One of the most successful of the high-scoring Luftwaffe Jagdgeschwader during World War 2, JG 54 'Grünherz' (Green Hearts) was formed from three disparate fighter 'Gruppen' immediately prior to the Battle of Britain. Having enjoyed immediate success over the Channel and South-east England during the summer of 1940, the unit was transferred to the Eastern Front in the spring of 1941 in preparation for Operation Barbarossa the German invasion of the Soviet Union. JG 54 would remain a Jagdwaffe stalwart in the east, flying firstly Bf 109Fs and then the Fw 190. By war's end, the Geschwader's pilots had claimed over 9500 kills, and produced over 100 aces. Men like Hans Philipp, Walter Nowotny and Otto Kittel are profiled in this volume, which reveals the struggle in the face of overwhelming odds that was the lot of the Jagdflieger on the Eastern Front.

Beskriver den tyske jagerenhed, JG 54 (Jagdgeschwader 54 Grünherz), og beretter om dens indsats under Den anden Verdenskrig.

In five turbulent years the members of this highly successful Luftwaffe fighter unit developed into such a close-knit team that even now - almost fifty years later - that bond still exists. This unique photo history was compiled with assistance from the air and ground crews of JG 54.\nThe 400+ photographs document the story of the Grunherz-Geschwader from its formation in the spring of 1939 to the final battles in the courland pocket in the spring of 1945. Within the timespan lay the arduous years of operations in Poland, France, the Channel Front, the Balkans, Russia, Finland and the defense of the Reich. \nWerner Held is the author of many books on the Luftwaffe of World War II including The German Fighter Units over Russia, and the Luftwaffe in the North African Campaign (both available from Schiffer Publishing). Hannes Trautloft is a former Geschwaderkommodore of JG 54. Ekkerhard Bob is a former Staffelkapitan in JG 54.

Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) was the most successful and highest-scoring fighter unit, not just in Germany's World War 2 Luftwaffe, but in the entire annals of aviation history. No other fighter group has ever come close to matching its staggering total of around 9000 enemy aircraft shot down in combat. And yet, because much of that combat took place over the tractless wastes of the Russian front, very little has been written in English about the exploits of this charismatic unit. This book provides a full combat history of JG 52 and its members, including the three top-scoring aces of all time, who claimed a total of 900 victories between them.

One of the most important, and yet least publicised, components of the front-line Luftwaffe was the Schlacht, or ground attack, arm. This book details the Schlacht units who were in the thick of the fighting from the first day of the war until the last. They played a vital part in the heady successes of the early Blitzkrieg campaigns and went on to perform an equally essential role in the dark hours of last ditch defence and ultimate defeat. In between, they fought in all defensive battles: on the eastern front at Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin; in the west, by night, over Normandy, the Ardennes and the Rhine.

Synonymous with the Afrika Korps and the campaign in North Africa, JG 27 provided Rommel's army with fighter protection for virtually the whole 'roller coaster ride that was the war in the Western Desert from 1941-43. Formed in Germany on 1 October 1939 (with Adolf Galland as CO of I.Gruppe), JG 27 saw considerable action both during the Battles of France and Britain, downing 146 aircraft in the latter campaign alone. Sent to North Africa in April 1941, the geschwader had an immediate impact on the campaign, which had up until then been dominated by the Allies. The third volume in the Aviation Elite series on a German fighter geschwader, this book will once again prove popular with Luftwaffe enthusiasts and hobbyists alike.

Presents an account of the massive aerial campaign fought in the skies over the Soviet Union following the launch of Operation Barbarossa. This book includes information from both Russian and German sources. It features eye-witness material, photographs, biographical studies of major players in the conflict, data tables, and technical assessments.

Of all the fronts fought on by the Jagdflieger during World War 2, the Russian, or Eastern, was easily the most lucrative in terms of targets for the experten. Marry an abundance of targets with the Luftwaffe's best piston-engined fighter of the war – Focke-Wulf's Fw 190 'Butcher Bird' – and it quickly becomes apparent why so many Jagdflieger achieved kills that passed the 100 victories mark. Flying in variable weather on a battlefront that was constantly changing, the Fw 190 pilots fought virtually to extinction in both the pure fighter and the crucial Schlacht ground attack roles.