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Brothers in Arms
Both sides of the Battle of Britain are shown in a day-to-day, blow-by-blow account between 609 Squadron based in southern England and 1/JG53, a Luftwaffe staffel based in northern France. The tense action of aerial combat and the relief felt by individual pilots surviving these encounters, the elation of a successful 'kill' and the tragedy of seeing a friend shot down highlight the common fears felt by airmen on both sides of the fight.
- GenresWorld War II
201 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2004
3 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Chris Goss
60 books5 followersChristopher Goss was born in 1961 and has had an interest in military aviation since his school-days. He is married with three daughters and is a serving officer with the Royal Air Force (RAF).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 9, 2022
This book will be a great addition to any Battle of Britain collection. It follows the exploits of two fighter squadrons that were pitted against each other during the air battles during the summer/autumn of 1940 over British soil.
The RAF is represented by the auxiliary 609 Squadron and the Luftwaffe by 1/JG53 and it follows these young pilots into battle where they had a few direct skirmishes, but mostly flew and fought against a fast array of units. It looks at the similarities between how these men experienced the battles, both physically and mentally and shows how this was not very different. Their backgrounds are given and from before the Battle of Britain and then follows their day-to-day operations throughout the battle and then a very brief account of where the units went afterwards. A very unique book and one I greatly enjoyed.
The RAF is represented by the auxiliary 609 Squadron and the Luftwaffe by 1/JG53 and it follows these young pilots into battle where they had a few direct skirmishes, but mostly flew and fought against a fast array of units. It looks at the similarities between how these men experienced the battles, both physically and mentally and shows how this was not very different. Their backgrounds are given and from before the Battle of Britain and then follows their day-to-day operations throughout the battle and then a very brief account of where the units went afterwards. A very unique book and one I greatly enjoyed.
May 30, 2016
As the title suggests this is a historical account of the events experienced by a British and German Fighter unit involved in the Battle of Britain. The British unit is 609 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The German is 1 Staffel/Jagdgeschwader 53 (1/JG53) the Pik As or 'Ace of Spades' Geschwader.
The author gives the reader a background account of both squadrons leading up to the start of hostilities in World War Two and then covers the period from August to December 1940. In this book the author presents the narrative in a day-to-day, blow-by-blow style using the accounts of the participants to fill the story. The use of numerous private photographs, many not seen before, offers the reader a close-up and personal view of these fighter pilots and their aircraft during these tense months.
Personal accounts covering some of the aerial combats are given from both sides, offering a unique perspective of the fighting from the German and British point of view. The compilation of 'kills' and the official records also offer an interesting insight to aerial combat at this time.
Overall the book is well researched and presented, a few editing errors were noticed but these did not detract from the overall excellent standard of the book. The narrative flowed along smoothly and offered tense aerial combat accounts along with an overview of the battle.
"The author has brought to life not only the tense action of aerial combat but also the relief felt by the individual pilots surviving these encounters, the elation of a successful 'kill', the tragedy of seeing a friend shot-down and the resolve to go up and do it all over again."
The author gives the reader a background account of both squadrons leading up to the start of hostilities in World War Two and then covers the period from August to December 1940. In this book the author presents the narrative in a day-to-day, blow-by-blow style using the accounts of the participants to fill the story. The use of numerous private photographs, many not seen before, offers the reader a close-up and personal view of these fighter pilots and their aircraft during these tense months.
Personal accounts covering some of the aerial combats are given from both sides, offering a unique perspective of the fighting from the German and British point of view. The compilation of 'kills' and the official records also offer an interesting insight to aerial combat at this time.
Overall the book is well researched and presented, a few editing errors were noticed but these did not detract from the overall excellent standard of the book. The narrative flowed along smoothly and offered tense aerial combat accounts along with an overview of the battle.
"The author has brought to life not only the tense action of aerial combat but also the relief felt by the individual pilots surviving these encounters, the elation of a successful 'kill', the tragedy of seeing a friend shot-down and the resolve to go up and do it all over again."
April 14, 2023
Today's book is an interesting look at the military exploits of two opposing units at the culmination of one of the decisive battles of World War II: the Battle of Britain.
Chris Goss in fact guides us to the discovery of two squadrons, the British 609 Squadron and the 1 Staffel of the Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik As". Goss is a historian who has often dealt with the Luftwaffe and I have always appreciated the meticulous approach to the subject. In this case the book is accompanied by many photographs, almost like an album, which in alternating chapters show the life and the fighting of the two units. Often these two units met in the skies of England in that summer of 1940, with the British (who were first stationed in the north) trying to limit the German free hunt "Freie Jagd" raids or take down as many bombers as possible.
The histories of the two units are examined, from the formation of the 609 Squadron, which was the fruit of that expansion of the RAF in the mid-1930s, while the creation of the Jagdgeschwader 53 is part of the ways that the National Socialist party used to circumvent the limitations deriving from the Treaty of Versailles on the armaments of Germany. This unit in fact also sent many aviators to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the Condor Legion, including the famous Werner "Vati" Moelders and Hans-Karl Mayer.
The story of those first months of war and of the months in which the battle for the domination of the skies raged over England is exciting even if like all military routines it combines moments of boredom that last days to moments in which actions in the sky are made of struggles for life or death.
The 609 Squadron is narrated through the unit logbook, edited for several months by Pilot Officer John Dundas, a peacetime journalist. The German unit diaries, on the other hand, are drier and it is often not easy (but it is a problem common to every air unit story) to make ends meet and to math claims.
The book that comes out is very pleasant and the choral story of these two units similar for the way in which they searched for the opponent (and for the cavalry with which they basically clashed in those skies, in a war that had very little chivalry) , is enjoyable enough to justify the title "Brothers in Arms". In reality, precisely if we look at all the photos it is so easy to confuse those very similar faces, perhaps the British ones more informal and the German ones harder (but maybe it's just the hair cut!), The same attitudes of those who at 20 had a great responsibility for one's country even at the cost of sacrificing one's life. Another good book by Chris Goss.
Chris Goss in fact guides us to the discovery of two squadrons, the British 609 Squadron and the 1 Staffel of the Jagdgeschwader 53 "Pik As". Goss is a historian who has often dealt with the Luftwaffe and I have always appreciated the meticulous approach to the subject. In this case the book is accompanied by many photographs, almost like an album, which in alternating chapters show the life and the fighting of the two units. Often these two units met in the skies of England in that summer of 1940, with the British (who were first stationed in the north) trying to limit the German free hunt "Freie Jagd" raids or take down as many bombers as possible.
The histories of the two units are examined, from the formation of the 609 Squadron, which was the fruit of that expansion of the RAF in the mid-1930s, while the creation of the Jagdgeschwader 53 is part of the ways that the National Socialist party used to circumvent the limitations deriving from the Treaty of Versailles on the armaments of Germany. This unit in fact also sent many aviators to fight in the Spanish Civil War with the Condor Legion, including the famous Werner "Vati" Moelders and Hans-Karl Mayer.
The story of those first months of war and of the months in which the battle for the domination of the skies raged over England is exciting even if like all military routines it combines moments of boredom that last days to moments in which actions in the sky are made of struggles for life or death.
The 609 Squadron is narrated through the unit logbook, edited for several months by Pilot Officer John Dundas, a peacetime journalist. The German unit diaries, on the other hand, are drier and it is often not easy (but it is a problem common to every air unit story) to make ends meet and to math claims.
The book that comes out is very pleasant and the choral story of these two units similar for the way in which they searched for the opponent (and for the cavalry with which they basically clashed in those skies, in a war that had very little chivalry) , is enjoyable enough to justify the title "Brothers in Arms". In reality, precisely if we look at all the photos it is so easy to confuse those very similar faces, perhaps the British ones more informal and the German ones harder (but maybe it's just the hair cut!), The same attitudes of those who at 20 had a great responsibility for one's country even at the cost of sacrificing one's life. Another good book by Chris Goss.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews