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Luftwaffe Flak and Field Divisions, 1939–1945
by Hans SeidlerFrom the outset of WW2, Grings Luftwaffe Flak units saw extensive fighting with their 2cm, 3.7cm and deadly 8.8cm anti-aircraft guns. By the time of Hitlers invasion of Russia, Luftwaffe ground forces had been expanded and were being used in both the army support and air roles.After initial success on the Eastern Front turned to stalemate and huge losses, Hitler ordered the raising of Luftwaffe Field Divisions to bolster the Army. These were initially under Grings command but in late 1943 were handed over to the Army and reorganized as standard infantry divisions (of three two-battalion rifle regiments) retaining Luftwaffe designations. The most famous was the elite Hermann Gring Divisions, which was reorganized as a Panzer Division.By 1944 there were no less than twenty-one Luftwaffe Field Divisions plus many similar regiments, fighting on all fronts. Of all German anti-tank weapons, the 8.8cm gun was the most feared and destructive.This book describes the evolution of this unique element of the Nazi war machine by means of clear text and superb images.
Luftwaffe Maritime Operations In World War II: Thought, Organization And Technology
by Major Winston A. GouldThe development of airpower can be traced to three key elements: thought, organization and technology. The Luftwaffe of World War II is no different. This paper will examine the Luftwaffe's thought, organization and technology as it pertains to maritime operations, or as the modern United States Air Force (USAF) calls it, Countersea Operations. These maritime operations will include direct support of the Kriegsmarine and independent Luftwaffe operations against the Allies. Luftwaffe thought will show that doctrinally the Luftwaffe was not as prepared for the maritime role its leaders thrust upon it, but flexibility and the application of the tenets of airpower provided the basis for adaptation. Also included will be an examination of the fierce rivalry between the Luftwaffe and Kreigsmarine senior leadership and how this interfered with the conduct of countersea operations. Luftwaffe organization during World War II provided a more than adequate basis for conducting the countersea campaign. The adaptability of the operational and support structure allowed the Luftwaffe to accomplish a variety of missions, even as their aircraft and weapons were proving deficient. Finally, the Luftwaffe was at the forefront of innovation in the field of aviation technology, including airframe and weapon development. Once again, interference by senior leadership and equipment teething problems combined with increasing Allied attacks cost the Luftwaffe precious time.
Luftwaffe Over America: The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II
by Manfred GriehlThe plans that Nazi Germany had to raid - and bomb - New York and the eastern seabord are revealed in this book. They were were based on the use of transoceanic aircraft planes, such as the six-engined Ju 390, Me 264 or Ta 400, but the Third Reich was unable to produce such machines in sufficient numbers. If the Soviet Union had been conquered, however, these plans would have become a reality. With the seizure of vital resources from the Soviet Union the Wehrmacht would have had enough fuel and material to mass-produce giant bomber aircraft: it was a near run thing. The collapse of the Wehrmacht infrastructure and the end of the Thousand-Year Reich ensured that plans for long-range remote-controlled missiles never got off the drawing board and were never manufactured. Manfried Griehl makes it clear that until the collapse, numerous secret research laboratories seemed to have worked in parallel seeking nuclear power and explosives. Only classified material held within British, French and American archives can prove whether these groups were close to perfecting small atomic explosives. But, without a shadow of doubt, Germany was far more technologically advanced by the end of 1944 that has been previously suspected.
Luftwaffe Schlachtgruppen
by John WealOne 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.The color plate section of the book has profiles of the following, disperate aircraft:HS 123AHE 51BBf 109-4Bf 109EBf 109E-7HS 129BFw 190F-2Fiat Cr.42Fokker CV-EJu 87DAll of which were flown by this squadron. Also of note is the fact that this Ace pilot Hans-Ulrich Rudel was part of this distinguished unit.
Luftwaffe Sturmgruppen
by John WealThe 'storm troopers' of the Luftwaffe, the elite Strumgruppen units comprised the most heavily armed and armoured fighter interceptors ever produced by the Germans. Their role was to smash like a mighty fist through the massed ranks of USAAF daylight bombers. Only volunteers could serve with these elite units, and each pilot was trained to close with the enemy and engage him in extremely short-range combat, attacking from the front and the rear in tight arrowhead formations. In exceptional circumstances pilots would even ram their enemy. This book chronicles the brief, but violent, career of the Sturmgruppen during the dark days of 1944-45, employing first-hand accounts and rare archival photography.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Luftwaffe Training Aircraft: The Training of Germany's Pilots and Aircrew Through Rare Archive Photographs (Air War Archive)
by Chris GossFrom a retired RAF Wing Commander, an introductory guide to the aerial warfare training methods implemented by Germany for airmen during World War II. The often-unnoticed element in aerial warfare is the training, yet its value is beyond calculation. The Luftwaffe used a variety of aircraft in this fundamental role, with trainee pilots progressing from simpler, older machines to the more sophisticated, as well as heavier aircraft. Gradually airmen were introduced to newer, faster models that enabled them to experience, to some degree, the type of aircraft they would fly in combat. Recruits would initially spend six months at a Fliegerersatzabteilung or training depot, where the main emphasis was on drill and physical training, with introductory lectures on the principles of wireless operation and map reading. This would be followed by two months studying general aeronautical subjects, before being sent to elementary flying school. The various kinds of aircraft used for training depended upon the role each individual trainee would eventually undertake, from single-seat fighters to multiple-crew bombers or transports. In this, the Luftwaffe was also able to make use of captured enemy aircraft. It also established training units through the Occupied territories to enable its trainees to familiarize themselves with different conditions and terrain. In the less-pressurized environment of the training schools away from the front line, more care could be taken over photography, resulting in the author of this extensive study of the wide range of aircraft used for training by the Luftwaffe, being able to assemble such a fine collection of excellent images.
Luftwaffe Victory Markings 1939–45 (Casemate Illustrated)
by Philippe SaintesA fully illustrated overview of the Nazi German Air Force&’s victory markings on their day & night fighter aircrafts in World War II. This book provides an overview of the victory markings painted on the fins and rudders of the planes of the German day fighter and night fighter aircraft between 1939 and 1945, and demonstrates how these were applied in reality through the profiles of nineteen pilots, including some of the most emblematic pilots of the Luftwaffe: Hans Troitzsch, Johannes Gentzen, Frank Liesendahl, Wilhelm Balthasar, Otto Bertram, Joachim Müncheberg, Karl-Heinz Koch, Kurt &“Kuddel&” Ubben, Felix-Maria Brandis, &“Fiffi&” Stahlschmidt, Franz-Josef Beerenbrock, Heinrich Setz, Walter &“Gulle" Oesau, Max-Hellmuth Ostermann, Heinrich Bartels, "Fritz" Dinger, Martin Drewes, Egmont zur Lippe-Weissenfeld and Ludwig Meister.Praise for Luftwaffe Victory Markings 1939–45 &“For any and all who seek out photos of the German WWII victory markings adorning their aircraft, this book is simply a &‘must have&’.&” —Large Scale Planes &“Will be of great interest to modelers who want to put victory markings on a Luftwaffe fighter model.&” —AMPS Indianapolis &“Modelers seeking to put a finishing detail on their aircraft will find this book quite useful.&” —Historical Miniatures Gaming Society
Luftwaffe X-Planes: German Experimental Aircraft of World War II
by Manfred GriehlThis illustrated WWII history reveals the full range of experimental military aircraft that the Third Reich nearly flew into combat. From jet planes and high-altitude aircraft to radar-equipped fighters configured to deliver chemical weapons, numerous secret Luftwaffe planes reached prototype stage during the Second World War. Had these innovative aircraft made it into combat, the course of the war could have gone very differently. Renowned aviation expert Manfred Griehl explores these projects through an informative and fascinating selection of images, including numerous wartime photographs. Despite the Allied authorities' ban on research, countless aircraft were designed and tested by the Luftwaffe and German manufacturers before World War II. The research went ahead at secret evaluation sites in Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and the USSR. Though this work continued after the outbreak of war, many projects were never completed, often because the developers simply ran out of time. This definitive guide reveals the remarkable range of planes that the Third Reich failed to complete.
Luftwaffe in Africa, 1941–1943 (Casemate Illustrated #Cis0015)
by Jean-Louis RobaThis WWII history examines Nazi air force operations in Egypt and Libya with more than 100 rare wartime photographs. When Mussolini&’s army was defeated on the Libyan-Egyptian border at the beginning of 1941, Adolph Hitler had no choice but to send reinforcements to help his ally. The Luftwaffe deployed an air detachment, first to Sicily, then to North Africa. This volume examines the small expeditionary force, solely devoted to protecting Italian possessions in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern theater. When General Erwin Rommel launched his Afrika Korps to the east, the Luftwaffe had to go on the offensive to cover the advance. As British air forces were strengthened, German High Command was obliged to send more aerial units into what it had initially considered a peripheral arena of the war. Losses in bombers and fighters were high on both sides. By the time the Allies landed in Morocco and Algeria at the end of 1942, the Wehrmacht&’s fate was sealed. The last German units capitulated in Tunisia in May 1943.
Luftwaffe in Colour: From Glory to Defeat
by Christophe Cony Jean-Louis RobaNearly four hundred photos documenting the last years of the Luftwaffe: &“If you&’re interested in unit history then this book is a must have&” (Britmodeller.com). A companion to the first volume of Luftwaffe in Colour, which covered the victory years from 1939 to Spring 1942, this book contains even more fascinating material on the machines of the Luftwaffe and the men who flew them as their fate took an increasingly grim path. Initially, the Luftwaffe ruled the skies, but eventually, they fought an increasingly futile war of attrition that, when combined with vital strategic mistakes in aircraft production, was its death knell. Despite this, the Luftwaffe produced the most successful air aces of all time. Among many remarkable images, we see one of the last Junkers 87 B-2 operational on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1942-1943; the huge BV 222 V-5 of Lufttransportstaffel in the port of Heraklion in late 1942; pilots in Tunisia in 1943; the aces Hans Philipp, Wolfgang Späte, and Heinz Schnaufer; and a vivid demonstration of the reversal in fortunes in 1944 as Allied bombers destroy 106 sites, engulfing them in fire at Schwäbisch Hall on German soil. In this painstakingly curated collection, the full detail behind the propaganda is once more revealed in rare color photographs.
Luftwaffe in Colour: The Victory Years
by Christophe Cony Jean-Louis RobaA photo-packed look at the men and machines of one of history&’s legendary air forces. This remarkable work explores the Luftwaffe as it truly existed day-to-day, underneath the propaganda of their own regime and the stories of their enemies. In Hitler&’s Germany, color photography was primarily co-opted for state purposes, such as the military publication Signal or the Luftwaffe&’s own magazine, Der Adler. But a number of men had cameras of their own, and in this painstakingly acquired collection, we can witness true life on Germany&’s airfields during the period of the Luftwaffe&’s ascendancy. Not only do we see famous planes such as the Me-109, Ju-87, and He-111, but the wide variety of more obscure types with which the Germans began the war. The array of Arados, Dorniers, Heinkels—not to mention elegant four-engine Condors—that were initially employed in the war are here in plain sight and full color, providing not only an insight into WWII history but a model maker&’s dream. Just as fascinating are the shots of the airmen themselves, along with their ground crews—full of confidence and cheer as they bested every other air force in Europe during these years, with the single exception of the RAF&’s Fighter Command in late summer 1940. But that was no big stumbling block to the Luftwaffe, which had bigger fish to fry in Russia and North Africa the following year. &“Both volumes [The Victory Years and From Glory to Defeat] are a fantastic addition to your aviation library. The reproduction quality is superb.&” —War History Online
Luftwaffe in World War II (Images Of War Bks.)
by Francis CrosbyWorld War Two Luftwaffe aircraft and their pilots have been a source of fascination and respect to aviation buffs since 1945. This book looks at all aspects of its operation in many World War II theaters. A great majority of photographs are unlikely to have been seen by the general public and they have been superbly reproduced directly from original negatives held by the Imperial War Museum.Lengthy captions describe the action portrayed in each photo and an introduction puts the Luftwaffe into its historical perspective.
Luftwaffe: Strategy for Defeat, 1933–45 (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #16)
by Williamson MurrayThis book, first published in 1985, is an in-depth analysis of the Luftwaffe in the Second World War, using previously untapped German archives and newly-released ‘Ultra’ intelligence records. It looks at the Luftwaffe within the context of the overall political decision-making process within the Third Reich. It is especially valuable for its careful study of industrial production and pilot losses in the conduct of operations.
Luger: The Story of the World's Most Famous Handgun
by Walter JohnThe distinctive look of the Luger and its role in German military history make it the world’s most famous handgun. In Luger, renowned gun expert John Walter traces the history of this semiautomatic pistol from an early design by Hugo Borchardt in the 1890s through its use in the trenches of the First World War to the final days of the Third Reich in WWII. Other books on the Parabellum-Pistole, as the Luger was also known, focus strictly on narrow subjects like manufacturing details or accessories. While still offering the technical details to satisfy the collector, Walter provides a comprehensive narrative history. Readers will learn of the initial collaboration between Borchardt and Georg J. Luger, who patented the design in 1898. Following initial adoption by the Swiss Army, design refinements convinced the Imperial German Navy to order the sidearm, while the US Army passed on it following field trials in favor of the Colt. Production ramped up for World War I and the gun became a prized trophy for Allied soldiers in both that conflict and World War II. (German soldiers, aware of their desirability, even used them as bait for booby traps.) Today, it is still desired by collectors both for its unique design and for its connection to the history of Nazi Germany, and Luger: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Handgun tells how it came to be.
Luke Air Force Base (Images of America)
by Rick GrisetLuke Air Force Base, created in less than a year from desert scrub and farmland, stands some 20 miles west of Phoenix. On March 31, 1941, months before the United States entered World War II, construction began. That summer, the Army Air Corps named Luke Field after World War I hero and triple ace Frank Luke Jr. Some pilots from Luke Field's first class flew from airfields in Hawaii during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. From the beginning, Luke Field trained fighter pilots, as it does today. Over the years, Luke Air Force Base was home to 14 primary fighter aircraft, graduated over 60,000 students, and accounted for millions of training flight hours. Of the pilots who trained at Luke Field, a number became aces, including the all-time US leading ace, Maj. Richard I. Bong. For decades, Luke Air Force Base has been home to more fighter aircraft than any other base in the United States, earning the moniker "Fighter Country."
Lumen
by Ben PastorEqual parts wartime political intrigue, detective story, psychological thriller and religious mystery, Pastor's debut follows a German army captain and a Chicago priest as they investigate the death of a nun in Nazi-occupied Poland. Stunned by the violence of the occupation and by the ideology of his colleagues, Bora's sense of Prussian duty is tested to the breaking point.
Lumières sur les forces de l'ombre
by Colonel Bernd Horn Tony Balasevicius Colonel David BarrLes Forces d’opérations spéciales (SOF) n’ont jamais fait partie intégrante des capacités militaires du Canada. Des unités spéciales ont certes existé à certaines périodes de notre histoire, mais elles ont toujours oeuvré dans l’ombre, à la limite de la reconnaissance. Elles ont presque toujours ete marginalisées. Cependant, la tragique attaque lancée par des terroristes sur les tours jumelles du World Trade Center à New York, le 11 septembre 2001, a considérablement modifié leur image. Les SOF sont devenues depuis des forces de premier plan. Les éssais qui forment cet ouvrage concernant les SOF ont été redigés par des experts en la matière. Pris collectivement, ils constituent un recueil exhaustif d’informations et de connaissances sur les SOF canadiennes et sur des questions et sujets qui s’y rapportent. En somme, l’ouvrage permet au lecteur d’acquérir une solide base sur la théorie, le contexte historique et l’évolution des SOF, y compris les événements qui favorisent leur expansion.
Luna Marine
by Ian DouglasThe revelations on Mars -- a half-million year-old legacy of the vanished star-traveling Builders -- have fed the flames of catastrophic war. A beleaguered United States and its Russian and Japanese allies struggle to hold their own against the indomitable forces of the enemy United Nations. The bloody conflict that has swept over the home planet now rages across the blackness of space -- with the U.S. Marine Corps in the vanguard, leading the charge as always.But Mars is not the sole repository of alien wonders. The Earth's moon hides unsettling mysteries of its own-and dangerous secrets pointing toward an unstoppable threat advancing from somewhere beyond the solar system. And as scientists on both sides ract to utilize technology they have only barely begun to comprehend, the UN makes the opening move in a gambit that could end the hostilities quickly and decisively by bringing about the death of millions...without the aid of alien-inspired weaponry.A bad situation worsens by the nanosecond. And that means it's time to call in the Marines -- to make a life or death stand on the gray shores of Luna.
Lupescu: The Story of a Royal Love Affair
by Alice-Leone MoatsIn 2003, the coffins of King Carol II and Princess Elena of Romania were repatriated to their native Romania from the resting place in exile in Portugal. This book recounts the story of Magda Lupescu, the red haired courtesan, who would become the wife of King Carol and future princess of Romania. Their affair had rocked the monarchy and all of Europe after the tumult of the First World War. The reign of King Carol was mired in intrigue and subterfuge amid the right wing surge in Germany and Central Europe, he was forced to abdicate and flee as the Second World War began. Elena and Carol travelled to South America in exile, before returning to Europe and settling in Portugal after World War Two ended.
Lured by the American Dream: Filipino Servants in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, 1952-1970 (Asian American Experience)
by P. James PaligutanStarting in 1952, the United States Navy and Coast Guard actively recruited Filipino men to serve as stewards--domestic servants for officers. Oral histories and detailed archival research inform P. James Paligutan's story of the critical role played by Filipino sailors in putting an end to race-based military policies. Constrained by systemic exploitation, Filipino stewards responded with direct complaints to flag officers and chaplains, rating transfer requests that flooded the bureaucracy, and refusals to work. Their actions had a decisive impact on seagoing military’s elimination of the antiquated steward position. Paligutan looks at these Filipino sailors as agents of change while examining the military system through the lens of white supremacy, racist perceptions of Asian males, and the motives of Filipinos who joined the armed forces of the power that had colonized their nation. Insightful and dramatic, Lured by the American Dream is the untold story of how Filipino servicepersons overcame tradition and hierarchy in their quest for dignity.
Lusitania: The Cultural History of a Catastrophe
by Willi Jasper Mr Stewart SpencerA fascinating reassessment of a turning point in the First World War, revealing its role in shaping the German psyche On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania, a large British luxury liner, was sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast. Nearly 1,200 people, including 128 American citizens, lost their lives. The sinking of a civilian passenger vessel without warning was a scandal of international scale and helped precipitate the United States' decision to enter the conflict. It also led to the immediate vilification of Germany. Though the ship's sinking has preoccupied historians and the general public for over a century, until now the German side of the story has been largely untold. Drawing on varied German sources, historian Willi Jasper provides a comprehensive reappraisal of the sinking and its aftermath that focuses on the German reaction and psyche. The attack on the Lusitania, he argues, was not simply an escalation of violence but signaled a new ideological, moral, and religious dimension in the struggle between German Kultur and Western civilization.
Lusitania: Triumph, Tragedy, and the End of the Edwardian Age
by Greg King Penny WilsonOn the 100th Anniversary of its sinking, King and Wilson tell the story of the Lusitania's glamorous passengers and the torpedo that ended an era and prompted the US entry into World War I.Lusitania: She was a ship of dreams, carrying millionaires and aristocrats, actresses and impresarios, writers and suffragettes – a microcosm of the last years of the waning Edwardian Era and the coming influences of the Twentieth Century. When she left New York on her final voyage, she sailed from the New World to the Old; yet an encounter with the machinery of the New World, in the form of a primitive German U-Boat, sent her – and her gilded passengers – to their tragic deaths and opened up a new era of indiscriminate warfare.A hundred years after her sinking, Lusitania remains an evocative ship of mystery. Was she carrying munitions that exploded? Did Winston Churchill engineer a conspiracy that doomed the liner? Lost amid these tangled skeins is the romantic, vibrant, and finally heartrending tale of the passengers who sailed aboard her. Lives, relationships, and marriages ended in the icy waters off the Irish Sea; those who survived were left haunted and plagued with guilt.Authors Greg King and Penny Wilson resurrect this lost, glittering world to show the golden age of travel and illuminate the most prominent of Lusitania's passengers. Rarely was an era so glamorous; rarely was a ship so magnificent; and rarely was the human element of tragedy so quickly lost to diplomatic maneuvers and militaristic threats.
Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an Edo Samurai (Translations from the Asian Classics)
by Anne Walthall Kate Wildman Nakai John Breen Trans. Eds. Teeuwen Mark Fumiko UmezawaBy 1816, Japan had recovered from the famines of the 1780s and moved beyond the political reforms of the 1790s. Despite persistent economic and social stresses, the country seemed to be approaching a new period of growth. The idea that the shogunate would not last forever was far from anyone's mind.Yet, in that year, an anonymous samurai author completed one of the most detailed critiques of Edo society known today. Writing as Buyo Inshi, "a retired gentleman of Edo," he expresses a profound despair with the state of the realm and with people's behavior and attitudes. He sees decay wherever he turns and believes the world will soon descend into war.Buyo shows a familiarity with many corners of Edo life that one might not expect in a samurai. He describes the corruption of samurai officials; the suffering of the poor in villages and cities; the operation of brothels; the dealings of blind moneylenders; the selling and buying of temple abbotships; and the dubious strategies townspeople use in the law courts. Perhaps the frankness of his account, which contains a wealth of concrete information about Edo society, made him prefer to remain anonymous.This volume contains a full translation of Buyo's often-quoted but rarely studied work by a team of specialists on Edo society. Together with extensive annotation of the translation, the volume includes an introduction that situates the text culturally and historically.
Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an Edo Samurai, Abridged Edition (Translations from the Asian Classics)
by Kate Wildman Nakai Mark TeeuwenBy 1816, Japan had recovered from the famines of the 1780s and moved beyond the political reforms of the 1790s. Despite persistent economic and social stresses, the country seemed headed for a new period of growth. The idea that the shogunate would not last forever was far from anyone's mind.Yet, in that year, an anonymous samurai produced a scathing critique of Edo society. Writing as Buyo Inshi, "a retired gentleman of Edo," he expressed in An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard a profound despair with the state of the realm. Seeing decay wherever he turned, Buyo feared the world would soon descend into war.In his anecdotes, Buyo shows a sometimes surprising familiarity with the shadier aspects of Edo life. He speaks of the corruption of samurai officials; the suffering of the poor in villages and cities; the operation of brothels; the dealings of blind moneylenders; the selling and buying of temple abbotships; and the dubious strategies seen in law courts. Perhaps it was the frankness of his account that made him prefer to stay anonymous.A team of Edo specialists undertook the original translation of Buyo's work. This abridged edition streamlines this translation for classroom use, preserving the scope and emphasis of Buyo's argument while eliminating repetitions and diversions. It also retains the introductory essay that situates the work within Edo society and history.
Luxury Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918
by Holger HerwigThis book reviews the building of the German Imperial navy from a small coastal defense fleet to the world's second largest navy by the First World War. The term "Luxury Fleet" (as coined by Winston Churchill) denotes British view of the German navy as a luxury while the British navy was vital to its existence. This dichotomy is detailed in the monograph and the rivalries that ensued.