Published: 20 August 02
Air & Space Power Journal - Fall 2002

Jane’s Battles with the Luftwaffe: The Bomber Campaign against Germany, 1942–45 by Theo Boiten and Martin Bowman. HarperCollins (http://www.harpercollins.com/hc), 10 East 53d Street, New York, New York 10022, 240 pages, $44.95.

In the skies over Western Europe from 1942 to 1945, men of the British Royal Air Force, US Army Air Forces, and German Luftwaffe fought the greatest air battles the world has ever seen. Never before—or since—have so many airmen participated in the deadly struggle for air superiority. In Jane’s Battles with the Luftwaffe, the authors have done a superlative job of bringing this heart-stopping action to the reader. Perhaps more importantly, they successfully deal with personal aspects of the air war and give the reader a sense of what it must have been like to fly and fight in the extreme cold of an unpressurized B-17 or B-24 or to fly an Me-109 through a formation of bombers with hundreds of machine guns intent on killing you.

Jane’s and HarperCollins have brought together two outstanding authors to produce a book of timeless quality. Dutch historian Theo Boiten has written five books, most of them dealing with the bomber offensive, and Martin Bowman has authored over 60 books on US Air Force, US Navy, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force operations. The compilation of their talents has produced a substantial and intriguing historical document.

Although lavishly illustrated with over 300 never-before-published photographs, many from the personal files of the men who flew these combat missions, Jane’s Battles with the Luftwaffe is no mere coffee-table book. Although these amazing pictures do tell a tale, this book unlocks the door to the minds, attitudes, and fears of the men who fought and died in these great air battles. The authors do this by including hundreds of quotations from the German and American fighter pilots, bomber crews, and flak gunners. To understand or try to comprehend the loss of 60 bombers on a single mission is one thing. To “stand” in the fuselage of a B-17 as it is being pummeled by German 20 mm shells as your best friend’s body is reduced to some unrecognizable goo is another. These personal stories—intense, powerful, and enlightening—are a must read, separating this book from many of its rivals.

The photographs and personal experiences, coupled with well-written and scrupulously researched narratives, make Jane’s Battles with the Luftwaffe an outstanding book. It is very readable and full of information that any World War II aviation historian or enthusiast will want to read. Likewise, the authors’ use of both primary and secondary sources results in a work that is both believable and consistent. Boiten and Bowman have added significantly to the study of the bomber offensive in Europe; their book will enhance any personal library.

Lt Col Robert Tate, USAFR
Maxwell AFB, Alabama

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.