Phoenix Triumphant: The Rise and Rise of the Luftwaffe

by E.R. Hooton

Describes how the Luftwaffe emerged as the world's most powerful air force only 16 years after the Allies banned any form of German air force. Covers earliest designs, secret Russian training deals, and the role of air power in "blitzkrieg" and its adoption by the Nazis.

368 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

E.R. (Ted) Hooton is a retired defence journalist who worked for Moench and Jane’s before establishing his own successful newsletter. A member of the Royal United Services Institute and the British Commission for Military History since retirement he has focused upon military history.

Reviews

[Russ Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

alternate title of "How to Hide an Air force in Plain Sight for 17 years". This chronicles the (largely successful)attempts made after the First World War to subvert the efforts of the victorious powers to remove the ability of the German military to wage war from the air. There is a lot of detail about events that have previously been shrouded in myth, such as the semi private air forces raised in the 1920s to combat Communists at home & potential threats in the East, as well as the personality clashes that effected the future direction the nascent air force took. What is also interesting is how the major flaws in the air power establishments of other European nations, mainly Britain & France, meant that the fundamental flaws in the Luftwaffe (that would later contribute to it's destruction) were ignored in the celebration of victory over France in 1940. The Luftwaffe wasn't the best run air force in Europe; it was just the least bad. The sequel to this book shows how this led to defeat in the Battle of Britain