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The Life and Death of the Luftwaffe
VG+ condition, Pages tight in creaseless spine.
270 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1949
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 3, 2018
Almost anyone who develops an interest in the Third Reich or the Luftwaffe will have heard about Werner Baumbach. He was a famous dive bomber pilot with an incredible list of exploits under his belt. Probably the most interesting thing about him is how he commanded KG200 a super secret Special Operations Battle Group during the last months of the War. Among other things, they flew captured allied aircraft B-17s, B-24s, Mustangs, Spitfires, among others. They also flew seaplanes and flying boats and a host of other special purpose aircraft. For a while they were tasked with developing kamikaze squadrons, but Baumbach was able to convince Hitler it was a very bad idea.
That KG200 is legendary is largely due to the fact that almost no documentary evidence exists about them. It is assumed that they spent the last weeks of the war flying top nazis out of Germany to friendly havens abroad. There is also some evidence to suggest they may have been running courier flights into Switzerland to confer with Allen Dulles of the OSS. Albert Speer, who was close friends with Werner Baumbach mentions him at the end of his memoir Inside the Third Reich as flying into Flensburg, where Admiral Doenitz had set up his government, in a gigantic BV-222 flying boat, (actually five or six of them) supposedly with the intention of flying out hundreds of moneyed Nazi bigwigs. But instead he holes up in a nearby castle, Schloss Glucksberg, and proceeds to get very drunk and happy. At one point he suggests to Speer that the two of them fly off together to Greenland in one of the flying boats, and then spend the rest of the spring and summer of 1945 hunting walrus and writing their memoirs together.
This is what made me write my novel Germania, if any of you are interested. You might want to read it because if any of this stuff that I just described turns you on, you aint gonna find it in the pages of this book!
Baumbach has things to say, but they're not necessarily what anyone wants to read. It's more about the history of the Luftwaffe and the mistakes that destroyed it. There are a tiny number of morsel in the book that for me, made it worthwhile. But they are tiny and few. He mentions flying to Tokyo once and taking a break in Moscow, while the aircraft got refueled. It's an interesting image of a moment before Germany went to war against the USSR. You just don't when this took place as he doesn't put it in any context.
Read the book if you want. I can't really say I recommend it. I'm also not going to give up my copy and will probably use if for reference for an upcoming book I'm going to do on Baumbach and Speer. Stay Tuned!
That KG200 is legendary is largely due to the fact that almost no documentary evidence exists about them. It is assumed that they spent the last weeks of the war flying top nazis out of Germany to friendly havens abroad. There is also some evidence to suggest they may have been running courier flights into Switzerland to confer with Allen Dulles of the OSS. Albert Speer, who was close friends with Werner Baumbach mentions him at the end of his memoir Inside the Third Reich as flying into Flensburg, where Admiral Doenitz had set up his government, in a gigantic BV-222 flying boat, (actually five or six of them) supposedly with the intention of flying out hundreds of moneyed Nazi bigwigs. But instead he holes up in a nearby castle, Schloss Glucksberg, and proceeds to get very drunk and happy. At one point he suggests to Speer that the two of them fly off together to Greenland in one of the flying boats, and then spend the rest of the spring and summer of 1945 hunting walrus and writing their memoirs together.
This is what made me write my novel Germania, if any of you are interested. You might want to read it because if any of this stuff that I just described turns you on, you aint gonna find it in the pages of this book!
Baumbach has things to say, but they're not necessarily what anyone wants to read. It's more about the history of the Luftwaffe and the mistakes that destroyed it. There are a tiny number of morsel in the book that for me, made it worthwhile. But they are tiny and few. He mentions flying to Tokyo once and taking a break in Moscow, while the aircraft got refueled. It's an interesting image of a moment before Germany went to war against the USSR. You just don't when this took place as he doesn't put it in any context.
Read the book if you want. I can't really say I recommend it. I'm also not going to give up my copy and will probably use if for reference for an upcoming book I'm going to do on Baumbach and Speer. Stay Tuned!
August 28, 2010
Werner Baumbach was the commander of the Luftwaffe
bomber forces. Ballantine books specialized in getting
books from other countries translated for an American
Edition.
I found this one a little dry, 8 pages of photos, but you
can't beat the perspective of the man that was there.
October 8, 2020
Insightful but lacking mission reports. Baumbach was a superior warrior and I enjoy action reports. The final chapters were water downed political drivel. I wish for details of his missionsl.l
An interesting book from 30,000 feet, but lacks personal missions that would bring a little more engagement. The last pages was political drivel that does not showcase Bauambach's skill or exploits. Perhaps it was edited that way.
An interesting book from 30,000 feet, but lacks personal missions that would bring a little more engagement. The last pages was political drivel that does not showcase Bauambach's skill or exploits. Perhaps it was edited that way.
October 23, 2017
I had a great time reading the book, though I think it might be a little too heavy if you are not into flying or WWII. I only read the Spanish version of the book, and the translation was not that good which diminished my experience.
June 21, 2020
Interesting historical anomaly.
April 16, 2017
Not a very 'intense' read, this book benefits mainly by being very accessible for novice airforce enthusiasts who don't know a tonne about the Luftwaffe bomber forces and just want to know the "big picture" (as opposed to getting bogged down with accounts of specific versions of aircraft). The editors could've really helped by pacing the various chapters, which are effectively isolated anecdotes, chronologically.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews