In the style of the successful Jagdwaffe series, which concentrated on German day fighters, this concludes a two-part history of the Nachtjager, the Luftwaffe's nightfighter force, in World War II. The Luftwaffe used many aircraft in the nightfighter role, primarily to combat RAF Bomber Command's nocturnal heavy bombing raids against German targets from 1940/1 onwards. Both sides engaged in a 'cat and mouse' development of aircraft enhancement, weapons, guidance systems and radar. In this volume, the later versions of the Ju88G, Fw 190 'Wild Sau', Do 217, Me 262, Ta 154 and others are examined in depth. The text is accompanied by a wide range of photographs, many of which are published here for the first time, together with color profiles and biographies of top nightfighter aces. This volume and its predecessor, published in July 2005, will provide the modeler and historian with a detailed examination of the Nachtjager forces deployed by the Luftwaffe during the war and will be required reading for all interested in the subject of the nightly battles over the skies of the Reich during the conflict.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
In recent years David Williams has traveled extensively around Germany and Austria to interview former Luftwaffe pilots and their families in the course of his research into German fighter operations during World War II. He has gathered a substantial collection of documentation and photographs. He is the author of Hunters of the Reich: Day Fighters (pub 2002) for which he worked closely with five leading German fighter pilots, and a similar biographical study, Hunters of the Reich: Night Fighters (pub 2003). He is married and lives in the west of England.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Reaping the Whirlwind - Final Battles of the Luftwaffe's Nightfighters!,
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This review is from: Nachtjager, Volume Two: Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1943-1945 (Luftwaffe Colours) (Paperback)
David Williams wraps up his two-volume history of Luftwaffe nightfighters with this well-done summary of the last two years of the war.
Paradoxically the July 1943 Hamburg firestorm mission wherein the RAF used chaff to blind German radars so traumatized Germany's military leadership that it served as an impetus for the development of new nightfighter tactics and weapons to replace the discredited Himmelbett system. Zahme Sau and Wilde Sau tactics coupled with new radars checkmated the advantage temporarily bestowed on RAF bombers by 'Window.' The battles that followed became a see-saw race as RAF and Luftwaffe engineers and aircrews developed new radars, counter tactics, different weaponry (Schrage Musik) and so on. Though German nightfighters inflicted punishing losses on RAF raiders on many occasions following the Hamburg raid, a number of factors including superior Allied technology and fuel shortages ground down the Nachtjagers. Williams quite correctly points out that the turning point in this deadly see-saw campaign occurred not over Germany but rather at an English airfield! In July 1944 a disoriented Luftwaffe crew landed at an RAF base, thus presenting the British with a fully operational Ju88G equipped with the three radar systems that had made the nightfighters so deadly. Given such a wide canvas, Williams does a good job of summarizing those momentous years as well as highlighting well-known nightfighter aces such as Werner Streib, Heinz Schnaufer and Wilhelm Johnen. The comprehensive text includes ten first-person accounts of night kills by German pilots and their RAF victims. As with Volume One, this book is brimming with photos and artwork - over 190 black & white shots, 11 color pix including one showing a Schrage Musik-equipped Fw 189(!) and 16 color profiles of Me 110, He 219, Ju 88, FW 190, Do 217 and Me 262 night fighters. All in all, this two-volume set is an well-written, visually appealing introduction to the subject. Luftwaffe fans will definitely want to pick up the set!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great facts, poor layout,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Nachtjager, Volume Two: Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1943-1945 (Luftwaffe Colours) (Paperback)
It is a picture book that is sort of on the tough side of reading since it is more of a narative than a historical book. Good stuff though and great drawings. It could have had more on the machines and less on the people.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Complete Story,
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This review is from: Nachtjager, Volume Two: Luftwaffe Night Fighter Units 1943-1945 (Luftwaffe Colours) (Paperback)
The Royal Air Force quickly learned in World War II that their planes were not suitable for daylight operation, so turned to night bombing. The Luftwaffe then had no choice but to begin to develop a night fighter system that would offer at least some defenst against the bombers.
By 1943 the war of the technical wizzards was well underway. For the Germans this meant radar systems, including both ground based to get the fighter close to the bomber, and airborne equipmen, usually mounted on twin engine planes such as the Me-110, the Ju-88, the Fw-189, He 219. To these were added a smaller number of single engine fighters, the Me-109, Me262 and Fw-190, some with and wome without radar. This book has some text to explain the pictures, but it features a spectacular set of photographs of the night fighting planes of the Luftwaffe in the later years of the war. It also has several pictures taken of planes after the war as found in abandoned airfields or as they were removed to allied bases. Finally there is a set of detailed drawings of the planes to show details often missed in the photographs.
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