Customer Reviews

Jagdgeschwader Nr II Geschwader 'Berthold' (Aviation Elite Units)

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There are warriors and then there are WARRIORS. Rudolf Berthold, a WWI Jagdflieger, fell into the latter category. Berthold first flew combat in 1914 in primitive Fokker Eindeckers. Repeatedly wounded, Berthold's fierce nationalism drove him on. Running up 20-odd kills, by 1918 he was a respected Jasta leader. His greatest glory came in March 1918 when he assumed command on JG II, Germany's second Jagdgeschwader.

Respected WWI aviation historian Greg VanWyngarden charts the brief but violent life of JG II, first under its original CO, Adolf Ritter von Tutschek and then under the fiercely driven Berthold and his successors.

An exacting leader and teacher, Berthold was responsible for fashioning JG II into a killer outfit, turning pilots like Georg von Hantelmann, Franz Buchner and Oliver Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay into deadly fighter pilots. Berthold led by example, running up 16 kills as JG II CO until a final crash finally ended his combat career. (By the time Berthold took over the wing he had been wounded three times. His last wound never healed properly, causing him to scream out in pain when maneuvering his Fokker D VII). By war's end JG II had scored around 340 kills, frequently decimating Allied formations, especially the newly arrived American units.

Geschwader Berthold's story is vividly captured in this Osprey Elite Units book. Along with covering the wing's many combats, VanWyngarden also includes a number of human interest stories that bring JG II's pilots to life as human beings. The text is rounded out by over 130 photos of the pilots, their mounts and those of their opponents. Lastly, the variety of fighters flown by JG II during its brief life - Albatros D Vs, Fokker Triplanes, the aforementioned D VIIs and even Siemens-Schuckert D III/IVs - are captured in all their blue-fuselaged glory in profiles done by illustrator Harry Dempsey.

VanWyngarden's book is not just one combat story after another however. One thing I appreciated about the book is that he supplied context to JG II's combats. VanWyngarden makes the telling point that, despite all their best efforts, the pilots of JG II were never able to influence the events occurring on the ground below!

If you are interested in the life and times of a fearsome German fighting unit, pick up a copy of this book. You will enjoy it.

An oustanding history of an often overlooked unit of the German Air Force during WW I. It contains information that I did not know existed after being interested in this period of history for over 40 years. A must have addition for anyone even remotely interested in WW I aviation.