Customer Reviews

In the Skies of Europe: Air Forces Allied to the Luftwaffe 1939-1945

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Three parts to this book--(1) Major allies of the Germans (2) Smaller air forces (3) Individuals from other countries in Luftwaffe service. The opening of Eastern European archives allowed the author to give comprehensive coverage of air force histories and operations little known in the west. Interesting anecdotes from pilots. Balanced accounts--author gives credit where it is due, which is unusual for a German author. Good selection of photos. Well-rounded bibliography. I found the Italian contribution to Axis (and Allied) efforts the most interesting, especially raids on Gibraltar. Highly recommended study.

This is a very readable, valuable, and insightful book. It is very well written (well-translated?), and covers a huge swath of miltary operations. I am amazed and impressed by the range of the author's knowledge, which goes from fascinating stories about Dutch or Estonian fliers with the Luftwaffe, to an excellent little discussion on Syrian- Iraqi operations (oh, how I love every opportunity to show how those Frogs jumped into bed with the Nazis). I was also impressed with how much use was made of obsolete biplanes in WWII, at least on the various Eastern Fronts. Where else could I have learned that it is the WWII Finnish Air Force that has the claim to the "all time" best record of any fighting air corps (I always assumed it was the Israelis). Makes me glad for the time I spent in Helsinki (a beautiful city).

Now, be warned, this is not for the casual WWII fan, and you should come to it with a good amount of knowledge on WWII aircraft & operations. But if you are up to speed on WWII air operations, this book is a must. Trust me- but this book. One little, little criticism. I loved the pictures, but given the number of aircraft types mentioned, even more would have been better.

The air forces of Italy (Regia Aeronautica and the ANR), Vichy France, Finland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria are covered in detail. The Spanish, Estonian, Latvian and Russian formations that flew with the Luftwaffe on the Eastern Front are described. There are sections on volunteers from Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands. A good bibliography and plenty of notes make it easy to track down other sources. Not covered are the air forces of Iraq, Japan, or Japanese allies and puppet states. With the low price and excellent readability, this is a great buy, packed with information. There are appendices on aces, aircraft production, etc.

A fascinating book, easy to read and very pleasant. Most probably you will not find this information in other books. The author covered the air forces of Romania, Finland, Bulgaria and all other Germany's Axis Allies (I counted 8 countries, but also previously unknown contribution of volunteer airmen is shown!).
Every country contribution to the war effort is fully detailed: personnel, equipment, aces, successes and failures, strengths and weaknesses, but also the fate of so many heroes in Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary which were occupied by Soviets and shortly became communist states.
Personally, I did not expect to find such quality information.
Excellent photos accompany the text. It is really a very well-written and good book.