Storming the Bombers A Chronicle of JG 4 Volume 1 & 2 Hardback Erik Mombeeck

Description: Storming the Bombers - A Chronicle of JG 4 The Luftwaffe's 4th Fighter Wing - Volume 1: 1942-1944 The fourth fighter wing of the Luftwaffe was initially established during 1942 and committed to operations in defence of the Rumanian oil fields during 1943. I./JG 4 first saw action in combat against a strike force of B-24 Liberators dispatched on the celebrated low level attack against Ploesti on 1 August 1943, Operation "Tidal Wave". JG 4 was subsequently deployed in the bitterly fought German defensive campaign on the Italian peninsula during the first half of 1944, prior to being shifted to the Normandy invasion front and then falling back to the frontiers of the Reich in September that year. It was during the summer of 1944 that JG 4 underwent considerable reinforcement with two new Gruppen swelling its ranks. The most effective of these was II. (Sturm)/JG 4, a so-called "Storm" or "assault" wing, built up around a hard core of former Sturmstaffel 1 pilots and an intake of young daredevil volunteers. Committed against the massive USAF bomber fleets pounding the Reich, these German "kamikaze" fighters, as some saw them, were deployed to bring down the American bombers by any means, including ramming if necessary. The first volume of this two part history covers the unit's establishment, deployments and combat actions through to Autumn 1944, providing for the first time in English a day-by-day, mission-by-mission study of the Luftwaffe's 4th fighter wing. Review of Volume 1 Storming the Bombers: A Chronicle of JG 4, the Luftwaffe’s 4th Fighter Wing, vol. 1, 1942–1944 by Erik Mombeeck, translated by Neil Page. ASBL la Porte d’Hoves, 2009, 242 pp.At the start of World War II, the German Luftwaffe undoubtedly was the world’s preeminent air force. Its pilots and leaders effectively refined the skills and tactics they had used in the Spanish civil war, developing and applying them a few years later against the armed forces of Western and Central Europe.Erik Mombeeck, a Belgian author of several internationally acclaimed books on the history and operations of German fighter wings, took up the challenge to document the history of the Luftwaffe’s 4th Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) (JG 4). This first volume examines the wing’s activities from its formation in 1942 through its involvement in the US Army Air Forces’ week-long operation against German oil refineries in mid-September 1944, after which JG 4 faced reconstitution after losing a significant number of pilots and aircraft.By all accounts, JG 4 was a relatively young unit, its first Gruppe standing up in Romania in 1942 to defend the Ploesti oil complexes. By the end of the next year, the Gruppe had the dubious honor of having flown only one combat mission—probably the only Luftwaffe unit to have done so. To the Gruppe’s credit, the mission had an honorable outcome (pp. 5–6).Mombeeck also documents the creation of the Sturmstaffel, a concept that Maj Hans-Günter von Kornatzki championed to the German General of Fighters. The pilots of this elite group flew specially modified Fw 190s that attacked bomber formations from the rear en masse, using cannon fire at close range to tear into a bomber and, if all else failed, ramming the aircraft to bring it down. A viable concept, the Sturmstaffel soon found a place at squadron strength in some German fighter wings.I consider Storming the Bombers a very good account of JG 4 during this time. The personal reminiscences of the few surviving pilots, as well as extracts from letters and diaries of other pilots in the wing, bring faces and depth of feeling to this history. Moreover, the book is awash with black-and-white pictures of crews and aircraft that thoroughly illustrate the two-year segment.However, a few missteps intrude themselves upon the narrative. For example, despite Mombeeck’s effective introduction of the Sturmstaffel, he does not immediately clarify its place in JG 4’s history, waiting until the following chapter to do so. Furthermore, a few charts and diagrams explaining tactics would have been helpful. Finally, British spelling aside, some minor errors in translation occur but are not so serious that they impair the reader’s understanding.In sum, Storming the Bombers is an enlightening history of JG 4 during its first two years of existence. Luftwaffe aficionados will find it a valuable addition to their collections. Mombeeck’s extensive research and comparisons of both German and Allied mission records add validity to the many battles he recounts. I can’t wait to read the second volume. Storming The Bombers, a Chronicle of JG4 Volume 2 ,1944-1945 This second volume covers the story of the Geschwader from Operation Market Garden in Holland during September 1944 to the final desperate battles over Berlin and capitulation in May 1945. The combats flown by the pilots of JG 4 throughout this nine month period are related with the aid of rare oral testimony and illustrated with photographs from private albums, including a selection of new images for this English-language edition. Covered in detail are the 'Storm' missions flown by the Sturmgruppe (including ramming attacks against USAAF bombers), ground-attack bombing sorties during the Ardennes offensive of December 1944, the fullest account yet of the unit's participation in the 1945 New Year's Day Operation Bodenplatte, the last desperate sorties flown on the Oder front against the Red Army with, for the first time, accounts in English of German kamikaze attacks flown against the Oder bridges and the final air battles over the ruins of Berlin. Neil Page has produced the translation and his knowledge of both the French and German languages as well as WWII aviation history has enabled us to present this superb English language edition. The work is illustrated with several hundred photographs and is completed with loss and victory listings, a table of commanding officers and Thierry Dekker's superb full-colour profile artworks. This is an unmissable 232-page A-4 format hardback, with much new information on WWII air combat over Europe, the pilots and their machines.

Price: 225 USD

Location: Lincoln, Nebraska

End Time: 2024-11-21T09:23:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.63 USD