Jagdverband 44 was formed in February 1945 on Hitler's orders, to fly the Me 262 "Stormbird", the world's first operational jet fighter, and demonstrate its superiority. The unit was led by the legend
The 1st Pursuit Group claimed more enemy kills than any other Group in the United States Air Service in World War I, partly thanks to 'ace of aces', Eddie Rickenbacker, and balloon-busting ace, Frank
This book traces the combat history of the most famous and highest-scoring fighter group in France's World War I Aviation Militaire. Groupe de Combat 12 boasted the highest-scoring Allied fighter pilo
Nicknamed the 'Unicorns', the 359th FG was one of the last groups to arrive in the UK for service in the ETO with the Eighth Air Force. First seeing action on 13 December 1943, the group initially fle
When the revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter first appeared in the skies over northwest Europe in mid-1944, it represented the greatest challenge to Allied air superiority since the Battle
By the autumn of 1916, with the formation of the new Jagdstaffeln, the pendulum of aerial supremacy had once again swung in favor of the German Air Force. The battle of the Somme in 1916 saw the RFC s
JG 51 is one of the Luftwaffe's top wartime fighter units whose story has never been told in English. The unit's history encapsulates the fortunes of the Luftwaffe's fighter arm as a whole: the heady
Formed in May 1936, 53° Stormo was initially equipped with the iconic Fiat CR.32 biplane fighter. These were replaced by CR.42s three years later, and upon Italy's declaration of war on the Allies in
The 'storm troopers' of the Luftwaffe, the elite Strumgruppen units comprised the most heavily armed and armoured fighter interceptors ever produced by the Germans. Their role was to smash like a migh
The pilots called themselves the 'Tokyo Club'. It was a simple task to become a member. All you had to do was strap yourself into a heavily loaded P-51 Mustang, take off from Iwo Jima (a postage-stamp
The Jagdgeschwader 400 group was formed for the sole purpose of flying one of the world's most revolutionary aircraft - the rocket-powered Me 163. Although the Me 163 scored relatively few kills, givi
Undoubtedly the most famous of any nation’s aviation units in World War 1 was the legendary Jagdgeschwader Nr 1, or ‘The Flying Circus’ as its respectful foes labelled it. Germany’s first true fighter
The USAAC's Tuskegee Experiment, designed to prove that African-Americans were not capable of flying combat aircraft, ironically resulted in the creation of one of the USAAF's elite units.Crewed by hi
After struggling with inadequate supplies of aircraft and materiel, the veteran pilots of the Geschwader would go on to enjoy incredible successes against French and American opponents in September 19
Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) was the most successful and highest-scoring fighter unit, not just in Germany’s World War 2 Luftwaffe, but in the entire annals of aviation history. No other fighter group ha
