Here is another interesting book on a little-written part of the air war. In this case, it is the German 'Tip and Run' fighter bomber campaign against England during 1942 and 1943. We in the US would call these 'hit and run' missions as basically it was bomb carrying fighters that would sweep in low, under the ability of radar to detect them, drop their bombs, and escape at high speed, also at low altitude.

The idea was not new as German seaplanes did this during WWI from bases in Belgium, but it was an aspect of warfare that really was not considered early in the war. In fact, it was not until near the end of the Battle of Britain that the Germans even considered equipping their fighters with bombs. Not unexpectedly, this did not go over well with the Jagdwaffe, who considered the mission of dropping bombs to be beneath their abilities. Despite being ordered to equip staffels with these sorts of planes, many units did so only on paper and did little in the way of training their crews for the mission.

Fortunately, there was a unit that was developing bombing techniques for the constantly delayed Me-210 and using Bf-109s for this purpose. They were eventually to train pilots in this new technique. The pilots they got for this task were generally the misfits from the various units. Those who were 'troublemakers' or seemed to be unable to score victories in the air. Some of these pilots became very adept at fighter-bombing and were quite successful, able to train selected pilots as effectively as those at the Me-210 unit.

The two Geschwader that were tasked with this mission in Northern France were JG 2 and JG 26. Of the two units, JG 2 seems to have taken the task to heart. They developed the more successful tactics and seemed to have the lighter losses.

These raids started in early 1942 and were a thorn in the side of the RAF from the very beginning. The planes were nearly impossible to intercept and the vast majority of those German fighters that were shot down, were shot down by light anti-aircraft. It was not uncommon for an attack to have been completed and the planes on their way back to France before the alarm was sounded. They were also quite successful in terms of their effectiveness. The RAF delegated quite a number of squadrons to trying to catch these attackers, using their newest planes, the Typhoon, but generally to no avail. Even when later in the war they used the new Spitfire XII, German losses were very light.

Considering the sort of damage and havoc created by these planes, it is surprising that more were not used. It was a case of the Germans not fully realizing what sort of effect these raids had on the British. Even at the highest usage of these aircraft, there were rarely more than a couple of handfuls of planes involved. Just think what could have been done by using hundreds. But it is typical of what we read of wartime where the higher command doesn't take advantage. In the end, what the Germans started with unappreciated success was improved on by the Allies and in the last year of the war, nearly every Allied fighter was capable of being operated as a fighter bomber.

Once more, Chris Goss has provided a fascinating book on the subject. He has scoured both military and civilian archives to get both sides of the story on just about every mission flown. Those who went through the raids and are still alive have provided their recollections of the events, as these were operations that those on the receiving end never forgot. The book is also well illustrated with many period photos of the people and planes involved. An outstanding read that is superbly researched and one that I can easily recommend to you.

January 2014

Review book courtesy of Specialty Press , where you can order your copy of this and many other superb aviation and modeling books. Visit their website at the link above or call them at 1-800-895-4585

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