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American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe s Secrets Hardcover – April 22, 2004

by Wolfgang W. E. Samuel (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 39 ratings
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At the close of World War II, Allied forces faced frightening new German secret weapons―buzz bombs, V-2's, and the first jet fighters. When Hitler's war machine began to collapse, the race was on to snatch these secrets before the Soviet Red Army found them.

The last battle of World War II, then, was not for military victory but for the technology of the Third Reich. In American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets, Wolfgang W. E. Samuel assembles from official Air Force records and survivors' interviews the largely untold stories of the disarmament of the once mighty Luftwaffe and of Operation Lusty―the hunt for Nazi technologies.

In April 1945 American armies were on the brink of winning their greatest military victory, yet America's technological backwardness was shocking when measured against that of the retreating enemy. Senior officers, including the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, knew all too well the seemingly overwhelming victory was less than it appeared. There was just too much luck involved in its outcome.

Two intrepid American Army Air Forces colonels set out to regain America's technological edge. One, Harold E. Watson, went after the German jets; the other, Donald L. Putt, went after the Nazis' intellectual capital―their world-class scientists.

With the help of German and American pilots, Watson brought the jets to America; Putt persevered as well and succeeded in bringing the German scientists to the Army Air Forces' aircraft test and evaluation center at Wright Field. A young P-38 fighter pilot, Lloyd Wenzel, a Texan of German descent, then turned these enemy aliens into productive American citizens―men who built the rockets that took America to the moon, conquered the sound barrier, and laid the foundation for America's civil and military aviation of the future.

American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets details the contest won, a triumph that shaped America's victories in the Cold War.

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  1. Print length
    510 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University Press of Mississippi
  4. Publication date
    April 22, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    6.42 x 1.53 x 9.36 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1578066492
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1578066490
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Hitler might have achieved [his] gruesome aim if his nuclear physicists had been able to produce a bomb. Fortunately they failed, but the Allies still had plenty of high-tech Nazi weapons to fight over in the spring and summer of 1945. One obvious target: the Me 262 jet fighter, which with its unmatchable speed might have won the air war for the Germans, had it appeared sooner. In American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets, Samuel tells how a group of American pilots scoured Germany for jets, surface-to-air missiles, and other Luftwaffe treasures, which became the basis for America's technological rejuvenation and eventually helped the United States win the Cold War. ― Washington Post Book World

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A riveting account of the American servicemen who scrambled to keep Hitler's technology out of Soviet's hands|A riveting account of the American servicemen who scrambled to keep Hitler's technology out of Soviet hands

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Press of Mississippi; Book Club Edition (April 22, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 510 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1578066492
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1578066490
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.21 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.42 x 1.53 x 9.36 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 39 ratings

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Wolfgang W. E. Samuel

Wolfgang W. E. Samuel

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Wolfgang W. E. Samuel was born in Germany in 1935, immigrated to the United States at age 16, and finished high school in Denver, Colorado, two years later. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1960 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Wolfgang served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, flew strategic reconnaissance against the Soviet Union in the Cold War years and combat against North Vietnam; being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross three times and numerous Air Medals. He obtained an MBA from Arizona State University and graduated from the National War College at Ft McNair, Wash DC. After retirement from the Air Force in the rank of colonel, he worked for a defense contractor in the Washington area, then retired once again to write German Boy, his first book, which was introduced by Stephen Ambrose and very favorably reviewed by the New York Times. German Boy is Wolfgang's story of survival in WWII Germany and the immediate postwar years. Other books followed.

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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
39 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tom Fey
5.0 out of 5 stars Well documented, well written, fascinating history
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2015
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As WWII progressed, certain aspects of American aviation technology were found to lag seriously behind those of our German enemy. American Raiders is a fascinating read detailing the late 1944 - early 1945 mad dash for the US to acquire advanced German aircraft, weapon systems, and the engineers that designed them. A special group headed by Hal Watson was built in days to weeks to accomplish this feat, finding aircraft, documents, and hardware, as well as the pilots, engineers, and technicians required to support their export to the USA. It was a foot race against the Russians and to some extent, the British. To its credit, the book does not delve into excessive technical detail (I'm hoping Captured Eagles by Fredrick A. Johnson will satisfy that interest) or get bogged own in the politics of the situation, rather it focuses on the mission, the men, and the interesting incidents this type of endeavor begets. This is a fantastic story, expertly told.
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G. Burket
4.0 out of 5 stars Technology for the Jet Age
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2015
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American Raider: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe’s Secrets

Despite years of studying military history, one can still fall prey to romantic notions of how the war, and the postwar period were conducted.

When I saw the cover of this book, it made me think of GI’s finding advanced German fighters hidden along dirt trails in the woods and towing them out into the light and captivity.

Of course, that is not quite how it worked.

The story is focused around Major Harold E. Watson, and his mission to gather surviving and flyable aircraft from their hiding places in the fallen Third Reich. Despite being trained as a military pilot prior to World War II, Watson had the fortune or misfortune to gain an engineering degree. The Army Air Force therefore considered him more valuable for his technical skills, and he spent most of the war at the technical center at Wright Field in Ohio. Without realizing it, this actually placed him perfectly for his coming role as being in charge of the technology search of Germany.

Despite the timely defeat of Germany, the search for aircraft, engines, guided missiles, and experimental systems was conducted with a sense of urgency. The Allies had come to realize that the Germans had shared many of their technological advances with the Japanese. Plans, components, and even entire aircraft had been clandestinely shipped by U-Boat to Japan. With the invasion of the Home Islands looming in the future, the Allied Powers were desperate to know what they were going to be up against.

If that were not enough, many of the locations of the factories, warehouses and airfields where these items were stored were in what would become the Soviet Sector of Occupied Germany. American units were given days to move tons of material to at least a more secure location in Europe before shipment to either the US or Britain.

Competition with the Russians was one issue, but the French and British were also scrambling for every nut and bolt they could find… and they were not always willing to share.

The good news was that forward thinking leaders such as Carl Spaatz had anticipated the effort that was going to be required. Spaatz and others recognized that the Germans were a full five to fifteen years ahead of the Americans in various fields of aviation technology. Aside from the Japanese, these planners feared that despite America’s dedication to air power, there was a chance that we could fall behind our next enemy. Projects that had been previously derided as “Buck Rodgers stuff” was now a priority.

As the war in Europe began to wind down, Combat Crew Training Units suddenly found that their mission was changed to disarmament and exploitation. Teams were organized and trained on how to recognize significant equipment. “Wish lists” were drawn up by various commands and defense contractors.

Yet for all this organizing, when these teams were deployed, they were often short of resources, especially to move and warehouse tons of material. It was a daunting task that some how got done through negotiation, conniving, and downright trickery at times.

On the receiving end, the challenge was to sort through mountains of crated items as well as documentation to determine what was truly significant. Much of the research, plans and drawings for these wonder weapons was literally found in disorganized piles in abandoned facilities. A good part of it was sent to London to be sorted, catalogued, organized into libraries, and eventually translated.

Getting back to Watson and his crew, their primary mission was securing working aircraft under the code name “Operation LUSTY“ (for “Luftwaffe Secret Technology“). Much of this centered around the former Messerschmitt plant at Lechfeld. Scattered around the plant were up to 50 ME-262’s in various states of completion. Watson gathered a crew of USAAF mechanics and pilots with a goal of bringing a dozen of the jet fighters back to working order. Collectively they became known as “Watson’s Whizzers”. Using his authority under the Occupation, he also sought out and recruited former Messerschmitt mechanics, engineers and pilots to assist in the effort. While some had to be “heavily persuaded”, many of the Germans came forward to insure their years of research and development would carry on. Of course, additional rations and guarantees for the safety of their families did not hurt either.

At one point it was decided that the aircraft needed to be shipped whole. Previously captured aircraft had been shipped back disassembled to Wright field with less than satisfactory results. Upon arrival, American engineers were hampered by assembly manuals and often failed to rebuild the aircraft successfully.

After gathering his menagerie of aircraft specimens, Watson prevailed upon a very talented logistics officer to secure a means of getting them back to the US. For reasons not fully explained in the book, the British had a light aircraft carrier, HMS Reaper, which was scheduled to sail for the US. Watson had to train his pilots, fly the aircraft across Europe, have them cocooned with a protective coating, loaded onto a barge, then loaded onto the carrier.

The final tally was 10 ME-262’s, 2 Dornier 335’s, one FW TA 152H high altitude fighter, one Junkers 388 recon bomber, one Ju-88 G night fighter, 3 Heinkel 219 night fighters, 4 highly prized Ardo 234 jet bombers, 9 FW-190 D/F fighters with advanced features, 3 ME-109G’s which were actually out dated, as well as 2 Bucker 181 trainers and an ME-108. There were also three German helicopters and an experimental P-51 recon fighter. A number of ME-163’s were below deck.

Impressive as this was, it was not achieved without incident. Two of the ME-262’s were lost before arriving in France in near fatal accidents. Because of the haste, flight qualification training for the American pilots consisted of ONE flight in the ME-262 dual control trainer, and two solo flights!

Watson himself elected to stage a grand return to the US by flying one of the few long range bombers developed by the Germans, the four engine JU-290!

Mr. Samuel’s book covers a lot of ground in telling this story. Not surprisingly, this was not a simple matter of telling the Major to gather 20 men and go forth! Bureaucracy after bureaucracy, as well as scientific committees and competing commands made this whole effort overly complicated before it even began. This is all described in detail in this book, which unfortunately slows the pace of the adventure story.

Equally bad was the description of what it took to get German scientists and engineers cleared to come to the US to continue their research. Due to the hype of wartime propaganda, they were shunned by the American research establishment as “enemy aliens”. Professional jealousy also played a role in delaying their arrival, as well as integrating them into our aviation centers. On top of that, customs, immigration, housing and even civil service pay all had to be worked out.

In the end, the single mindedness of the mission prevailed. The aircraft industries of the US, Britain and France all benefited from exploiting the spoils of war. German engineers and scientist worked diligently for their new employers bringing forward their advances in jet and rocket technology, as well as innovations such as the swept wing and Mach + wind tunnels. Of course those captured and working for the Soviets achieved similar advances as well.

For all of the efforts of Watson and his crew, the few remaining examples of German advanced aircraft are now scattered among various museums. Watson went on to build the USAF’s Air Technical Intelligence unit at Wright Patterson AFB, and many of his cohort went on to similar achievements.

The book is well written and detailed, and is a solid 450 pages. It is well illustrated with a number of these remarkable aircraft, well placed to support the narrative. I recommend it for anyone who wants to understand how the US advanced from the aircraft that won World War II to the Jet Age.
6 people found this helpful
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john
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2022
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Good service and better than expected book.
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CHRISTOPHER DAY
3.0 out of 5 stars Logistical reading
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2012
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The race to exploit WW2 German Aero developments is clearly out lined in this title.
The state of play within the American aero industry at the end of WW2, the benefits gained
by said industries is also clearly outlined as is the backward thinking of several in the
upper echelons of the US goverment reguarding the importation of the scientests involved.
The dedication of the people involved with "Paperclip' & "Lusty" to fulfill their commanded
roles is admirable.
However the book is let down by the extsensive exploration of the logistics of caring
& housing the scientests once in the US.
2 & 1/2 chapters are devoted to orginising housing , bed linen ,laundry service , cleaning etc.
Also the final resting place of the phyisical equipment bought back - 'filling a sizeable hanger'
is never shared but alluded to as this particular plane is here , this bit is here.
What happened to all of this equipment ?
Enough that filled an aircraft carrier that transported it?

An intresting read never-the-less but ultimatly unsatisfying as you want to here about the detail
of the derring-do of the aquisitions, not the logistics of the linen.

Chris D
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M Duck
5.0 out of 5 stars A well written book about an important intelligence operation at the end of WWII.
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2020
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A neat book. Describes the American use of German jets at the end of WWII.
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Paul Hodge
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020
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Very interesting book.
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G. Hetzel
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting for the WWII aviation buff
Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2007
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This book tells a story that few have heard of. I knew a bit of it only because I know one of the people involved.

The author does a very good job of telling the stories of the individuals who "exploited" not only the technology but the intellectual capital of Germany at the end of WWII. The personalization and level of detail are wonderful without ever becoming dull or superficial.

The book includes lots of rare pictures of the aircraft and principal characters. Overall, very well written.
5 people found this helpful
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John Doering
5.0 out of 5 stars Aviation buff must read
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2014
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This is entirely documentary but includes much human interest to make it very readable. Lots of flying anecdotes involving test pilot quality skills. Intrigue added by discussions international and inter-military competition. Overall a great read.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Yvan Arlettaz
4.0 out of 5 stars Buron de guerre. Merci l'Europe
Reviewed in France on October 9, 2014
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Très bien informations détaillées et pertinentes. Facile a lire. Découvertes étonnantes pour le lecteur . Nous savons ce que veut dire butin de guerre. L'Amérique sans le savoir faire des européens ne serait pas l'Amérique d'aujourd'hui .
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Amazon-klant
5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 5, 2013
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In the past I did read different stories of the spoils of war, but this is the first time it is in one book.
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Canadian Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars not very exciting.
Reviewed in Canada on August 12, 2021
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Very thorough coverage of what happened and well researched. Not a great read.
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Martin Willetts
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on a little known subject
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2013
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A most informative book on a little known aspect of World War 2 history. It describes the subject in an easily readable and interesting style. The author puts over well the events at the end of WW2 and the search for and recovery of Nazi technology. Good value for money at nearly 500 pages, a heavy book for bedtime reading. Photos are let down by poor reproduction on very matt paper.

At the end, the Americans were in the war purely for what they could gain from it. Typically America has failed badly to acknowledge the brilliance of German scientists and engineers who made the American Aviation & Space Industry what it is today!
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Jen
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 13, 2018
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Delivered OK
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