Luftwaffe pilots of the Russian Front were the highest scoring aces of any aerial conflict in history. This book traces the careers of the pilots who flew the Fw 190 and the Bf 109 in the skies over Russia, and reveals how they achieved their remarkable successes. The Bf 109 was the most commonly used fighter on the Front, and saw action from Operation Barbarossa through to the Defence of the Reich in 1945. The Fw 190, meanwhile, proved itself to be arguably Germany's best piston-engined fighter, with many of its aces scoring over 100 kills.

Of all the fronts fought on by the Jagdflieger during World War 2, the Russian, or Eastern, was easily the most lucrative in terms of targets for the experten. Marry an abundance of targets with the Luftwaffe's best piston-engined fighter of the war – Focke-Wulf's Fw 190 'Butcher Bird' – and it quickly becomes apparent why so many Jagdflieger achieved kills that passed the 100 victories mark. Flying in variable weather on a battlefront that was constantly changing, the Fw 190 pilots fought virtually to extinction in both the pure fighter and the crucial Schlacht ground attack roles.

DIVDIVFor the first time, four German WWII pilots share their side of the story./divDIV/divDIVFew perspectives epitomize the sheer drama and sacrifice of combat more perfectly than those of the fighter pilots of World War II. As romanticized as any soldier in history, the WWII fighter pilot was viewed as larger than life: a dashing soul waging war amongst the clouds. In the sixty-five-plus years since the Allied victory, stories of these pilots’ heroics have never been in short supply. But what about their adversaries—the highly skilled German aviators who pushed the Allies to the very brink of defeat?/divDIV/divDIVOf all of the Luftwaffe’s fighter aces, the stories of Walter Krupinski, Adolf Galland, Eduard Neumann, and Wolfgang Falck shine particularly bright. In The German Aces Speak, for the first time in any book, these four prominent and influential Luftwaffe fighter pilots reminisce candidly about their service in World War II. Personally interviewed by author and military historian Colin Heaton, they bring the past to life as they tell their stories about the war, their battles, their lives, and, perhaps most importantly, how they felt about serving under the Nazi leadership of Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler. From thrilling air battles to conflicts on the ground with their own commanders, the aces’ memories disclose a side of World War II that has gone largely unseen by the American public: the experience of the German pilot./div/div

This book details the pilots who were credited with scores of between 50 and 100 and includes detail of the harrowing conditions and thrilling aerial battles that the Luftwaffe pilots endured. The four-year long Eastern Front campaign fought between Germany and the Soviet Union produced not only the greatest number of aces, but also the highest individual and unit scores ever recorded in the history of aerial warfare. An ideal complement to its bestselling predecessor, this fully illustrated volume covers the Luftwaffe fighter pilots credited with scores of between 50 and 100; every single one of them amassing a greater number of victories than the highest and most celebrated of any British or American World War II ace. Despite these huge personal totals, the names of these pilots who fought against the Red Air Force remain almost unknown to many English speaking readers. More Bf 109 Aces of the Russian Front rectifies that omission, providing first-hand accounts from the combat veterans themselves, as well as never-before published photographs, vividly conveying the terrible experiences of the protagonists in this difficult theatre of war.

The highest scoring aces of any aerial conflict were the Luftwaffe pilots involved in the bloody combats on the Russian Front. The most common fighter used by these pilots was the Bf 109, which was involved in the action from Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, through to the doomed Defence of the Reich in 1945. Units like JGs 5, 52 and 54 all flew the Messerschmitt fighter, progressing from Emil to Gustav variants. This volume includes all the high-scoring aces, and explains just how difficult a job the Jagdwaffe faced on the Russian Front, and how its experts achieved such overwhelming scores.

The highest scoring aces of any aerial conflict were the Luftwaffe pilots involved in the bloody combats on the Russian Front. The most common fighter used by these pilots was the Bf 109, which was involved in the action from Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, through to the doomed Defence of the Reich in 1945. Units like JGs 5, 52 and 54 all flew the Messerschmitt fighter, progressing from Emil to Gustav variants. This volume includes all the high-scoring aces, and explains just how difficult a job the Jagdwaffe faced on the Russian Front, and how its experts achieved such overwhelming scores.

- Combat stories of eight German infantry soldiers: one paratrooper, two members of the Waffen-SS, and five members of the Wehrmacht - A concluding chapter examines infantry tactics This is an authentic account of German infantry aces, common foot soldiers who were thrust into a blazing maelstrom of bloody horror the world had never seen. On the frozen Russian steppes, under the scorching African desert sun, and in the final desperate battles, they were outnumbered and outgunned and faced impossible odds. Here are the fascinating stories of the men who stared death in the face during some of the most brutal battles ever waged.