JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe

481 Pages·2013·5.54 MB·English

by  Caldwell

JG26
to the fighter pilots
JG26
Top Guns of the
Luftwaffe
Donald Caldwell
Foreword by Adolf Galland
JG26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe
This edition published in Great Britain in 2013 by Frontline Books
an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd,
47 Church Street, Barnsley, S. Yorkshire, S70 2AS
www.frontline-books.com
Copyright © Donald L. Caldwell, 1991
The right of Donald Caldwell to be identified as the author of this work has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
ISBN: 978-1-84832-746-7
Publishing History
First published in 1991 by Orion Books, New York.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any
means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does
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prosecution and civil claims for damages.
CIP data records for this title are available from the British Library
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CONTENTS
FOREWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. ORIGINS (1935–1939)
The Resurgent Luftwaffe
The Condor Legion
Days of Peace
Albert Leo Schlageter
War Looms
2. SITZKRIEG AND BLITZKRIEG (1 September 1939–26 June
1940)
War Begins
Formation of the Third Gruppe
The Geschwader’s First Victory
10(Nacht)/JG 26 and the Battle of the Helgoland Bight
The Winter Doldrums
The Blitzkrieg Strikes West
Breakthrough on the Meuse
The Dunkirk Evacuation
Operation Paula—The Air Attack on Paris
The End of the Campaign
3. JG 26 IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN (24 July 1940–9 February
1941)
Return to Germany
The First Phase—Channel Attacks and Free Hunts
The Second Phase—Adlerangriff
13 August—Adlertag
15 August—The Luftwaffe’s Black Thursday
18 August—The “Hardest Day”
Galland Takes Command
Decimation of the Defiants
The Third Gruppe in Action
The Third Phase—Attacks on London
15 September—The Battle’s Climax
The Fourth Phase—Fighters as Bombers
Conclusions
4. THE 7TH STAFFEL IN THE MEDITERRANEAN THEATER
(February–August 1941)
A New Theater of War
The Scourge of Malta
Flank Duty for the Balkan Campaign
Back to Sicily
Malta Reprieved
Return to the Kanalfront
5. DEFENSE IN THE WEST (1941)
New Equipment
Cover for the Navy
Back to the Channel
The Nonstop Offensive
Arrival of the FW 190
A Successful Summer
Galland to Berlin
6. ABBEVILLE KIDS AND ST. OMER BOYS (1942)
One Day on the Kanalfront
Winter on the Channel Coast
The Channel Dash
Formation of the Jabostaffeln
Renewal of the British Offensive
Focke-Wulf Summer
The Dieppe Raid
A New Enemy
A Time of Trials
7. SCHLAGETER FIGHTERS ON THE EASTERN FRONT
(January–July 1943)
The First Gruppe Leaves the Kanalfront
The Situation in the North Is Stabilized
The Seventh Staffel on the Leningrad Front
Springtime Lull
The Return
8. HOLDING IN THE WEST (January–June 1943)
The Jabo Effort Peaks
Change of Command
Battles with the RAF
A Slow Buildup
Arrival of the Thunderbolts
9. TEMPORARY ASCENDANCY (July–December 1943)
The Battles Escalate
The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Raid
Steady Pressure
Defensive Reorganization
The Muenster Raid
The Second Schweinfurt Raid
The Dueren Raid
Harder Battles
10. THE ALLIES COMMAND THE SKIES (January–May 1944)
The War of Attrition
Big Week
The Berlin Raids
Jaegerschreck—Fear of Fighters
The First Attacks on the Oil Industry
11. THE INVASION FRONT (6 June–3 September 1944)
D-Day
The Defensive Plan and Its Execution
Hopeless Inferiority
Successes and Failures
A Black Day for the Lightnings
Retreat to the Reich
12. SUPPORT FOR THE ARMY (September–December 1944)
Disorganization and Recovery
Operation Market Garden
A Dreary Autumn
The Battle of the Ardennes
III/JG 54 Returns to Combat
13. UNTERNEHMEN BODENPLATTE—The Attack on Allied
Airfields (1 January 1945)
JG 26 Gets the Word
I/JG 26 and III/JG 54 Attack Grimbergen
II/JG 26 Attacks Brussels-Evere
III/JG 26 Attacks Brussels-Evere
The Balance
14. THE FINAL BATTLES (January–May 1945)
Attrition Continues
The Spirit of the Geschwader
Breakup and Consolidation
The Defenses Break
Himmelfahrtskommandos—Missions to Heaven
The Lines Close In
SOURCES
TABLE OF EQUIVALENT RANKS—GERMAN AIR FORCE, U.S. ARMY AIR
FORCE, AND ROYAL AIR FORCE
GLOSSARIES:
1. Abbreviations (non-German)
2. Aviation Terms