New Luftwaffe books - 296 Verlag, Erik Mombeek's Luftwaffe Gallery, Luftwaffe in Colour

Compiled by two leading writer/researchers at Lela Presse (the leading French publisher of Luftwaffe publications)  'Luftwaffe in Colour - the Victory years' is part one of a two-part photographic compilation of the best of Luftwaffe colour photography published by Casemate in this English-language edition. This is a card-covered softback featuring some 160 pages on thick glossy paper and divided into nine chapters covering all theatres such as 'Poland and the Sitzkrieg', the 'Blitz and the Battle of Britain", 'Barbarossa', the 'Mediterranean and Africa'. The PK photo reporters on the ground for the launch of Blitzkrieg and the subsequent campaigns had privileged access to colour film for official wartime German outlets but there are a good number of images here from private collections- at least one JG 53 pilot regularly 'raided' local shops in search of colour film. Luftwaffe camouflage schemes have long been a subject of deep debate among modellers and enthusiasts. Here the reader can trace the evolution of Luftwaffe finishes directly from the 1939 dark greens of the Stukas and Heinkels - suitable for low-level attacks over Eastern European conifer forests and fields - to the high altitude blues and light greys introduced for fighter combat in the West and the Battle of Britain during 1940. Bf 109 Friedrichs and Bf 110 Zerstörer appear in winter camouflage schemes in Russia and the Sandgelb yellow and browns of the desert. Aircraft types covered include seaplanes and transports to night fighters, trainers and reconnaissance machines. Among my personal favourites are photos of the Bf 109 Emils of JG 26 and JG 53 in northern France - want to know exactly what the Grau Grün Hellblau 02 /71/65 combination looked like? Then check out pages 57-60. And then follow the attempts of the Jagdgeschwader 54 and 77 to darken these 'bright' colours and tone down the fuselages of their machines for, say, the Balkans campaign - the photos on pages 83-87 are exceptional. It is probably true to state that any photo book stands or falls on the quality of photo reproduction and fortunately here not only is the standard very high but the quality of 90% of the images is very good indeed while each picture is informatively and expertly captioned. This is a book to keep close to hand for reference, to dip into constantly. I look forward to volume II, the 'Years of Defeat 1943-1945'.

The latest Luftwaffe Gallery, edition No. 5, has arrived.  Once again I have worked on the English text

Erik's latest Luftwaffe Gallery includes the first accounts in English from pilots and crews of a little-known weather reconnaissance unit Wekusta 2. Wekusta 2 deployed the He 177 in the long-range weather recce role. The full story of Wekusta 2 is told by Pierre Babin in his French-language book from Heimdal devoted to the unit reviewed in a previous 'new Luftwaffe books' blog piece, see link below..
Page samples of the latest 'Luftwaffe Gallery' and ordering on Erik's site here

More on Wekusta 2 on this blog
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/wekusta-2-cloud-chasers-of-luftwaffe.html

message from Kurt Braatz of 296 Verlag; ".. I managed to publish Vol. I of a new biography of Robert von Greim. It covers v. Greim's career as a fighter pilot in WW I - he returned some 30 victories and was awarded the Pour le Mérite - and the immediate postwar period with Ernst Udet as stunt flyers until v. Greim's first strange encounter with a yet completely unknown wannabe revolutionist named Adolf Hitler in March, 1920. 288 pages, 179 mostly unpublished photographs..order here"

" ...Sie haben lange auf eine Neuerscheinung des NeunundzwanzigSechs Verlags warten müssen, aber hier ist sie nun, rechtzeitig vor Weihnachten. Sie beschreibt das Leben und Überleben des Jagdfliegers Robert von Greim im Ersten Weltkrieg. Am Ende dieses Krieges stehen für Greim nach hunderten von Luftkämpfen und 30 Abschüssen die Verleihung des Ordens Pour le Mérite und die Erhebung in den Adelsstand – aber auch ein ungewisses Schicksal. Eine Weile schlägt er sich noch mit seinem engen Freund Ernst Udet als Stuntpilot durch, ehe das Fliegen in Deutschland völlig verboten wird... Robert v. Greim hat seinen Weg durch den Ersten Weltkrieg und die Zeit danach genau dokumentiert und fotografiert. So ist ein äußerst packendes Buch entstanden, das die Reihe unserer Biographien auf jenem hohen Niveau fortführt, mit dem wir uns über viele Jahre Ihre Anerkennung erwerben konnten. Sie können Robert von Greim. Jagdflieger im Ersten Weltkrieg ab sofort unter www.neunundzwanzigsechs.de bestellen. Dort finden Sie auch weitere ausführliche Informationen und Leseproben..."

 a quick mention for the latest issue of After The Battle - issue no 174 covers the battle of the Vercors - on July 21 the Germans launched the largest operation ever conducted against the Resistance in Western Europe, attacking with airborne and mountain troops to destroy these French insurgent groups in the Vercors. Also in issue no. 174 an article entitled The Dissolution of the Luftwaffe — Following the final defeat of Germany the Allied governments decided that she must not be allowed to rise again as a military power, the thinking being that despite the efforts of the victors after the First World War, Germany had been able to recover so completely that in a relatively short period she was able to unleash another world war within 25 years. This article is the story of the complete disarming of the Luftwaffe.

A quick link to all Luftwaffe book reviews on this blog, click here

Battle of Britain Emil Jabo, Bf 110 LG 2, CR 714 GC 1/145 - daily Ebay photo find #191

Feldflugplatz Russland bei Orscha Ju 88 Kennung gelbes Rumpfband. On offer here

Above, somewhere on the Channel coast and, below, in the Ardennes

Below; when CG 1/145 evacuated the airfield at Dreux they left behind some fifteen Caudron Cr 714 fighters. Compare with the image in the excellent book "Les aviateurs polonais en France" (B. Belcarz, Artipresse). 'White 13' was a 2e escadrille machine flown by the future 56th FG ace Boleslaw Gladych..

crainsmilitaria ebay sales are here

"The Caudron fighters - the Cr. 714 and variants" authored by Matthieu Comas and Michel Ledet currently discounted at the Lela Presse website

'Teufelskopf' devil's head emblem of LG 2 Bf 110 C here

More on Lehrgeschwader 2 on this blog
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/lehrgeschwader-2-bf-110s-of-7f-lg-2.html

Hptm Peter Jenne, ZG 26, JG 300

via Peter Kassak;

Ahout Jenne this is what I was able to dig out of his personal Karte at Aachen some years ago:
* Born: 5. June 1920 Wittenberg/Sachsen
Promotions:
1.4.1940 - Fhj-Gefr.
1.6.1940 - Fhj.Uffz.
1.9.1940 - Fhr. at FFS (C) 3
1.2.1941 - Ofhr. 1.4.1941 - Lt. 1.4.1943 - Oblt. 1.4.1944 - Hptm at I./ ZG 26
Units: 5.1.1940 - 2. Komp A/Fl. Ausb Rgt 42
16.7.1940 - Sch./Fl. Ausb Rgt 21
17.7.1940 - -"- 12.12.1940 - FFS C 3 Atl Lönnewitz
25.10.1941 - Nachtjagdschule 1 Neubiberg

20.1.1943 crash with Bf 110 G-0/Tr. W.Nr.5147 (S9+GB) at 11.32 at airfield Schachty-Nord, 70%
Stab I./ ZG 1, pilot Lt. Peter Jenne, Bordfunker Fw. Alfonz Jehle (KIA) during landing maneuver, Pilot overflew landing cross over 150 m, was long on landing strip and finished at the end in 50 cm deep fresh snow.

Summer 1942 - 1./ZG 1, pilot 9.10.43 - 1./ZG 1, StaKa (previous, Oblt. R.Ossmann was killed by B-17 gunners) 13.10.43 - 1./ZG 26, StaKa 4.44 (?) - I./ZG 26, Gr.Kdr. (acting?) 7.44 - 1./JG 6, StaKa 12.09.44 - 12./JG 300, StaKa 1.01.45 - III./JG 300, Gr.Kdr. (previous, Major Hans-Karl Kamp killed in Luftkampf on 31.12.44)
About crash on 20.01.43 - from John Vasco's list it was Bf 110 G-2, 50% damage, and he is listed as 1./ZG 1 pilot.
19.09.42, Ltn. Peter Jenne, 1./ZG 1, LaGG-3,  5 km. südostw. Kotluban: 1.500 m., 06.13 (confirmed together with Oblt.R.Ossmann's victory - both LaGG-3's, 291 iap)
13.12.42, Ltn. Peter Jenne, Stab I./ZG 1, MiG-3,  29 484 at 1.000 m., 12.30
08.07.43, Oblt. Peter Jenne, 3./ZG 1, Il-4,  63 574: at 1.000 m. 09.30 (actually Il-2 two seater)
20.12.43, Oblt. Peter Jenne, 1./ZG 26, B-17,  Rolde b. Assen: no height 13.25
22.12.43, Oblt. Peter Jenne, 1./ZG 26, B-24,  vor Texel i. Holland: 8.000 m., 14.55
22.12.43, Oblt. Peter Jenne, 1./ZG 26, B-24,  vor Texel i. Holland: 8.000 m., 15.00
10.02.44, Oblt. Peter Jenne, 1./ZG 26, B-17,  6 km. S. Nienburg: 6.000 m., 12.25

August 1944 III./ JG 300

17.12.44, Hptm. Peter Jenne, Stab III./JG 300, B-24,  RP: 6.000 m. [Sternburg], 12.15
17.12.44, Hptm. Peter Jenne, Stab III./JG 300, B-24,  RP: 6.000 m. [Sternburg], 12.15-20


In an encounter with enemy fighters on 2 March 1945 over Schmerwitz, Jenne was shot down in Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10 (W.Nr. 151 533) “Blue 1”.

Hptm. Jenne left I./ZG 26 on the first of June 1944. He was never StaKa of 1./JG 6. Jenne became Kdr of I./ZG 26 on ~23.02.1944 when he was still an Oblt. Hptm. August Bier was Kdr of I./ZG 26 from 10.43 till 2.1944.

Decorations:
26.6.1942 - EK II 4.8.1942 - EK I 20.11.1942 - Ehrenpokal 1.4.1943 - DK in Gold
13.9.1942 - Frontflugspange in Gold
2.2.1945 -RK
His final score was 17 aircraft shot down in air combat and 12 tanks, 12 vehicles destroyed on the ground.

Bv 222, Bf 110, Ar 196 - daily Ebay photo finds #190

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/ea-antik/m.html?item=381845397135&hash=item58e7c25e8f%3Ag%3A6IoAAOSwx2dYJYGE&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Gerd Vivroux's Fw 190 A-6 'White 2' Sturmstaffel 1 ramming Abschuss

going to Telford this weekend for the IPMS Nats?   Do check out the Luftwaffe SIG stand and the super Sturmstaffel hangar diorama with text and illustrations via this blog..

Gerd Vivroux's Fw 190 A-6 'White 2' Sturmstaffel 1 in Dortmund, January 1944 - left is Willi Maximowitz, one of only two Sturmstaffel pilots definitely known to have intentionally rammed US bombers.

This pic is a good quality repro from the original Vivroux/Hilbebrandt/Smith album print - and of much better quality than the pirated/scanned copies seen elsewhere on-line, especially the Laird Acred site. An updated bio for Maximowitz for this page follows;

Willi Maximowitz was born on 29 January 1920 at Wuppertal-Barnen. In late 1943, when Major von Kornatzski was recruiting volunteers for Sturmstaffel 1, Maximowitz, an Unteroffizier with JG 1, was one of those who signed up. He had already achieved his first success when he shot down a USAAF B-24 four-engine bomber on 30 January 1944. On 23 March 1944, he collided with a B-17 of the 92nd BG raiding aircraft factories near Hamm. (the full attack is related in an unpublished manuscript by Barry Smith). His heavily damaged Focke-Wulf 190 A-6 (W.Nr. 551 099) "White 10" was hosed by the bombers's defensive fire and a wounded Maximowitz had to bale out near Wuppertal. Following recovery from his wounds he returned to Sturmstaffel 1 and added another B-17 to his tally, shot down over Helmstedt on 29 April 1944.  On 8 May 1944, Sturmstaffel 1 was integrated into IV./JG 3 as its 11. Staffel. In June  1944 Maximowitz flew sorties with IV./JG 3 from Dreux on the Invasionsfront in support of the German army in Normandy. Maximowitz shot down a B-17 near Leipzig for his 10th victory on 20 July. On 28 July 1944 IV./JG 3 scrambled against USAAF four-engine bombers. Maximowitz was shot down by the fighter escort and was slightly wounded. On 30 July, he was promoted to the rank of Feldwebel, but was wounded in a landing accident in Fw 190 A-8/R2 (W.Nr. 680 756). After recuperating from his injuries, he returned to his unit (re-designated 14./JG 3 on 10 August). He flew as Kaczmarek to Gruppenkommandeur, IV./JG3, Hauptmann Wilhelm Moritz (44 victories, 15 of them four-engine bombers, RK). In February 1945, IV./JG 3 moved to the Russian Front. On 11 March 1945 Maximowitz was credited with three Russian Boston twin-engine bombers and a fighter shot down. On 20 April 1945, Oberfeldwebel Maximowitz of 14./JG 3 failed to return from a combat mission. He was probably killed in aerial combat with Russian fighters around Frankfurt am Oder. He told Feldwebel Oskar Bosch (18 victories, including 8 four-engine bombers) during this mission that he had an MP 40 sub machine-gun in his cockpit and he was saving the last round for himself if he got shot down! Willi Maximowitz was credited with 27 victories. He recorded 12 victories over the Eastern front. All 15 victories recorded over the Western front were four-engine bombers. He had made at least one Rammabschuss, the victory claimed on 23 March 1944 - one of only two recorded during the brief existence of the Sturmstaffel. However the 92 BG B-17 that he tangled with did in fact manage to return to England despite missing a section of horizontal stabiliser. Maximowitz was posthumously awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold on 1 January 1945. He was one of the last of the thirty one (out of the 38) pilots who flew for Sturmstaffel 1 to be killed in action.

Also on this blog;

Pauke! Pauke! IV./ JG 3 and Sturmstaffel 1 in action against the US 8th Air Force, 11 April 1944
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/pauke-pauke-iv-jg-3-and-sturmstaffel-1.html


"Hitler's Kamikazes" - from Sturmstaffel 1 to Schulungslehrgang Elbe
http://falkeeins.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/hitlers-kamikazes-from-sturmstaffel-1.html



Oskar  Bösch on the Sturmstaffel's 'ramming' mission;

"Ich verpflicte mich als Sturmjäger an den Feind zu gehen ohne Rücksicht auf das eigene Leben..die Pflict zu erfüllen, wenn die Bomber nicht abgeschossen wird, dann muß man durch Rammen den bomber zum Absturz bringen.. our duty if we couldn't shoot the bomber down through cannon fire was to bring it down by ramming, using our propellers like giant circular saws to hack through the tailplane. As to how to do this I didn't really give it much thought - I remember on one sortie suddenly there was a bomber in front of me, and I was out of ammunition and the opportunity was there to fly a ramming attack. I was about fifty metres behind the bomber and caught in the turbulent slipstream from the engines and it was all I could do to keep my aircraft under control. I was buffeted and bumped, and then literally tossed over the Boeing's wing, missing it by about half a metre with my own wing..."

Bf 110 SKG 210 Kennung S9 + NN in Rußland - RK holder Herbert Kutscha, Dackel Staffel JG 5 Bf 110

Bf 110 der 1. SKG 210 mit der Kennung S9 + NN aufgenommen in Rußland. Es ist die Maschine von KC holder Herbert Kutscha. Sehr schön sind das Staffelabzeichen und zahlreiche Details zu sehen!

Herbert Kutscha (1917-2003) served with II./JG 77 at the beginning of the war, but he was soon transferred to 5./ZG 1 equipped with Messerschmitt Bf 110s. During the Battle of France, he shot down a number of aircraft, including a Bf 109 of the air force of neutral Switzerland. Later, he also gained much success on the Eastern Front as a ground attack pilot, partially due to his II./ZG 1 evolving into II./SKG 210. Kutscha's II.Gruppe/SKG 210, under the command of Hptm. Rolf Kaldrack specialized in ground attack operations, specifically low level bombing. Kutscha was awarded the RK after his 22nd victory. At that time his ground tally was 41 aircraft destroyed on the ground, 41 tanks, 15 locomotives, 11 anti-aircraft guns, and 157 transport vehicles. In June 1943 he was appointed to command 15. Staffel IV./JG 3 "Udet". In the summer of 1944, he took control of II./JG 3 in Normandy, and of II./JG 27 by the end of the year. From February, 1945, he commanded III./JG 1 on the Eastern Front. All in all, he flew over 900 sorties, gained 47 kills, six of which were four engined heavies, and 22 of his kills were with the Bf 110.

Bf 110 E der 1. SKG 210 mit der Kennung S9 + AH,aufgenommen am 9.7.1941 in der Nähe Pomisewje, Rußland. Es ist die Maschine von KC holder Oblt. Wolfgang Schenck.

Bf 110 of the " Dackel " Staffel in winter finish probably photographed in Kirkenes ( northern Norway ) in 1943

Le Junkers Ju 52, de la Lufthansa à la Luftwaffe - Alméras, Grégory LeLa Presse - new Luftwaffe books review

Grégory Almeras is a 39-year old WW II aviation enthusiast based near Montpellier in the south of France. He has spent the past ten years assembling a collection of photos of the Junkers Ju 52 and writing detailed captions retracing the story of this iconic aircraft. This new book is the result of all those hours spent poring over his photo albums. At 176 A-4 pages in hardback and featuring over 350 photos, the book is essentially a photo compilation organised into 23 chapters with one, two or three photos per page and captions of a corresponding length (some at least one half page) - in French. The images are mostly excellent, previously unpublished and cover the type's early career as a civilian airliner and transport, with one chapter given over to the French AAC 1 Toucan. The bulk of the work features the type in service with the Luftwaffe prior to and during WWII with much detail of the many resupply operations mounted by the Germans on the Eastern Front. The campaign in the West and other theatres such as Crete, Scandinavia and North Africa also feature. Each chapter has a short introductory text. Some twenty large scale artworks by Thierry Dekker are distributed throughout, while one chapter covers the restoration of a French Ju 52 detailing internal and cockpit views. There is also a small modelling chapter. The author explains that none of the period photos are enhanced or cropped or otherwise manipulated to enable the full context to be appreciated. For the most part they were taken by the crews themselves in the heat of the action. So while a few are less than perfect, many are absolutely first-rate and, reproduced large, take us right into the daily lives of the men that flew or maintained the aircraft through some of the most dramatic moments of WWII and post-war history. A very nice addition to the literature in my view. Below 'sample' photos, captions and general page views courtesy of author Grég Almeras.

Above; Junkers Ju 52 KC+RV (WNr. 7198) seen somewhere seen in the Soukhinitchi sector in the East during January 1942. A crew member is checking the forward defensive MG turret. Prior to being assigned to a Front unit, this machine was serving with FFS C8 at Wiener-Neustadt, a multi-engine training school. During December 1941 Soviet pressure on the central sector had firmed and was increasing, leading to the establishment and dispatch to the front of new transport units, KGr zbv 700, 800, 900 and 999 assembled utilising school machines such as this one. Typically this aircraft is still displaying its factory codes, there being no time to replace them with unit tactical codes. These new Transporter units were quickly sent north to participate in the airlift into Demyansk. During moments of crisis such as Demyansk ad-hoc transport units were hastily assembled and sent to the front often for only a matter of a month or two which meant there was little or no time for codes or emblems - one such unit was KGrzbv 7 which existed for two months during February and March 1942. Note the wing de-icing system common to several Ju 52 variants - the lower engine exhausts feeding directly into the wing leading edge. The thin yellow horizontal band on the cowling was an ID feature. Note also the steel plate cover over the nose engine to the fuselage designed to prevent the oil thrown from obscuring the windscreen and cockpit glazing.

Below; taken on  taken on 5 June 1942 this snapshot depicts a moment of respite for this crew based at Flugplatz Nikolajew, a rear area base in the Ukraine north-west of the Crimean peninsula. Things weren't always this quiet. Barely three months previously this field was the scene of a very successful partisan action. During March 1942 a Russian worker managed to place dynamite among a large stock of bombs and blew several hangars and some twenty aircraft of JG 77 and StG 77 sky high. Captured by 16. Panzer division on 13 August 1941, Nikolajew had quickly become an important Luftwaffe platform as the front moved further eastwards. Additional hangars and concrete runways were constructed. Note the open cockpit access door on this Ju 52 g7e, the variant confirmed by the absence of a generator on the starboard fuselage side. Note also the small mirror on the inner cowl face of the port engine which helped the pilot to synchronise the propellers by enabling him to set up a 'strobe' effect with the nose engine prop by adjusting the engine revolutions accordingly.  The most experienced pilots simply relied on their feel for the aircraft to perform this type of adjustment.

Ten-page PDF extract on the publisher's web site here