BOMBER UNITS of the Luftwaffe 1933–1945 A REFERENCE SOURCE VOLUME 1

During the interwar years, both in Britain and Germany, some believed that bombers could expand the battlefield to the home front of their opponents, damaging morale and disrupting the means of production.

The philosophy of Blitzkrieg relied heavily on the Luftwaffe’s bomber force. From Spain through to the invasion of the Soviet Union, the integration of the Kampfflieger into overall German military strategy proved highly successful – both at tactical and strategic levels. However, once Germany was forced into retreat, the operations of the Luftwaffe’s bomber forces changed markedly from offensive to defensive actions – albeit still determined and effective.

This is the first of two volumes providing much highly detailed information on the organization of the Luftwaffe’s bomber units during the Second World War. The books cover some thirty-five bomber Geschwader together with their component staff flights and Gruppen. They also deal with formations, designations and reorganizations through to the end of the war, with locations, bases and transfers, together with an exhaustive breakdown of theatres of operations, key battles and aircraft types that were flown by each unit. The volumes also include listings of commanders showing when and where they were in command. Each volume contains many photographs depicting bombers in unit markings with close-ups of the unit emblems, together with numerous colour renditions.

The second volume of this definitive work of reference looks in detail for the remainder of the fifty bomber Geschwader, together with their component staff flights and Gruppen and provides complete coverage of the Bomber Command units of the Luftwaffe.

Profusely illustrated with many photographs that have never been seen before, the book shows bomber aircraft in their unit markings with close-ups of the unit emblems and badges, many of which are in colour. In addition, the book contains rare photographs of many of the unit commanders.

An extraordinarily detailed and comprehensive tour de force, this book together with its companion volume, will become the standard reference for all aviation enthusiasts and historians.