BOOK REVIEWS

Our usual reviews of some of the very latest German military history titles, including ‘Aces of the Battle of Britain’ by Chris Goss.

Chris Goss

Publisher: Air World Web: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk ISBN: 978-1-5267-5421-9 Hardback: 286 pages RRP: £25.00

This is a book which is truly overdue, and Chris Goss has certainly stepped up to the plate with this his latest ground-breaking work. And in a year which saw quite a plethora of titles themed around the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, this is surely the stand-out book of them all.

Because of the focus of the usual narrative on matters relating to the Battle of Britain, it is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of works hitherto published have often looked at things very much from an RAF perspective. And that is certainly the case in respect of books about the participating pilots. For all of that, though, it is perhaps surprising that nobody has previously tackled the subject of the Luftwaffe’s ‘aces’ during the summer and autumn of 1940. And it is also surprising to see just how many ‘aces’ (that is, pilots with five kills or more) the German air force had during that period.

Of course, the book covers all the ‘big names’ such as

Galland, Molders, Wick and Oesau as one would expect – but it is the wealth of detail on all the other lesser names which is quite astonishing. For instance, who would ever have known that one of the relatively big scorers was a certain Feldwebel Wilhelm Hermes of I./JG2? With 10 kills to his name, he would doubtless have risen to greater things had he not been killed in action on 30 September 1940. And then there was Oberfeldwebel Karl Hier of II./ JG54. With 14 victories at the end of the Battle of Britain, he was eventually killed on 15 November 1940.

In this exhaustive work, the author has set out biographical details for each pilot along with a table of their confirmed claims and, mostly, with accompanying photographs. The photo selection is wide and varied, and apart from the regular portrait imagery there is a fine selection of pictures showing aircraft along with score tallies on tails and rudders etc. Also included is a valuable chapter on the day and night ‘aces’ who flew the Messerschmitt 110 across the same period.

With Chris Goss established as one of the leading historians of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, this was always going to be a quality book and this reviewer was certainly not disappointed. Reviewed by Andy Saunders

Illustrations ✔. References/notes ✔. Appendices ✘. Index ✔.