Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

As a researcher of many subjects outside this field, I had to learn to do proper research by the seat of my pants. I have no college degree. But the basics never change, it only requires that willingness to learn and dedication.

In this field, the basics are always the same. Original witnesses was one, but those individuals have passed. What remains are photos, original documents, and diaries. Perhaps crash sites might yield other clues.

I am wary of books produced by known academic publishers. They tend to be more general when covering a topic or go on tangents that don't interest me. New writers entering the field need a wide range of sources and contact with other, established writers, or to at least read their work as a template of how it's done. I have read a number of master's theses online and they tend to lack a depth of understanding of the subject matter. They don't read very well in general. Research is one skill and learning how to write well is another.

Back to this book, it appears to suffer from an overabundance of breathless praise. This suggests to me that those quoted missed the fact that a substantial portion of this book does not cover the Battle of Britain. Or that they were so enthralled that someone completed a book like this that the actual contents were less important than the final book as a whole. That said, I shudder to think that the reviewers quoted are in any way representative of this field or military history publishing in general.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Nick,

My late father was a PhD, graduated on the CNRS in France, where we lived 4 years. I know what it takes to obtain that degree, having seen my father passing nights and nights alone digiting his thesis. However, in Brazil, nowadays it involves more politics and “to Butter someone up” (the Mastermind or Professor-Advisor) than personal capacity (I speak for myself and for the experience my wife related me. On my case, the Professor-Advisor wanted me to become her French-Portuguese translator, if I wanted to obtain a chance on the Master Degree; which I kindly declined. My wife took the Master test 2 times, on the last one the Professor-Advisor informed her that for THAT particular year, the candidate was already chosen…before the end of the tests!!…so would she kindly apply next year, so she would have a good chance! The chosen student was already the Professor-Advisor’s “fish”…so no one had a chance…even if you were better Academically qualified, if you spoke more languages or had more published Academic works…the place was already chosen before the test!). I do not know how it works in the UK Academies, nowadays, for instance.

Am sure that, if some of us here on the Forum were given the chance, we would have obtained also our Masters and Doctorate Degrees, am sure. Of course, only this Lady knows what she passed throughout to get her Doctorate in History, and I take my hat for that. By the way, I did not remember that Alfred Price did have a PhD (and I do have some of his works/books on the shelves)…the Dr “tittle” do appear on very few of the cover of his books:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sea..._ac_d_11&sts=t

Your own work on the NSGr.9 (which I do have and read), or Eric Monbeeck’s JG 2 History (or any other of his books), or Jean-Yves Lorant’s JG 300 History, which took 25 years of interviews, personal meetings (like you did with the NSGr.9 veterans), travels, review of Flugbüche and other documents ARE PhD or Post-Doctorates in themselves. So are the books of Dr. Jochem Prien and several other “Historians” and Researchers (French, Russians, Americans, Belgians, etc.). Most of you do not even have a Graduation in History, some are engineers, lawyers, etc….so the tittle here is just a “label”. Some UK authors are former RAF officers, but they do not use the “label” Squadron Leader or Wing Commander, on the tittles of their books or when they do sign their books. I met personally two of them, in 2019; one who saw combat in Iraq…his humility was (and am sure still is) impressive.

The PhD or whatever kind of “label” one may have (Captain, Director, Air-Chief Marshal, Doctor, etc.) is not directly proportional to the work or personality.

What I am meaning is that her PhD tittle did not help her to find the correct number of Bf 110’s damaged or lost in the Battle of Britain, according to one of the type experts and a “Historian” who published several books on the subject (John Vasco). We do not even know from where she took that information of the number of machines. You may be a General (and several UK Generals were sacked off during the war, including the commander of XXX Corps, after D-Day) or an Air Marshal (some were also sacked up from their positions in WW2)…if you do not do your work properly the tittle you do have before your name will not help.

And we, as Human Beings, we all make mistakes from time to time, so no blame on anyone. Recently a Historian published here an ERRATA of one of his works…typo errors, mistakes…anyway, that may happen to each of one here. History is something interesting…an undiscovered document or artifact or grave may appear and change something else that had previously been published (recently the wreckage of Otto Kittel’s machine was found, for instance).

Each author does know what he or she wants to pass to the reader. Of course, there are also the Editors, who rules out or cut something or ask for something else (to change the cover, for instance). So, one thing is to write a book, the other thing is to have it published. Maybe the tittle of her work did not help her, this time….because, if it is related to the Battle of Britain and John Vasco is reporting here that he is in the middle of the book and there is nothing related to the BoB yet…something is wrong there. And the quotation or letters from unknown LW soldiers somewhere on or from Germany…does not seems to be related directly to the Battle of Britain…(did she interviewed him personally? From where she obtained that first-hand information or letter?). Is she just trying to give us a glimpse of how it was on the home front, for a Luftwaffe soldier? I really did not get her point there….

There are good covers which bring us to good books and concise texts inside….
There are poor covers that, nevertheless, take us to nice texts inside (some without hundreds of photos, in some cases!),
And there are huge tittles that bring us nowhere. I do give you the example of Mr. David Baker “The Air War, 1939-1945” which was translated to Portuguese and was the first book I was unable to finish. Poorly translated, seems to have been written with IA, going from one side to another, just scratching the surface of the subjects, etc…a terrible reading experience, on my point of view.

https://www.amazon.com.br/Guerra-193.../dp/6558880555

As customers of WW2 books, we are just discussing here the pros and cons of this particular work of here. I do not know the Lady in question and do not know what she passed through to have this/her book published. Maybe she was more successful on another topic as some pointed out…anyway. A good topic and a good polite discussion.
I do quote Van den Besselaar (1974): “Historical knowledge is necessarily based on testimonies or documents. "Past de documents, pas d’Histoire".

EDWEST2, I do agree with you. Thanks for your comments.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Adriano, thank you for your kind words.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

edwest2: Excellent post #121. I, too, have no college degree, but in hindsight realise I was fortunate to be trained in the British Government department that I worked in as an 'Internal Investigator' (the Gov Department paid out State benefits, so was open to staff commiting internal fraud). The investigative training went way beyond the training the Police receive, and that helped greatly (I believe) with my research. The Rudyard Kipling short rhyme guided everything we did, and worked equally as well with all of my research:
I KEEP SIX HONEST SERVING MEN
THEY TAUGHT ME ALL I KNEW
THEIR NAMES ARE: WHAT AND WHY AND WHEN
AND HOW AND WHERE AND WHO
The above should be the metric by which all research is founded upon. From my reading over the decades, sadly that has not always been the case.

Adriano: I am not an 'expert'. I am someone who started on a path of trying to find information on a particular topic, and it grew and grew from there. What I did, and eventually achieved, could have been done by anyone else. That's all.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Thank you John. As a point of interest, when you're done, I'd like to know if you found anything in this book "revelatory."

Best,
Ed

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Will do, Ed. That is exactly what I am looking out for...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Chapter 8 read

Early weeks of July. Much about the German hierarchy and the preparations for a possible invasion of southern England. Hitler's 'appeal to reason'. Bomber Command's continued incursions, and the formation of the German night fighter force (you can read all about that in far greater detail in the book Peter Cornwell and I did in 1995, 'The Messerschmitt 110 and its units in 1940') and an interception on by Streib on 20th July.

Quote from the 'Baruther Anzieger' newspaper of 18th July. Quote from the Swiss 'Zürcher Illustrierte' magazine about 'Threatened England'. A quote from a Gefreiter in Flak Regiment 231...

Details of combat on 24th July, all of which is well-known to those who have read about the Battle.

Beaut of a sentence on page 137: '...Although the Channel Battle is often neglected by historians in favour of studying the Adlerangriff (Eagle Day) which took place from mid-August' [well there's a surprise, she'll enlighten us on her chosen topic!]. If that's what she thinks, she's been reading the wrong books, FFS! Rambles on about the rest of July with no discernable continuity or thread.

Make your own mind up about the above...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Thanks John, for giving us a glimpse of the Chapter 8 and the kind of juice we got at the end of pressing up the oranges...not too much for my taste, sadly.

I would like to know how many books or references are quoted on the Bibliography and if she read some of you, who published before she was born, books about the Battle of Britain History when the veterans were still alive and you had direct contact with them....

Each chapter you are passing through are giving us a clearer overview; and in my mind and humble opinion (without a Master or PhD degree), I do have already a formed opinion...but maybe there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

And by the way, I loved the story of the 6 men. Shall print that and keep at hand...

A.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

See my post #78 above. There is no separate bibliography, sources are identified in the notes on each individual chapter. My own impression was her list of primary and secondary sources was respectable — even if the words 'Bletchley Park', Enigma' and 'ULTRA' do not appear in the index.

She explains in the book that she used archives in Germany which hold personal letters and diaries. I think from memory that the Institut für Zetgeschichte was one of them.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Adriano,
She hasn't referenced any of my books.

I'll list those researchers/authors she has referenced later.

And Kipling's six serving men. Not only useful for researchers, but also for everyone who reads historical works. You can always apply those tests to what you are reading. Very useful.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

... or 'ground-breaking' or ( and I like this one) 'unprecedentedly detailed'. Crikey, I can barely even spell it...

..and where is the interest in quoting some anonymous Gefreiter when there are much more 'important' protagonists still untranslated, eg Meimberg, Cescotti etc

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

On X another well known historian and author has been full of praise for the book. How are both camps for and against diametrically opposite on their views?

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Chapter 9 read

Reaching the early part of mid-August. Letter of a junior doctor with KG 2. Uffz. of a Luftwaffe armoured train unit is quoted! Soldier based at Tessenow wrote about a night bombing raid. Quote from Jodl from a report about the landing operation must not fail. Differences of opinion among the top brass of the Third Reich. Poor Luftwaffe intelligence on the RAF. ‘Additional weaknesses within Luftwaffe intelligence included its delayed grasp of British radar’. What delay was this? On the first day against land targets, 12th August, Erprobungsgruppe 210 went after four RDF stations.

Page 151: Kurt Gerhard Raynor voluntarily reported to the training depot in Bitterfeld near Leipzig and applied for the Luftwaffe. What has that got to do with the Battle of Britain? Then, on the back of Werner Mölders flying a Hurricane and Spitfire at Rechlin pre-Battle of Britain, together with references to Galland, she discusses the relative merits of the two fighters from a German point of view.

Quotes Helmut Mahkle, a Ju 87 pilot, on combat on 9th August. Quote from Fink re KG 2 raid of 13th August. More quotes from the Baruther Anzieger. The chapter closes with her commenting that Fink managed to ‘survive the calamitous attack without fighter escort’. Had she referenced my book, ‘Bombsights over England’ re 13th August, she would have found out that Erprobungsgruppe 210 were tasked with attacking Hornchurch together with KG 2 in the early morning. As is well-known, Bf 110 units received the recall order. Hence ZG 26 and the Bf 110s of Erpr. Gr. 210 did not take part in the attack. However, Staffelkapitän Otto Hintze of the Bf 109 E-equipped 3./Erpr. Gr. 210 recorded a mission lasting 1 hour 35 minutes that matched exactly with Fink’s KG 2 attack on Eastchurch, and Sgt Skinner of the intercepting 74 Squadron mentioned that there WAS a Bf 109 escort. May I say that a lack of research of sufficient depth has contributed to a likely error. I do not say here that she SHOULD have read and referenced my book, but I believe it is a major reference work in any detailed and comprehensive study of the Battle.

PS. You won't believe the shit I've just read in a footnote upon starting to read Chapter 10...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Can you mention who that is, Chris?

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Amen to that, not to mention that a passage based on the following has been on my website since July 2012:

CX/JQ/220, paragraph 6

On 12/8 source saw a document giving instructions about tactics to be employed on flights to England. The assembling of bomber, fighter and heavy fighter units for attacks should so far as possible not take place over the coast, because the special enemy wireless stations (De Te Apparatus (sic)) will already be in action and reporting the assembly of the units, which gives the enemy fighters an undesirable advantage.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Chris,

The facts are all that is required. Not opinions. Not posts on X. If this book is badly "off topic" or just plain wrong, that needs to be reported. I suggest quoting some key points in this book and comparing them with the facts that clearly show the author is wrong, and posting that on Amazon.

I think the public deserves no less as well as the historical research community.

Sometimes, it happens that authors develop relationships that cannot see past this. Also, I have seen other examples of books appearing and the author appears unaware of the fact that there is a research community outside of their own circle.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Chapter 10 read

Nothing about the second attack on Manston on 14 August.

One paragraph about the action on 15 August, talking about the losses on both sides.

In the footnote on page 164 reference is made to the combat against Luftflotte 5 in the early afternoon of 15 August, and states ‘at no cost to the defenders’. She has obviously not done sufficient research into the Luftflotte 5 incursion, because the following was recorded by Fighter Command:
605 Squadron. Hurricane P2717. P/O K Schadtler-Law – wounded. Hit by return fire. Force-landed near Hart railway station and admitted to Hartlepool hospital with suspected crushed vertebrae, laceration of scalp and concussion. P/O Schadtler-Law did not fly again operationally.

605 Squadron. Hurricane P3827. F/O C Passy – safe. Hit by return fire off Newcastle. Force-landed and wrecked one mile from Usworth.

605 Squadron. Hurricane P3308. F/Lt A McKellar – safe. Damaged by return fire off Newcastle.

79 Squadron Hurricane. P/O Millington – safe. Damaged in combat.

She also states in the footnote ‘the Germans losing between fifteen and twenty Luftwaffe aircraft over north-east England’. It may be nit-picking on my part, but the actual total was 21 aircraft lost, between KG 26, KG 30, and I./ZG 76. This information has been available in ‘Battle of Britain Combat Archive’, volume 4, by Simon Parry, since 2017.

Nice account of the Stuka attack on 18 August from Kurt Scheffel, one who got back wounded from the mauling the Stukas received on that day.

Quoted Bechtle, Rieckhoff, and Deichmann, although she states that Deichmann ‘brought up the same myth’ re the Bf 110 fighter needing 109 escort in the BoB. She mentions the Bf 110 losses up to the end of August, but no mention of the Bf 109, which, on a pro-rata basis with regard to the number deployed, got equally malleted over the Channel and England. Some pages on radar (sic), and statistical information about losses, and inflated claims.

Page 176 footnote: ‘Geschwaderkommodore was often translated as ‘Wing Commander’, but this is not quite accurate – it was more of a position than a rank that technically translates to a ‘Wing Commodore’. Now I don’t know where she got this information from, but my understanding of a ‘Wing’ in the BoB was that of 3 squadrons, with a fourth sometimes tagged on as well. A Geschwaderkommodore had oversight of three Gruppen [9 Staffeln] (ZG 26, ZG 76), or two Gruppen [6 Staffeln] (ZG 2).

Galland’s ‘Squadron of Spitfires’ is mentioned. Yawn.

Mentions an order of 22 August from the Air District Command Western France re the need of Commanders to ‘commit themselves to impeccable driving discipline within their area of command’. So that accidents and deaths on the road did not occur. What? This is in a book on the Battle of Britain?

Finally a mention of the introduction of the Ju 88 and the initial problems encountered with it, quoting Peter Stahl.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Alfred Price was in touch with Scheffel and his story is in The Hardest Day so again not new as such

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

I do have manuscript of Scheffel`s memories. There are approx. 20 pages about this mission.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

I've bought the book. Its certainly well written and there's some considerable research behind it. I'm (sort of) enjoying it. But as some have pointed out, she's a 'professional' historian - this is not some random re-telling of the Luftschlacht um England. Hopefully this won't 'spoil' the ongoing review, but having been asked to think about the author's 'goal' in writing the book the way she did, I'm starting to understand why she has not used too many post-war accounts from those directly involved and preferred period diaries and letters.

No 'white-washing'.

Chapter 18 entitled 'Better liars than flyers' (not in quotation marks...although it should be) might indeed be described as 'revelatory' or 'ground-breaking'.

There, I've said it.

You can probably guess what's coming - in fact page 325 is barely believable and genuinely shocking....

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

I will keep as John Vasco wingman onto this thread...
No cross-check with RAF ORB's? No cross check with some available KTB at BAMA? No cross-checking of LW and RAF losses at BAMA and other post-war published books?
No quotations from some well known and relevant published works (post-war, of course) on the BoB? Obscur footnotes from German Newspapers (some we can find digitalized), letters from some N.C.O's deep inside Germany or stationed somewhere on the Western Front, but not directly related to BoB flying units (maybe she is looking at civilian morale or the morale of the troops....am not sure here about her proposals....since those letters are not directly related to the BoB).
And indeed John....historically speaking, "circa 15-20" is not, mathematically speaking too, equal to 21 losses....

Thanks again John for sharing your views on Chapters 9 and 10....we're getting a CLEAR view of her unclear and blurred work, in my humble (without Master or PhD Degrees and not a Graduation on History, rather Journalism) perspective.

P.S.: I shall keep on your wing, even inverted, onto this thread.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Don't forget who controlled German papers at the time-Dr Joseph Goebbel's Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda). I would be very careful as to using such as a balanced report. Page 325? Do enlighten us!

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Just checked that page (getting ahead of myself). The odd Lw person joining in with executions of jews.

Trying hard to understand her point in relation to the sub-title of the book, which is 'the LUFTWAFFE in the BATTLE OF BRITAIN'...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Chapter 11 read

Mainly covers what was heard by our sneaky microphones listening in to conversations between prisoners. A bit at the start about a bomber crew being entertained in a farmhouse.

On to chapter 12...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

the 'chivalrous fighter pilots' myth - the brave 'heroes' should not be detached from or cancel out 'the small pool of ruthless killers who already lurked in all branches of the Luftwaffe by the summer of 1940...' Some, like Lehweß-Litzmann, who flew his first sorties over England during this period, were aware of what was happening to civilians and Jews...etc etc

Lehweß-Litzmann - the Kommodore who switched sides

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

There is nothing wrong in writing a book about how the Germans themselves perceived the Battle of Britain, nor in discussing the kind of people some of the 'chivalrous heroes' actually were. Many of us here (me included) may gravitate to aircraft-by-aircraft analysis but context is not irrelevant.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

NICK,

I partially agree and disagree with you. Indeed, there is nothing wrong in showing what the WW2 German (or UK, or USA or even Brazilian) newspapers did publish at that time (and I used WW2 newspapers too, on at least one published and two of my current - unpublished - works) about the Luftwaffe campaign against England.

However the context she is adding those newspaper entries is not (in my opinion) related to what she is describing on the tittle of her work: "operational history" (not journalistic reports influenced by Nationalist Propaganda); or "everyday life and death for the ENTIRE Luftwaffe during its ten-months Luftschlacht um England".

Page 7: '...Eighty five years after the Battle of Britain, a comprehensive history on everyday life and death for the entire Luftwaffe during its ten-month Luftschlacht um England is yet to be penned. Thus, Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain rectifies this by providing a typical operational history of the German air force during the iconic campaign, but adopting a holistic approach that encompasses the rank and file of the infamous organisation...'
Chapter 4 read (John Vasco review).
Denmark and Norwegian campaign. For anyone who has read up on this north European campaign, I do not see anything new. The usual quotes from letters of completely unknown people writing home, with no connection to the BoB, and also from the odd aircrew and 'higher-ups'.

Regarding post #107
#107
…high-quality training remained of paramount importance, given that some Luftwaffe airmen had lost their lives by simply NEGLECTING to use their oxygen masks at high altitude.”

What she considers high altitude?

Is there positive evidence that Luftwaffe pilots neglected to use their oxygen masks?

One thing is to have leakages on the masks and your ULTRA on KGr 100 do quote an Oberleutnant (do not remember by heart his name now) asking for old versions of oxygen mask that fitted him or his large nose or face, to be sent directly to Vannes-Meucon, am I wrong?

I have read hundreds of war diaries and WW2 Aviation books...on quite a number of them, there are written (and remembered) cases of oxygen masks leakages and problems with valves....with the inevitable death of airmen both in RAF Fighter Command, RAF Bomber Command, on American WW2 memories, etc...and there are the cases when the author himself passed through the early simptons of hipoxia, but managed to control the situation and return.

In all published books I have read, never I read about of a Luftwaffe airmen not using his oxygen mask; fully knowing that he is going to fly above 12,000 feet. The only case I remember is that of Erich Sommer, when he talks about his Ju 86 R flights over England, in 1942...on a pressurized machine, on "Luftwaffe Eagle". Of course, below the critical height of circa 12,000 feet; ALL of them (Americans, British, Germans, etc.) could disconnect their oxygen masks without any physical harm, as we all know. Galland himself used to smoke below 12,000 feet without oxygen mask...and if memory does not fail me...Bader too smoked his pipe below that height.

Adriano

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Adriano, I don’t understand why my latest post made you think about oxygen masks when all I was trying to say was that the context in which the fighting took place is a legitimate thing to consider. If you haven’t already read it, I recommend ‘The German War’ by Nicholas Stargardt.

Whether Dr. Taylor is right or wrong about airmen not wearing their masks, I have no idea without reading the book and checking the source. Meanwhile, you might find something relevant in Bundesarchiv RL 8/78: Abteilung I T.- Atemmaske HM 51 für Höhenflüge (1939–1941) which is digitised.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

There is if the sub-title of the book is 'LIFE AND DEATH for the LUFTWAFFE in the BATTLE OF BRITAIN'.

Perceptions of the ordinary German people does not sit with the title/sub-title 100%. The actions of the odd rogue(s) equally has no relevance to the title or sub-title...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

[quote=Adriano Baumgartner;345158

In all published books I have read, never I read about of a Luftwaffe airmen not using his oxygen mask

Adriano[/QUOTE]

... slightly more disturbing - and the first time I've come across this- is Taylor's description of a Luftwaffe pilot being invited to participate in mass killing, being handed an MG and relishing the experience of mowing down 1500 Jews...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

From memory that incident came up in Söhnke Neitzel and Harald Welzer's book "Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing and Dying: The Secret Second World War Tapes of German POWs" and was taken from an SRA Report.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Oh please. Then write a book about killing Jews. This book, based on comments here, is a train wreck. The praise of various people I've never heard of is not to the author's credit either. An account of the Luftwaffe with the varnish removed? And who applied this varnish? The British press? The pilots who were part of the Battle of Britain?

I've seen this before. Put the "testimonials" at the top to sell the book. As a potential reader, my first concern is, how much of this book is actually about the Battle of Britain? 10%? Less?

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Here's the page, Ed. Page 325.

https://i.imgur.com/kQlMa4u.jpg

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Thank you John. Perhaps you, and others, might be interested in the following account. My mother, a non-Jew, is the character in the following.

The German occupation government rounded up teenagers in a Polish village in 1939. They were placed on cattle cars, with each car containing an individual called a "supervisor." As the train entered Germany, they were told it would not stop, only slow down. Moments before the jumping off point, they were shown how to throw off the one suitcase they were allowed to bring, followed by how they would jump off.

She would spend the rest of the war in Germany at a large farm. One day, RAF bombers appeared overhead. The target, a nearby railroad guarded by flak guns. A bomb fell short, and detonated nearby, throwing up a wall of dirt. She was buried but survived.

A neighbor of ours, a non-Jew, was sent to a concentration camp along with his father. Their crime? Trying to hide Jews. His father did not survive. As a boy, I noticed he always wore long-sleeve shirts, even in Summer. One day, when he did not wear it, I saw the long tattoo on his arm. Only later did I find out what it was.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

So, this is what we get at page 325 out of 432 pages. Sad. And not relevant.

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

I disagree. The author explains that we have largely 'rehabilitated' the Luftwaffe - the 'chilvarous' foe in the Battle of Britain - and thereby glossed over the crimes committed by certain sections of this branch of the Wehrmacht. This was possible because opposing airmen imagined post war that they had shared a common experience, whereas in fact one group was fighting for freedom, the other for a tyrannical dictatorship. I think that's what she's saying...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

John Vasco,

Firstly thank you for sharing that particular passage and the two pages with us.....

'-About the mentioned Oberleutnant FRIED.
According to the long work (years) of De Zeng, the sole FRIED we do have on his huge list of LW Officers are:
FRIED, ? . 04.41 Lt., a Zugführer in 1. Btr. I./Flak-Rgt. 19 (gem.mot.).
FRIED, Hans-Joachim. (DOB: 25.08.19). c. 10.37 joined the Luftwaffe at Quedlinburg and sent to the FFS A/B
school at Güben followed by the FFS C and BFS courses at Fürth plus a number of additional courses
elsewhere. 03.39 trf to Kü.Fl.Gr. 106 at Kamp. 01.08.39 commissioned Leutnant. 01.41 now in 2./Kü.Fl.Gr.
906. 15.05.41 Lt., 2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 906 WIA - BV 138 C-1 (8L+BK) destroyed in an apparent accident at Hörnum.
10.41 trf to 2./Kü.Fl.Gr. 506? 01.04.42 promo to Oblt. 08.11.42 Oblt. and pilot in a trainee crew from
Kampfschulgeschwader 2 Grosseto, POW in Ju 88 A-4 (VS+HG) shot down into the sea 40 miles E of Algiers
by naval AA-fire while flying an evening torpedo attack on an Allied cruiser [Version#2: 08.11.42 Oblt.,
III./KG 26 MIA/POW - Ju 88 A-4 (VH+GZ) or (VH+OC)? apparently AA hit over the Mediterranean N of
Algiers.].
FRIED, Otto. 12.42 Oblt., appt Offz. beim Stabe in 20. Flak-Div. (to 05.43)

So, NOT one above do matches the description of that supposed Oberleutnant Fried, who flew on a Transport unit and was captured as a POW (she did not inform his unit, when he was captured...nothing more. Her information is from 1940? 1941? 1942? 1943? 1944?). Anyway.....

Second, if a former LW airmen had previously served on other branches of the III Reich, such as the S.A. or the S.S., what they did previously is not related to their Luftwaffe career. They were wearing other uniforms and under other rules, obeying other superiors, etc...so technically this is NOT related to the Luftwaffe itself and most particularly, to the TITTLE of the book this lady is selling (Battle of Britain).

Another good point....Raymond A. Lallemant, DFC; nicknamed "Cheval" was very fond of horses...and on some books (I will try to find the correct passages for adding here later, since they are not at hand now), it is said that he was very sad when he had to fire 20mm ammunition or 60 pounds rockets on the Whermacht troops using horse-drawn vehicles in Normandy (and post-Normandy), because he did not like to kill horses....So, for the British Historian, a German pilot saying the same quotation is a crime...but a RAF airman saying that he did not care with the lives of German soldiers and was more worried with the horses, this is not a crime too?

The mammoth work of this lady is becoming clearer and clearer for me...

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Before someone do critic the post on Oberleutnant FRIED...am not saying he did not existed and actually flew Transport airplanes (and was captured in the Battle of Britain flying Transport airplane? This is NOT clear on the lady's description)....surely there are officers that De Zeng have not found the file....but if memory does not fail me, he compiled almost 90 or 90+% of ALL Luftwaffe Officers Careers.....

Just a another small correction on De Zeng (et all) huge work....92,914 officers listed from known 120,000...so 77,42% are on his site.....
So, technically and eventually this Oberleutnan FRIED mentioned by her may be on the 23% missing.....

https://www.ww2.dk/Lw%20Offz%20-%20G...tro%202024.pdf

Re: Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
 

Like I said above, I read this story in Neitzel’s book with a specific SRA report cited as the source. Those reports are in the AIR40/ series at the National Archives. I’ve been using them for years and have no doubt as to their authenticity. They record real conversations between real people and the transcripts are usually available both in the original German and an English translation. As you can see from the image that John posted, Dr. Taylor also puts a reference against this passage which can be checked in her source notes.