JG 26 – Photographic History of the Luftwaffe’s Top Guns

Jagdgeschwader 26 was considered the best Luftwaffe fighter wing for most of World War II. The Jagdgeschwader’s Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf FW 190s and aces such as Adolf Galland and Josef ‘Pips’ Priller were known and feared by their allied adversaries, who dubbed JG 26 ‘The Abbeville Boys.

It holds a special significance for American and British enthusiasts because JG 26 was stationed in Western Europe throughout the war, spearheading the German conquest of France and the Low Countries, playing an important role in the Battle of Britain, and defending the skies of the Reich and occupied Europe against the most powerful Allied Air Forces – the American Eighth Air Force and the British Royal Air Force. 

Packed with more than 350 photos and more than 30 colour illustrations, JG 26: Photographic History of the Luftwaffe’s Top Guns is a spectacular photographic journal of the unit’s planes, pilots and operations from 1937 to the last days of the war. 

Most of the photographs are from private collections and are published here for the first time. The rest are superb photos from official sources such as the Bundesarchiv. All are presented with informative, painstakingly researched captions that give unprecedented detail about the planes, the pilots, and the markings of the Luftwaffe’s most famous fighter wing. 

Donald L. Caldwell is an avid Luftwaffe historian who has been collecting photographs and information on the Luftwaffe since his youth. His first book, JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe was a best-selling narrative history of JG 26. He is a retired research chemist who devotes his time to aviation history.