'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 12, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

Bygone Conclusions wrote: "currently reading The Bombing War by Richard Overy https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1....

Definitely looking forward to Defenders of the Reich when its available."

Richard Overy's book is a very good account of the bombing war and I'm pretty sure you will enjoy "Defenders of the Reich"!

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - One new weapon that did see action towards the end of the war was the R4M air-to-air rocket:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R4M#:~:....

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - The Luftwaffe was forced to come up with some interesting ideas to combat the Allied bomber fleets, like Projekt Natter:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachem_...

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - 2 November 1944, a bad day for the Luftwaffe:

"Meanwhile, Oberst Gustav Rodel's JG 27, its four Gruppen of Bf 109s operating together for the first time since being brought back into the Reich, tried in vain to get to the bombers but clashed with Mustangs around Leipzig instead. It was to be the blackest day in the Geschwader's history. Fighter after fighter plunged towards the earth, and by the time the battle ended JG 27 had had no fewer than 38 pilots killed or wounded. Rodel remembered:

I flew and survived more than 1,000 missions, but attacking four-engined bombers flying in formation still remains a nightmare in my memory. Each attack had a different pattern. There were too many odds and unknown factors during an approach, such as weather, the counter-action of the fighter escort and the difficulty in manoeuvring in a large formation. The sole aim of the flight leader was to get his formation into a position which allowed a virtual collision course attack. Thereafter, it was every pilot for himself - he could hardly even keep an eye out for his wingman.

Figures still differ as to the exact casualties that both sides incurred during the battle, but sources place the Eighth Air Force losses at between 40 and 50 bombers - almost four per cent of the total force - and 16 out of 873 fighters. Galland had lost 120 aircraft and 70 of his pilots, with another 28 wounded."

Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers by Robert Forsyth

Tony wrote: "I found this an interesting read:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c..."

Very interesting, Tony, thanks for providing the link!

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - In a bid to destroy American bombers the Germans came up with the Minengeschoß shell:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_5j4...

Mike wrote: "Now:$1.99
.The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad by Harrison E. Salisbury"

Excellent book at a great price!

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - An account from Leutnant Richard Franz upon his third victory of an American bomber:

"After this mission, I had the opportunity to meet a crew member of the bomber I had shot down. I landed at Magdeburg airfield and met him there in the operations room. He was a lieutenant, his name was Andy, and he was the only member of the crew who had survived the attack. We had a good talk, and he presented me with his flying jacket - half leather and half silk, with 24 previous missions written in ink on the silk part of the jacket, including the date and target. He told me that this was their last mission, and that had they returned, they would have been posted back to the States, But he also felt lucky to be alive. I had that jacket until the end of the war, when I was shot down for the last time on 25 April 1945 by a Russian fighter over Berlin."

Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers by Robert Forsyth

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - On the strength and weaknesses of their targets:

"Leutnant Franz Stigler recalled that attacking bombers was a draining, dangerous process:

B-24s suffered from fuel fumes in the fuselage, and that was their weak point. We found that they were easier t shoot down because they burned. The B-17s took a lot more punishment. It was terrifying. I saw them in some cases with their tail fins torn in half, elevators missing, tail gun sections literally shot to pieces or ripped away, but they still flew. We found them a lot harder to bring down that the Liberators. The Liberators sometimes went up in flames right in front of you.

Attacking bombers became a very mechanical, impersonal kind of warfare, one machine against another. That's why I always tried to count the parachutes. If you saw eight, nine or ten 'chutes come out safely, then you knew it was okay, you felt better about it. But when you flew through a formation, the B-17s couldn't miss you. If they did, something was wrong. I never came back from attacking bombers without a hole somewhere in my aircraft.

Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers by Robert Forsyth

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - A bit more on the losses suffered by the Luftwaffe with its battle against the USAAF:

"In early 1944, the German fighter fore was outnumbered, outgunned and undertrained. In March, the Luftwaffe lost, for one reason or another, 56.4 per cent of the single-engined fighters available to it at the beginning of the month, while losses in fighter pilots amounted to 22 per cent of the strength available at the end of February. Within that number were several formation leaders."

Mike wrote: "All great posts AR. I admire the Luftwaffe pilot skill and expertise but not sad at the losses. Every loss of a high victory ace meant many USAAF, RAF, French, Canadian, Polish, etc aircrew would s..."

A very valid point, Mike!

Richard wrote: "Aussie Rick, Looking forward to reading Defenders of the Reich. Amazon says it'll be out in the US November 6th.

I'm also going to read https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... for..."

"Black Snow" is a book that I am yet to read but so far, I have really enjoyed all the author's WW2 books!

Mark, sounds great! luckily I have an unread copy as well as his books on an artillery unit and an infantry formation.

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - The Luftwaffe is not only losing its experienced combat leaders but also having issues with training their replacements:

"From October 1942 to June 1944 there was a marked reduction in the total elementary and operational training instruction time. In the periods October 1942 to June 1943 and July 1943 to June 1944, total training hours fell from 185-225 to 165-175, and there were corresponding falls in the time allocated to operational types of aircraft. Gunnery training also suffered. In an effort to overcome this, in 1943 Galland set up six mobile gunnery training staffs equipped with the latest armament, sights and training aids to tour fighter airfields."

Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers by Robert Forsyth

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - The loss of another outstanding German pilot:

"On 2 March 1944, Hauptmann Egon Mayer, Kommodore of JG 2, the first pilot to accumulate 100 victories solely on the Channel Front and the tactical mastermind behind the Luftwaffe's classic frontal attack against the bombers in late 1942, led a Schwarm of Fw 190s of Stab./JG 2 against a formation of around 200 B-17s heading for Frankfurt am Main. The Stab flight had failed to link up with the Focke-Wulfs of II. and III./JG 2, and recent research suggests Mayer later lost contact with his own Schwarm.

As he made a lone diving pass through the bombers, Mayer fell prey to P-47s that he failed to spot above him. He came down near Montmedy in France. Mayer's loss was especially hard to bear, for at that time he was the highest scorer against the bombers with 24 Viermonts to his credit."

Attack from the front: The Luftwaffe WWII Fighter Ace who devised the most effective way to destroy a B-17 Flying Fortress:
https://theaviationgeekclub.com/attac...

Egon Mayer:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egon_Mayer

Mike wrote: "A couple today:

$0.99:

[book:Swift Sword: The True Story of the Marines of MIKE 3/5 in Vie..."

Thanks for posting those book details, Mike, much appreciated!

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - The Luftwaffe is starting to suffer some significant casualties amongst its best pilots:

"The levels of attrition among experienced fighter pilots and formation leaders continued to bite during December. On the 4th, one month after replacing the loss of 180-victory Knight's Cross recipient Major Kurt Brandle as Gruppenkommandeur of II./JG 3, Hauptmann Wilhelm Lemke suffered a similar fate when he too fell to P-47s whilst on patrol northwest of Nijmegen, in the Netherlands. Lemke had flown more than 600 missions, during which he had been credited with 131 victories, including 25 IL-2s in the East and three four-engined bombers in the West."

Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers by Robert Forsyth

"Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers" - An account of one brave Luftwaffe pilot in action against an American bomber formation:

"Leading the four Messerschmitt's was instructor pilot Feldwebel Werner Doring, and his charges were three of his junior student pilots.

To his dismay, as Doring, a North Africa veteran who had flown previously with 1./JG 27 and had claimed his first B-17 shot down in August, led the fighters into engage, all of his aircraft's weapons suffered a technical failure, Undaunted by the risk of defensive fire, he flew what were described by Vollbracht as 'several dashing attacks against the enemy formation' in an effort to demonstrate to his trainees how to close in on the bombers 'correctly and effectively'. Apparently Doring's action resulted in 'three successful attacks' and the shooting down of one Flying Fortress. 'I would like to express my special appreciation for his dashing and responsible behaviour', noted Vollbracht in the Jafu's daily orders."

Defenders of the Reich: The Luftwaffe’s War against America’s Bombers by Robert Forsyth

Dipanjan wrote: "Today I have bought the following gem...

"

Nice purchase, Dipanjan.

Mike wrote: "Corsica had advantages...a one slightly major problem:

Corsica…would soon be known to the Americans stationed there as “USS Corsica.” But in their location in the central Mediterranean, the crew ..."

That has to be fairly close to being one of the most successful night-time raids against the allies during the war!