Mushroom Model Magazine

"An Ordinary Day in 1945"

Red Series book # 5108   written by Peter Kassak 

ISBN # 8389450224     Price  £ 9.00  (GBP)

Product Article by Steve Bamford on Oct 2 2007

 

 

 

This 80 page soft cover book from Mushroom Model Magazine covers the operation on one day during WW2.  Specifically the date is 2 March 1945 and  Allied bombing missions by the 8th Air force over Germany and the hopeless efforts of the Luftwaffe to defend Germany from the bombers and their escort fighters.  By this point in the war the Allies had a huge numerical superiority and the Luftwaffe was a hunted force attempting to survive one day at a time against 10 to 1 odds.

This book chronicles the sorties on both sides, which for many were their final sorties.  These were famous Aces and new pilots that didn't survive their first missions.  There was bravery on both sides mixed with absolute fear.  This book tells the story of this day from the eyewitness that were there as well as the documents that survived.  It's a gripping book full of individuals stories.

It does not cover the Russian front and instead focuses on the western European theatre of operations.  The Luftwaffe jets were operational and able to keep enemy fighters off their tail due to their superior speed and were thus able to choose the time and place they would engage in combat.  But the jet bases were constantly watched by Allied fighters hoping to catch one of the jets in it's most vulnerable point when it was exposed as it came in for a landing back at it's home base. 

 

Germany was on it's knees at this point in the war, but the Luftwaffe high command kept pressing the fight, unwilling or unable to admit the obvious truth that all the young pilots knew all to well.  This books is filled with first hands accounts of individual combat.  This is a well researched book and takes great pains to include the fine details on individual missions and pilots names etc that can often be overlooked when telling the story of an event as big as WW2.   This is the beauty of devoting a book to just one day......the richness of the details. This book is a wonderful historical slice that gives the riveted reader a deep look into the depths of WW2 on a personal level. 

In the back of the book after the stories and photos that tell the tales from this fateful day in so many peoples lives, there are charts telling the names of the pilots that scored victories, where it happened, what they were flying and what they shot down.  The names of airmen lost on each side if included with details of what they were flying and what group they were flying with (Squadron etc).   There are lists with pilots individual names and who they were flying with that day.....individual names......this brings the history alive when you consider the personal side of the war.  Code letters and serial numbers for Allied aircraft shot down and code letters and Werk. Nr. for the Luftwaffe aircraft that were shot down are included with the pilots names.  This bring it all home.

Colour profiles for 36 aircraft on both sides including P-61, P-51, B-24, B-17, Tempest, Spitfire, Fw-190D-9, Bf-109, Me-262, Fw-190, and Ar-234 are also included.  This book tells a gripping story and includes 72 vintage photos mostly of the young pilots that fought and often died on this day as well as vintage photos of the aircraft they flew.  This book tells their story in riveting accuracy and detail.  

To buy a copy of this book please go to http://www.stratusbooks.com.pl/catalog/

Steve

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Photos and text © by Steve Bamford