Messerschmitt Me 262s of KG & KG(J) units, Luftwaffe over Czech Territory - 1945, III.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

I received this superb book early last week as an author's complementary copy because of very minor contributions I made to this volume.

With that caveat, I can readily recommend this superb volume to anyone interested in the history of the Me 262, its history in Czechoslovakia, and/or histories and camouflage and markings of specific Me 262's that served in Czechoslovakia.

The authors are David E. Brown, Aleš Janda, Tomáš Poruba, and Jan Vladař. The book is published by JaPo and is copyright 2010.

The first third of the book begins with a brief history of the Me 262 up to the point of its involvement in Czechoslovakia, then slows down to cover actions day by day. The amount of detail is phenomenal and, while I have researched the Me 262 for some 55 years, this work has humbled me. The authors have seamlessly blended information from German documents, some of which are reproduced, Allied combat reports, local police reports, and even interviews of folks who were mere children at the time. The authors have identified command structures over and over again. The fuel situation, that is, the lack of fuel, is repeatedly discussed. For the authors to have uncovered so much very late war detailed information blows me away, as I consider myself very fortunate to find a document dated in April 1945.

The final two-thirds of the book gives histories of individual Me 262's involved in Czechoslovakia, including camouflage and markings. In this, I sense a major contribution by David.

Regards,
Richard