German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 20) [Paperback]

Jerry Scutts (Author), John Weal (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Aircraft of the Aces | Publication Date: June 5, 1998

When the Luftwaffe entered World War 2, its nightfighter force was virtually nonexistent thanks to its leader, Reichmarschall Hermann Göring, who boasted that bombs would never fall on Germany. By mid-1940 his folly was evident; the first night fighter wing was hastily formed with Bf 110s. Initially capable of detecting targets by visual acquisition only, the force greatly improved its effectiveness with the creation of the 'Giant Würzburg' radar chain. By the end of 1942, the night fighter force controlled some 389 fighters and had destroyed 1,291 RAF bombers in that year alone. Complete with first-hand accounts and detailed colour illustrations, this book profiles the many variations of night fighters, and the men who made ace flying them.

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

Jerry Scutts has worked in the field of aviation publishing since the late 1960s, writing over 40 books that have covered a broad spectrum of subject matter ranging from US Navy floatplane fighters in World War 2 to the exploits of the USAF_s Phantom IIs over Vietnam. His specialist areas are the Luftwaffe and the US Army Air Forces in World War 2, and he originally appeared on the Osprey list as long ago as 1977, when he wrote the second volume in the now much sought after Air Cam Air War series –- many of the jacket illustrations in this series were also painted by him. Jerry has been a regular contributor to Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series since its inception in 1994.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (June 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855326965
• ISBN-13: 978-1855326965
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent book., May 23, 2000

By 

Aaron Newlands "Sithgod" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 20) (Paperback)

The aircraft of the aces series has been an excellent begining source of information. I beleive that there are better books covering each thing in more deapth. But as an introduction to each topic I have found none better. This book is on the nightfighters of the German Luftwaffe. Covering the aircraft briefly, but the focus of this series is the men who flew them. From it's humble beginings to the nightfighter force becoming a much needed group. If you have an interest in this area then this book is a good place to start. Great photos and colour plates of aircraft and pilots. A very good read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good a book on the Luftwaffe's night fighter force as any., April 9, 2010

By 

Alan Edward Creager (Henrico, VA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 20) (Paperback)

Originally published in 1998 by Osprey Publishing Limited, "German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2" was written by Jerry Scutts and edited by Tony Holmes. 96 pages in length, it is a comprehensive history of the Luftwaffe's night fighter aces and the branch of the Luftwaffe in which those pilots served. It contains dozens of pictures- black and white- and sets of color illustrations of machines and personnel of the Nachtjagd. Initially, the Luftwaffe had no such thing as a night fighter, having like the rest of Germany trusted Hermann Goering's proclamation that no bombs would fall on Berlin. Soon they were not only falling there, but all over Germany, and in response to increasingly frequent night bombings by the British Royal Air Force, the Luftwaffe began to hastily reassign existing fighter pilots to nighttime duty. One of those pilots was Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, the top scoring night fighter ace of all time with 121 kills, achieved exclusively with the Bf 110. The Bf 110, the Bf 109, Ju 88, and Do 215 were prominent among the many fighters used by the Nachtjagd arm of the Luftwaffe. The progress they made, and their endurance, from start to finish are nothing short of amazing.

Disorganized and given a lamentably low priority by German brass, the night fighter force was also somewhat unwanted- it was a reminder that bigshot Nazis like Goering had been wrong. But despite everything going against them- and just how much there was is staggering- the night fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe pushed on and in time went from flying daytime machines hastily converted to night duty to flying brilliantly modified gray and black aircraft totally converted for nighttime service. A giant chain of radar stations was created, running from Denmark to the Swiss border, and increasing numbers of night fighters carried radar of their own. Ironically, in the end this branch of the Luftwaffe that had been shunned and some Nazi brass wished never existed was still holding its own until the very end, regularly operating in the black skies of nighttime Germany into 1945. This, long after the daytime Luftwaffe had been all but driven from the skies. The Nachtjagd forced the Allies, chiefly the RAF, to pay a heavy price for their nighttime raids on Germany and the nations it had occupied, but the cost those fliers themselves paid was also high. Considerable numbers of the Nachtjagd's personnel didn't live to see the end of the war. As bravely and skillfully as they fought, the sheer numbers of Allied bombers proved overwhelming.

To anyone interested in learning the story of a kind of aircraft and kind of pilot that has forever disappeared from the skies, specifically the Germans who joined this unique and now extinct force, I highly recommend this book. The story of Germany's WWII night fighter aces is one of incredible perseverance in the face of tremendous adversity, and it is certainly a story worth reading.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nightjagd Aces, May 8, 2011

By 

Tony Marquise Jr. - See all my reviews
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This review is from: German Night Fighter Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 20) (Paperback)

Excellant book that tells of the Luftwaffes battle against RAF Bomber Command. Because this battle covered almost the entire Second World War, this book does not go into detail. However, this volume is an excellant intrduction to the subject, and, as such, is reccomened.