompanied by expertly collated photographs, colour plates and planforms of this magnificent thoroughbred of Goering's Luftwaffe.
Early in the text, the reader is introduced to the handling characteristics of the 190 alongside I./JG 51 whose task it was to take the new fighter into battle against a resurgent VVS on the Northern and Central sectors of the Eastern Front. From this chapter, the reader gets some very interesting insights into what those hectic days of familiarisation were like as the entire text is awash with the personal anecdotes and eye-witness accounts of those pilots who undertook the training course. This is exactly what makes the book such a compelling read: the author does not allow you a moment's respite, but keeps you strapped and bound in the cockpit. You are there, in your JG 54 mount, scanning the skies of Mother Russia for that Soviet La-5FN or Yak-9D that is also stalking you somewhere in the billowing cunulus. Or you are with a tank-busting "Schlachtgeswader" - the "Slaughter Wings" - above the chaos of Prokhorovka in the high summer of '43, selecting your next victim among the massed formations of T-34s of 5th Guards Tank Army as they hurtle towards II SS Panzer Corps and eternity.
I have read some scathing critiques of the Osprey aviation/military series, however I could find little to fault this title except a dearth of information on the Fw 190D's record viz-a viz the VVS.
Whatever your opinion is of the books of this series, give this one a read if you are a military aviation enthusiast.
Believe me, you will be glad you did!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Luftwaffe at the bloodiest war ever!, February 6, 1998

By 

M. Fonseca "carmarthen" (Thunder) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Aces of the Russian Front (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces, No 6) (Paperback)

This book gives a general idea of the situation German pilots had to face every day on the Russian Front and highlights the best German propeller-driven fighter of the war. The author deserves congratulation in writing a book about a subject that is hard to find. We all know tha the wiiners tak it all, and to find good boks about the other side is difficult. I