Mike
The Osprey Advent Calendar - December 25
December 25, 2008 12:00 AM
Our long countdown of the top 25 Osprey books of all time is now at an end - I hope you have found my random facts interesting and entertaining over the last three weeks!
The number 1, bestselling Osprey title of all time is (drum roll please)...
Aircraft of the Aces 29 Bf 109F/G/K Aces of the Western Front
By John Weal
The follow-on volume to Aircraft of the Aces 11: Bf 109D/E Aces 1939-41, this book charts the story of the myriad aces who flew the later marks of Messerschmitt fighter through to VE-Day. As good as the Emil had been during the opening 18 months of the war, the aircraft was being progressively bettered in virtually all aspects of aerial combat by the Spitfire come 1941, so Messerschmitt updated and improved the breed, firstly with the introduction of the Friedrich and then the multi-variant Gustav. Pilots of the calibre of Galland, Molders, Oesau and Weissenberger all enjoyed great success with the later variants of the Bf 109, firstly during Channel and anti-Circus and Ramrod operations in 1941-42, and then on Defence of the Reich duties through to the spring of 1945.
Interesting Fact
I know it is a bit of a cliche, but this is really a book of two halves. The first half of the book shows the havoc wreaked by the Bf109 Aces on allied bombers and fighters, with the German pilots racking up massive kills. The second half of the book reflects the change in the fortunes of the German war effort and the heavy losses suffered on the German side.
However, there is a light-hearted moment in this gloom, the story of which can be found on page 75.
"The Jagdwaffe suffered a more unusual loss in the early hours of 21 July. Leutnant Horst Prenzel Staffelkapitan of 1./JG 301, had taken off from Epinoy on a 'Wilde Sau' sortie over the invasion area. After an uneventful patrol he put down at 0240 hrs on an airfield in Belgium - or so he thought. In fact he had landed at RAF Manston in Kent (a second 'Wilde Sau" Gustav also crash landed in error at the airfield that same night.)... Following its surprise aquistition, the RAF flew the aircraft firstly to RAE Farnborough, where it was tested by Sqn Ldr R J Falk, before being passed to the Air Fighting Development Unit (AFDU) at RAF Wittering on 31 August 1944. Here it flew comparative performance trials with the Mustang III and Spitfire IX and XIV. It was also scheduled to fly against the Tempest V, but was written off in a take-off accident at Wittering on 23 November 1944.
COMMENTS
Bravo! Good work, John Weal! I own all his titles about the German aces of World War 2. Despite being outnumbered and outclassed as the war progressed, their fliers, specially the veterans, continued to give a good account of themselves in the fight against the Allies.
This title truly deserves to be the best selling Osprey title of all time.
Sim
Malaysia
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