Reviews

Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 26, the German elite fighter unit, was more feared by the Allies than any other Luftwaffe group. Based on extensive archival research in Europe, personal combat diaries and interviews with more than 50 surviving pilots, Caldwell here assembles a superb day-to-day chronicle of JG26 operations, from its first air victory in 1939 to its final combat patrol in 1945. For the first two years of the war it was an even match between the Spitfires and Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitts and Focke Wulfs; but--as the author reveals in meticulous detail--the scales tipped in favor of the Allies in 1943 with the arrival of the Eighth U.S. Air Force and its peerless P-51 Mustang. In his first book, Caldwell, a research chemist, describes how the German pilots' morale remained high even after it was obvious to all but the youngest and most naive that the war was lost.seems obvious? The ultimate recommendation comes from Adolf Galland, legendary Messerschmitt pilot and commanding officer of Fighter Wing 26, who in the foreword calls JG26 ``a profound book, written in full fairness.'' Photos. (Oct.)

Jagschader 26 ``Schlegeter,'' or JG26, was the premier Luftwaffe World War II fighter unit. The equivalent of an American or British ``Wing,'' it controlled some 100 planes and many of the best, most experienced aces in the German Air Force. The JG26 fought on all fronts, but was primarily stationed in Northeastern Europe operating against the American and British bombers and fighers attacking in Germany. The yellow prop-spinners of the ``Abbeville Kids'' brought terror to many an Allied pilot. Commanded by two top German aces, Adolph Gallard and Pripps Priller, the unit was responsible for the destruction of 2700 Allied planes from its inception in 1938 to its great victories in 1943 and up until its defeat by superior Allied forces in 1944-45. By focusing on the history of a small German Air Force unit, this unique, impressive study presents a history in microcosm of the entire Luftwaffe Fighter Corps. All aviation and World War II buffs will want this spellbinding work.-- Stanley Itkin, Hillside P.L., New Hyde Park, N.Y.