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

[John Vasco]

Nick: I don't believe she spoke sense about the Ju 87 force. We know that after the combats of 16th & 18th August that the Ju 87s were not used in force again, but she said they were not used because of the distance to London. What? Between 18th August and 7th September, as you know Nick, the Luftwaffe hammered at airfields, and they were well within the range of the Ju 87 had those units been based at the Pas de Calais.
As you say, the discussion was too much about the Bf 109.
I concur with your view re Galland. His post-war 'k' report (of which I have a complete copy) was the basis of his book, and was very much as you say.
I couldn't believe the mention of paratroopers and AA units. Yeah, paratroopers may come into play once any kind of invasion was attempted, but with regard to the aerial fighting over England, paratroopers had nothing to do with that. Ditto for Luftwaffe AA units.
She talked about the mental state of Luftwaffe crews. Did not the mental strain also apply to RAF fighter pilots also? Of course it did - she actually referenced the famous photo of Brian Lane. Nothing new there, and I was told stories from Luftwaffe veterans regarding this matter that I would never publish.
She also mentioned the initial bombing of Germany in 1940, and the fear of the population. What has that got to do with the Battle taking place over southern England? Absolutely nothing.
She closed by taking a swipe at Luftwaffe aircrew, and derided the fact that those who had interviewed them post-war looked on them with a certain amount of affection, as being just ordinary people. Her inference was that they were not. Her PhD was on 'The Luftwaffe and National Socialism in the Third Reich', so one might conclude here that her view was not entirely objective. I do not know whether she ever interviewed any Luftwaffe veterans - I suspect not. The likes of myself, Peter Cornwell, Chris Goss, Andy Saunders, and a whole host of others met and interviewed them, and I believe did not view them as a host of raging Nazis. She may hold that opinion of them; I certainly do not. They had a passion for flying. By dint of age and place of birth they flew for the Luftwaffe. That is all as far as I am concerned.

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by John Vasco

Nick: I don't believe she spoke sense about the Ju 87 force. We know that after the combats of 16th & 18th August that the Ju 87s were not used in force again, but she said they were not used because of the distance to London. What?

To reinforce your point, here's some numbers I picked up from Bundesarchiv RL 2-IV/13: Deutsche Kampf- und Seeflugzeuge.- Leistungsvergleich (Sept.1939–Sept.1944)

Eindringtiefe (radius of action)
Bf 109 E = 200–250 km
Bf 110 C-1 = 400 km
Ju 87 B-1 = 250 km (with 500 kg bombload)
He 111 H-1 = 1000 km (1000 kg)
He 111 P = 960 km (1000 kg)
Do 17 Z-1 = 610 km (500 kg)
Do 17 Z-2, Z-3 = 330 km (1000 kg)
Ju 88 A-1 = 1000 km (1000 kg)

In other words, the Ju 87 could reach any target a Bf 109 could.