The Rise of the Luftwaffe, 1918-1940

by Herbert Molloy Mason Jr.

In the winter of 1918, Germany’s conquerors set about rendering the Reich forever incapable of waging war. The existing German Air Service of nearly 15,000 planes was to be scrapped; the treaty of Versailles would ensure that no military aircraft would ever be flown in Germany again. But less than a generation later Europe shook before the threat of the Luftwaffe, believed to be the most powerful air force in the world. Denied warplane factories and flying schools in their homeland, the Germans built them in Russia and it was there that they trained an elite pilot corps. At home, state-sponsored gliding schemes gave a new generation of pilots their first taste of the air, and clandestine factories, ostensibly making perambulators or washing machines, turned out warplanes. As confidence grew and the actual restrictions on German aviation eased, so a new dimension was added to the bluff; Germany’s re-occupation of the Rhineland was carried out under the cover of planes lacking guns and ammunition. Now, instead of concealing the existence of their air power from the rest of Europe, the Germans were concealing its limitations. Herbert Molloy Mason explores some of the myths of German technical and organisational superiority. Meddling by Hitler, bickering between designers and bureaucrats, and ineptitude by the morphine-addicted Goering cost the Luftwaffe a war-winning strategic bomber force and jet fighters even before World War II began. Praise for Herbert Molloy ‘Worth taking seriously’ - Earl F. Ziemke Herbert Molloy Mason (1927-2013) was a noted writer of military history, and wrote sixteen books, including The Lafayette Escadrille and To Kill Hitler. He lived in San Antonio, Texas with his wife who was an artist.

Genres: History, Aviation, World War II, Military History, War, Military Fiction, Nonfiction

388 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Herbert M. Mason, Jr was a WWII veteran of the United States Marine Corp, journalist and military historian. During his lifetime he wrote fourteen books on topics as varied as the rise of the German Luftwaffe to Ants.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published at Book of Bogan.

The Rise of the Luftwaffe concerns the fallout from the first world war, and follows the development of air power in Germany, and to a lesser degree the allied powers. The book is concerned mostly with the technological and political developments which contributed to the Luftwaffe's initial supremacy throughout the late 1930s, and the first few years of the Second World War.

If you are looking for a book which is a comprehensive history of the air war, this is definitely not the book for you - this book concerns itself with the people behind the scenes, rather than the traditional 'heroes' of the story who are the aces.

From the title of the book, one shouldn't be surprised that it basically stops around the start of the Battle of Britain, although it summarises the Luftwaffe's failings in the latter two-thirds of the war. It does not however seek to mythologise either Blitzkrieg tactics, or the Luftwaffe in general, and is at times quite brutally honest.

I found that it was an interesting look at the people who were behind the scenes, and were responsible for the development of the Luftwaffe. It covered some material I had not read before, and was very well-written.

I received a review copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Fabian Blattsalat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Readable, if grossly outdated and lacking in substance. The book does not offer a good overview over the Luftwaffe's history and at certain points reads like nazi apologia.
Historical figures such as Udet and Goering are portrayed in an undeservingly positive light, while much implicit criticism is levelled against the Western Allies. The book, despite claiming to cover the Nazi Air Force's history up to the end of the Second World War, wholly ignores the eastern front (the german invasion of the USSR), essentially cutting off at 1940/41 and merely describing the final destruction of the Luftwaffe at the hands of allied forces.

[Alan Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated, particularly when it comes to describing the opening months of WW2 (9/39 to 6/40). Oddly biased against Churchill.

Kindle edition (scanned from the Dial Press printing) has bad character translation (He-111 becomes He-m, and so on). Kindle edition has no photos.

[Roland Hamblin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating insight into the birth and early years of the Luftwaffe.