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Chris Goss
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Luftwaffe Aces in the Battle of Britain Kindle Edition

by Chris Goss (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
“An extraordinary analysis of the ‘scores’ chalked up by individual fighter pilots serving in the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. So much detail!” —Books Monthly

The term “fighter ace” grew in prominence with the introduction and development of aerial combat in the First World War. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an “ace” has varied but is usually considered to be five or more.

For the Luftwaffe, a number of its fighter pilots, many of whom had fought with the Legion Condor in Spain, had already gained their Experte, or ace, status in the Battle of France. However, many more would achieve that status in the hectic dogfights over southern England and the Channel during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. A number would also be either killed or captured. Some of these men, individuals such as Adolf Galland, Werner Mölders, and Helmut Wick, who between them had claimed 147 aerial victories by October 31st1940, are well-known, but most are less so.

In this book, the story of each of the Luftwaffe’s 204 Messerschmitt Bf 109 “aces” from the summer of 1940 is examined, with all of the individual biographies, detailing individual fates during the war, being highly illustrated throughout. Original German records from the summer of 1940, have been examined, providing a definitive list of each pilot’s individual claims. It also covers, to a lesser extent, those forgotten fifty-three Messerschmitt Bf 110 pilots who also achieved ace status by day and also by night between 10 July and 31 October 1940.

“A fascinating book indeed.” —UK Historian
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  1. Print length
    307 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Air World
  4. Publication date
    December 2, 2020
  5. File size
    29.4 MB
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  7. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book will be of most interest to those with a particular fascination with the Battle of Britain or the careers of Luftwaffe aces."
Air Power History

About the Author

Having retired from the RAF with the rank of Wing Commander, CHRIS GOSS is a regular and highly respected contributor to major aviation publications in the UK, France and Germany.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VNYMM16
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Air World (December 2, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 2, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 29.4 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 307 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

About the author

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Chris Goss

Chris Goss

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After a 32 year career in the RAF and three years working for a civilian company as its Head of Operations is now a full time aviation author and military historian. Regular, recognised and sought after contributor to major aviation and historical journals in the UK, France and Germany since 1983. Author of over 40 critically acclaimed books covering aspects of the air war over North West Europe 1939-45. Edited/revised/co-authored a further four books. Books have been reprinted and translated/published in France, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Canada and the USA. Historical consultant for a number of major projects, such as the recovery of the Dornier 17 by the RAF Museum and Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and for TV programmes such as The History Channel and Channel 5's The Battle of Britain: 3 Days that Saved a Nation. Master of Arts with Merit in War Studies (Kings College London). He also undertakes regular public speaking engagements. He is an elected trustee for the Royal Air Forces Association, where is chairs the Engagement and Fundraising Committee and is a member of the Information and Strategy Committees, and a trustee for St David's Home, Ealing.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
51 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Alte Adler
    5.0 out of 5 stars 98 percent unpublished photos, a few on each of the almost 300 pages of aces biographies.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    I almost missed it as after collectiing all books of the Luftwaffe since 1962 I thought there couldn't be anything new on Battle of Britain German aces!! Was I wrong! Everything in the books adds and enlightens us as to what we know. Every pilot credited with five or more victories has a synopsis of his career shown. Many there who have not been mentioned in writing before.

    My wish now is that Chris Goss writes a book on his adventures and stories in writing his books. I can't imagine what he goes through researching his books and how he comes up with all the photos used in his books.
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  • Richard W. Roscoe
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fills a neglected part of history of the Battle of Britain
    Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2013
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    Day by day, the individual battles of fighter and bomber crew of the Luftwaffe are recounted. The individual courage of these men is impressive. From time to time, the actual British pilot's account of the engagement with the German flier follows the German account. Chris Goss has contributed a unique story of the Battle of Britain. Happily, the accounts in the book are of the German fliers who survived the war as prisoners.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • scott
    3.0 out of 5 stars A basic book about pilots in the Battle of Britain
    Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2021
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    Basic biographies about the Luftwaffe pilots who flew in the Battle of Britain. Not all of them were aces during it, but went on to score more kills afterwards. Although it is a decent book about the subject, I feel it could have been better...
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  • RAYMOND C. CLAY
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2015
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    thank you
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  • Mike O'Connor
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Battle of Britain as Experienced by Luftwaffe Aircrew!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2011
    Back in 2000, England's Crecy Publishing put out two similarly-themed books by Chris Goss: THE LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS' BATTLE OF BRITAIN and THE LUFTWAFFE BOMBERS' BATTLE OF BRITAIN. In 2011, Stackpole Books cobbled the two together and released it as LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS & BOMBERS, THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN. Given its subject and reasonable price-tag of $21.95, this two-fer will be appreciated by air combat buffs.

    The Stackpole edition runs to 396 pages; the fighter section taking up the first 194 pages. Both sections are divided along similar lines: Prologue to the Battle; The Battle Begins, July 1940; The Pace Quickens, August 1940; and Maximum Effort, September 1940.

    Goss did a great deal of research, compiling dozens of first-person narratives, combat reports and other documents that bring the individual aircrews' air war to vivid life. Goss often follows an account by a Luftwaffe pilot or crew member with that of the RAF pilot who engaged him in combat and/or shot him down. The book is illustrated with dozens of photographs of aircrew, aircraft, combat scenes and crash sites, most of them previously unpublished.

    All in all, LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS & BOMBERS, THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN offers a rare, up-close-and-personal look of the "other side's" experience of the Battle of Britain. The many reminiscences in the book along with the photographs put a human face on Luftwaffe ops over Great Britain during those critical months in 1940. Highly recommended.
    9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Paul Davies
    5.0 out of 5 stars A superb book telling the story from the other side of the Battle of Britain.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 13, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Chris Goss never wrote a bad book and this one is a rare gem. It tells the story of the Luftwaffe successful fighter pilots in the Battle of Britain. These names are often unknown apart from those of the ones written widely of such as Galland, Wick or Molders. Many others come to life in these pages and the picture emerges of a more balanced view in telling the story from the other side in the Battle of Britain. Besides being a good read, it also opens up questions as to why the training and gunnery skills were generally better for the experienced pilots of the Luftwaffe. The story has long needed to be told, sadly, all of the men written about are gone now, as are the fighter pilots of the RAF who opposed them, apart from one-Flt Lt. John Hemingway. Just telling the story from the RAF side is hiding the whole story and books like this balance the story and, if read without bias, will open your eyes to the simple fact that the Luftwaffe pilots were very similar to our own-they wanted to just fly the fast fighter aircraft, enjoy life while young, knowing the odds of surviving were against them, long-term. Many of the pilots written about were killed either in 1940 or later in the war, or in accidents afterwards. Very few survived to old age and the ones who did, were often friends with their former opponents and met at fighter pilot gatherings in Germany, America and Britain. The book is worthy of adding to your library to sit next to a similar book about the RAF fighter pilots, in order to balance the story. Later many of these men fought to defend their own country-as The Few had done in 1940, however they fought many times the number of aircraft in raids and struggled with even greater odds. A rare book and well worth reading. Chris Goss` other books telling of these men and machines are also worth reading. Paul Davies (Aviation Historian)
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  • Sergio Carneiro Correa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Otimo Livros sobre Ases da Luftwaffe da Batalha da Inglaterra
    Reviewed in Brazil on April 1, 2024
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    O auto fez uma extensa pesquisa sobre os ases alemães da Batalha da Inglaterra. É muito interessante para quem gosta do assunto. Muitas fotos e dados biográficos
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  • Pedro Lopes
    5.0 out of 5 stars Livro bastante completo
    Reviewed in Spain on October 7, 2021
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    Livro bastante completo e muito interessante. Recomendo !
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  • Peter Cook
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another Outstanding Book From Chris Goss
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2020
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    Once again Chris Goss has shown why he is the outstanding English author of all books on the Luftwaffe — aircraft, units and biographies. This title fills a gap in the coverage of the history of the Battle of Britain, providing biographies of the Luftwaffe 'aces' of this period, richly illustrated with a number of rare photos, it also includes comprehensive claims listings. Every Battle of Britain library should have this book!

    Peter Cook
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  • Mikey D
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good starter book if you're new to the subject.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 9, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This is a good starter-level primer on the subject of the Luftwaffe BoB aces. I would like to have had birth dates, birth places, award dates and post-war information as the pilot biographies are pretty basic, but more detail would have made this a much heavier tome than it is. All the photographs are very familiar to people with even a basic interest in the topic. If you studied the major works on the topic this book may not be for you. However, if you are new to the subject then I would definitely recommend it for you.
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