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The JG 26 War Diary, Volume I, 1939-1942
Donald
Caldwell
"Aviation enthusiasts should not miss this book."
- Bill Stone, Stonebooks.com
JG 26 was
considered by both the Allies and
the Axis to be the best German
fighter unit from 1940 to 1944. It
gained that status initially as a
result of outstanding leadership
during the Battle of Britain in
1940, and held it as a natural
outgrowth of its war station on
the Channel coast, where its
mission was to fend off attacks by
the best aircraft and airmen that
the Allies could muster. During
the years 1941 and 1942 JG 26,
with no more than 124 fighters
under command, completely
dominated the airspace over
northern France and western
Belgium.
Presented in a
unique data-rich format, this
volume covers the unit from its
origin to the end of 1942, when it
had reached the peak of its power
and influence. The main body
comprises a daily chronology of
the wing’s activities. As only two
of the thirty volumes of the
unit’s official diary survived the
war, the creation of a daily
combat log was not a simple matter
of transcribing records, but
required careful comparison of
Allied documents, especially those
derived from radio intelligence,
with the limited material
available from Germany. The book
is based largely on primary
documentation obtained from the
unit’s veterans and on material
from the national archives of
Germany and the UK and from the
USAF Historical Research Agency.
Despite their unavailability in
German the author’s first two
books on JG 26 proved extremely
popular with the unit’s veterans,
resulting in unprecedented access
to their personal documents and
photo collections. This book is
thus new in every respect. In
common with all of the author’s
works, it is a highly readable,
unbiased, thoroughly-researched
history.
The book is fully
illustrated and annotated. It
contains 150
previously-unpublished photos of
JG 26 personalities, scenes, and
aircraft; area maps; and a
complete bibliography. Lists of JG
26 casualties (with Allied
victors) and JG 26 aerial
victories (with Allied victims)
are included in the text. The
appendices contain lists of the
unit’s bases and commanders. Such
compilations were very unusual in
English-language histories when
the book first appeared, and have
been of great value for
enthusiasts and historical
researchers.
This
book has just been reprinted as a softback by Stackpole Books:
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Selected
Reviews:
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“Donald Caldwell….
has produced a third title about…
[JG 26]. This is his best one
yet. It is, as the title states,
very much a war diary and the
material is organized in the form
of diary entries. For each day
there is a narrative account of
the air action (longer or shorter,
depending on how much occurred on
that date) and—depending on the
intensity of the action—after
every few days there is a table
summarizing JG 26 victory
claims and casualties for the
period. These are very precise and
detailed… Scattered throughout the
chapters are quotes and
recollections from participants,
photos, and other supporting
material…
“Excellent
information well presented, and a
very handsome, well-done
production job. Aviation
enthusiasts should not miss this
book.”
— Bill Stone,
stonebooks.com
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Buy
the hardback from the author (signed copy) or the American
distributor or English
publisher.
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Buy the softback from its publisher
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