Luftwaffe

by Christopher Staerck and Paul Sinnott

Book Overview

Luftwaffe examines Allied intelligence on the German air force in World War II. Drawn from declassified documents in the British Public Record Office, the book compares the secret dossiers that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574885375
• ISBN13: 9781574885378
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.4" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

A View into How Intelligence Works

It appears the the release of previously secret information from World War II will never end. In this book, the authors have examined the files of the British Air Intelligence (AI) for every scrap of information they could find on every airplane that the Germans had. Then they organized this information so that each airplane has a chronological report of what the British learned, when, and from what source. The main sources are photo recon (PR), prisoner interrogation, and examination of crashed planes. From a standpoint of studying the planes themselves, there are only a few tidbits of new data (and some of the things that the Brits learned were wrong and didn't show up until later). From the view of trying to see what the British were learning and how they learned it it is a fascinating piece of work. It gives an insight into how intelligence is gathered. It makes it much easier to understand about how big intelligence lapses (Pearl Harbour, 9/11) can happen. A specialized book, but very interesting.

Including some never-before-published pictures

Collaboratively researched and written by military historian Christopher Staerck and military aviation expert Paul Sinnott, Luftwaffe: The Allied Intelligence Files provides the reader with an amazing behind-the-scenes tour of the Allied intelligence service's struggle against the German air force in World War II. Drawing upon once-secret dossiers used to gauge enemy aircraft, and incorporating what is today known of the Luftwaffe, while utilizing black-and-white photographs of captured and deserted aircraft (including some never-before-published pictures), Luftwaffe additionally benefits from a straightforward and detailed narration. Presenting as it does the underside of one, critical piece of that global struggle, Luftwaffe is a very strongly recommended addition to World War II history and military aviation collections.

New Information

As a Luftwaffe enthusiast I greatly enjoyed this book. There's a lot of fresh information and photos I'd never seen before.

Something Different on the Luftwaffe

I enjoyed this book a great deal. As someone with a long time interest in the Luftwaffe this book adds a new angle. There's a lot of detail and photgraphs I hadn't seen anywhere else before. The intelligence histories take you back to WWII real time information. Overall a fresh take on a fascinating subject.