1943 was not a great year for the German war machine. They were being pushed back on all fronts after several years of success. They were kicked out of North Africa and lost much of Italy. The Soviets were also pushing the Army back from whence they had come, though the push was not as great as it would be in later years. Over the homeland, greater and greater numbers of American bombers were attacking a variety of facilities during the day while the RAF continued to carpet bomb their cities at night.

The daylight bombing campaign resulted in a number of units being pulled out of other theaters to try to stem the tide of US bombing. Initially, the USAAF was unable to provide fighter escort for deep penetration raids and the losses were, at time, quite large. But eventually, by 1944, the Mustang was starting to make an appearance to overcome that deficit.

Still, the Luftwaffe had to attack the formations as they could and though a B-17 or B-24 was not an easy plane to shoot down, many aces were made in the very specialized task of destroying bombers. While not as many as hoped were shot down, many, many more were damaged, some beyond repair, so their efforts did have an effect. There just were not enough losses to make that much of a difference, especially when the USAAF would send nearly 1,000 bombers on missions.

Regardless of how hopeless the situation may have seemed, the Luftwaffe kept on trying up until the very end, developing some very effective weapons and countermeasures. It was just a case of not enough.

In this book by Robert Forsyth, we take a look at the growing development of equipment and tactics as well as the men who had to participate in these harrowing missions. There are the usual stories by pilots about what they had to do to bring down one of these heavies. In several cases, the pilots ended up ramming the bombers when all their ammunition had been expended. We get a look at pilots from specialized bomber destroyer units with their heavily armored FW-190. We also look at how effective some of the weapons that they used from the promising 21 cm mortars, to the very effective R4M missiles used in the last months of the war.

All of this is superbly illustrated with period photos of the men and aircraft as well as Osprey's usual collection of full color profiles. It makes this a most interesting read and a must have book for any Luftwaffe enthusiast.

November 2011

For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit www.ospreypublishing.com. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.