Aces of the Reich: The Making of a Luftwaffe Pilot

In 1939, the Luftwaffe was widely considered the world's best-equipped and best-trained air force. Its fighters were advanced, and its pilots employed a tactical system superior to others. During campaigns in Poland, Norway, the Low Countries, and France, the Luftwaffe achieved decisive victories. In summer 1940, it narrowly failed to achieve air superiority over England. In the West, operating with limited forces, the Luftwaffe maintained a favorable kill-loss ratio against the RAF. It also swept through the Balkans and significantly damaged the Soviet Air Force. The Luftwaffe's top pilots achieved air combat records that remain unmatched. Yet within three years—despite introducing the jet Me 262, the world's most advanced fighter at the time—the Luftwaffe fighter arm was completely defeated. Mike Spick, an air-warfare historian, examines how this transformation occurred in this study of World War II's Luftwaffe.