The Rise and Fall of the German Air Force (RAF at War)
Genre: Kindle Edition
Author: Air Ministry
Price: £0.00
The Rise and Fall of the German Air Force, also known as Air Ministry Pamphlet No 248 was written in the immediate aftermath of World War II as an "after action" or "lessons learned" report on the German Air Force in World War II. It was not a literary work, but an intelligence report on how the German Air force operated and what mistakes led to its defeat. The writing style of the book might not be of the best but the thinking behind it is clear and analytical.
The writers observed that the central reason for the defeat of the German Air Force and German Armed Forces in the World War II was a failure of the Germans to distinguish between tactical success and strategic failure.
The German Air Force was in many ways far ahead of its contemporaries. In 1939 it had the best aircraft, an air supply and transport organisation that was without equal and pilots and tactics that had been perfected in the Spanish Civil War . It had a tactical mobility that was breathtaking for the era and enabled it to concentrate forces over thousand mile distances in a few hours.
The book itself is based on intelligence 'captured' at the end of WW2. Or so the writers say. Clearly much of the information, particularly that about the Russian Front comes from Enigma decrypts. In describing the battle of Kursk the writer slips up and gives the game away.
"During June on the other hand German positions took more positive shape and it became clear that two main concentrations were being established on either side of the Kursk salient"
In creating a 'narrative' Kindle version of the book the many maps and illustrations of the original have had to be removed. They are informative adjuncts to the book, but not essential to the book itself. It is hoped they will not be too badly missed. More importantly the prose style of the original has been edited - paragraph by paragraph. The temptation was to rewrite whole sections of the book, but that would have detracted from the importance of the book as an intelligence analysis. Instead it was decided to break up the sentences (some of which ran to over 200 words) into small chunks and to change the vocabulary only when absolutely necessary.
The writers observed that the central reason for the defeat of the German Air Force and German Armed Forces in the World War II was a failure of the Germans to distinguish between tactical success and strategic failure.
The German Air Force was in many ways far ahead of its contemporaries. In 1939 it had the best aircraft, an air supply and transport organisation that was without equal and pilots and tactics that had been perfected in the Spanish Civil War . It had a tactical mobility that was breathtaking for the era and enabled it to concentrate forces over thousand mile distances in a few hours.
The book itself is based on intelligence 'captured' at the end of WW2. Or so the writers say. Clearly much of the information, particularly that about the Russian Front comes from Enigma decrypts. In describing the battle of Kursk the writer slips up and gives the game away.
"During June on the other hand German positions took more positive shape and it became clear that two main concentrations were being established on either side of the Kursk salient"
In creating a 'narrative' Kindle version of the book the many maps and illustrations of the original have had to be removed. They are informative adjuncts to the book, but not essential to the book itself. It is hoped they will not be too badly missed. More importantly the prose style of the original has been edited - paragraph by paragraph. The temptation was to rewrite whole sections of the book, but that would have detracted from the importance of the book as an intelligence analysis. Instead it was decided to break up the sentences (some of which ran to over 200 words) into small chunks and to change the vocabulary only when absolutely necessary.
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