The ME 262 Stormbird : from the pilots who flew, fought, and survived it / Colin D. Heaton and Anne-Marie Lewis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Heaton, Colin D.

Contributor:

Lewis, Anne-Marie.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Messerschmitt 262 (Jet fighter plane).

Fighter pilots--Germany--Biography.

Fighter pilots.

World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations.

World War, 1939-1945.

Germany. Luftwaffe. Jagdgeschwader 7--History.

Germany.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (351 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, Minn. : Zenith Press, c2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Me 262 was the first of its kind, the first jet-powered aircraft. Although conceived before the war, with the initial plans being drawn in April 1939, the Stormbird was beset with technological (particularly the revolutionary engines) and political difficulties, resulting in it not entering combat until August 1944, with claims of nineteen downed Allied aircraft. The performance of the Me 262 so far exceeded that of Allied aircraft that on 1 Sepember 1944, USAAF General Carl Spaatz remarked that if greater numbers of German jets appeared, they could inflict losses heavy enough to force cancellation of the Allied daylight bombing offensive. The story of how the Stormbird came to be is fascinating history, and it comes to life in the hands of noted historian Colin Heaton. Told largely in the words of the German aces who flew it, The Me 262 Stormbird provides the complete history of this remarkable airplane from the drawing boards to combat in the skies over the Third Reich. Features two forewords, one by Jorg Czypionka, Me 262 night fighter pilot, and another by historian and author Barrett Tillman.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Title""; ""Dedication""; ""Contents""; ""List of Tables""; ""Forewords""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Introduction""; ""Chapter 1 Too Little, Too Late""; ""Chapter 2 On the Drawing Board""; ""Chapter 3 Test Flights""; ""Chapter 4 In the Field""; ""Chapter 5 Competition and Innovation""; ""Chapter 6 The Stormbird Takes Wing""; ""Chapter 7 A Questionable Political Decision""; ""Chapter 8 First Encounters""; ""Chapter 9 Challenges of the Jet""; ""Chapter 10 Night and Day""; ""Chapter 11 Fighting the Fighters""; ""Chapter 12 Fighting the Bombers""; ""Chapter 13 Kommando Nowotny""

""Chapter 14 The Death of Nowotny""""Chapter 15 Kommando Nowotny Carries On""; ""Chapter 16 Victories in the Face of Defeat""; ""Chapter 17 Allied Forces Fight Back""; ""Chapter 18 The Last Death Throes of JG-7""; ""Chapter 19 Galland and the Squadron of Experts""; ""Chapter 20 The Loss of Steinhoff""; ""Chapter 21 Back in the Air""; ""Chapter 22 Galland�s Last Mission""; ""Chapter 23 The End of the War and JV-44""; ""Chapter 24 Operations Lusty and Paperclip: The Postwar Scramble for Jets""; ""Appendix 1: “My Last Mission�""; ""Appendix 2: German Ranks and Medals""

""Appendix 3: Additional Me 262 Data""""Bibliography""; ""Notes""; ""Index""; ""A""; ""B""; ""C""; ""D""; ""E""; ""F""; ""G""; ""H""; ""I""; ""J""; ""K""; ""L""; ""M""; ""N""; ""O""; ""P""; ""Q""; ""R""; ""S""; ""T""; ""U""; ""V""; ""W""; ""Y""; ""Z""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from title page (ebrary, viewed May 15, 2013).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781610584340

1610584341