Fighter Command's Air War 1941 : RAF Circus Operations and Fighter Sweeps Against the Luftwaffe / Norman Franks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Franks, Norman L. R., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, British.

World War, 1939-1945.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (281 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Barnsley, [England] : Pen & Sword Aviation, 2016.

Summary:

An extensive history of the Royal Air Force's Circus offensive against Nazi Germany in World War II, by the author of Jasta Boelcke. Following the Battle of Britain, the RAF started taking the air war to the Germans. A small number of bombers, escorted by large numbers of fighters, tried to force the Luftwaffe into battle. Much air combat ensued, but it was not until Germany invaded Russia in June, 1941, that operations were stepped up in an effort to take pressure off Stalin's Russian Front. Two major German fighter groups, JG26 and JG2, were, however, more than able to contain the RAF's operations, generally only intercepting when conditions were in their favor. As author Norman Franks describes, over-claiming combat victories by pilots of both sides is amazing, and several of the top aces had inflated scores. Fighter Command, however, lost massively even though they believed they were inflicting equal, if not better, losses on the Luftwaffe. This battle of attrition was virtually a reverse of the 1940 battles over England, and pilots who had to bail out over France, were lost completely. The book covers the 100+ Circus operations and their accompanying fighter sweeps in detail, while also mentioning lesser operations where the RAF were concerned. The tactics employed by both sides are examined and show how each fighter force quickly adapted to changing conditions tempered by experiences gained in air combat.

Contents:

Intro

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contents

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1: What will the New Year Bring?

Chapter 2: Step by Step

Chapter 3: Inland

Chapter 4: Supporting Russia

Chapter 5: July - and the Heavies

Chapter 6: Stirlings Forge Ahead

Photo Gallery

Chapter 7: The Blenheims Return

Chapter 8: Summer at Last - Well, Almost

Chapter 9: Thoughts from the Top

Chapter 10: September

Chapter 11: Autumn

Chapter 12: Aftermath

Appendix A: Circus Operations flown during 1941

Appendix B: Single-seat Day Fighters Order of Battle January 1941

Appendix C: Single Seat Day Fighters Order of Battle 1 June 1941

Appendix D: Statistics Relating to Day Offensive Operations by Fighter Command, 1941

Bibliography.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed October 7, 2016).

ISBN:

9781473847231

1473847230