The Rise and Fall of the German Air Force (Air Ministry Pamphlet)

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello,

Are the authors of this brilliant book known? I have a 2001 reprint and the authors are not mentioned.
Also, when was this book declassified? And when was the 1st unclassified edition published?

Best regards,
Andrey

[musec04]

Hi Andrey,

Does this help at all?

https://catalog.lib.msu.edu/Record/folio.in00000398940

Regards,

Clint

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hi Clint,

thank you very much!

Regards,
Andrey

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

So the year (1969) is apparently set. But the people listed are the editors. Tantum was certainly not the author, since he was 18 years old in 1948.

[Nick Beale]

The National Archives lists “The Rise and Fall …” as file AIR 41/10, dated 1948. The catalogue notes that the 2001 book duplicates what is in that file.

[Andy Mitchell]

Andrey,

A pdf copy of the 1948 edition can be downloaded from the AHB.

https://www.raf.mod.uk/what-we-do/ou...rce-1933-1945/

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Hello Nick,

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

The catalogue notes that the 2001 book duplicates what is in that file.

Yes, the 2001 edition is an exact reprint. I bought the book as soon as it appeared on Amazon. But the catalog says about the 1969 edition. Was it freely available? And did it even exist?

Best regards,
Andrey

[Andrey Kuznetsov]

Andy,

I downloaded it as well as the other AHB WW2 researches.
None of them seem to have authors listed. It seems that in UK secrecy was in some ways stricter than in the USSR. At least in Soviet classified researches the authors were always mentioned.

Best regards,
Andrey

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Andrey Kuznetsov

Andy,

It seems that in UK secrecy was in some ways stricter than in the USSR.

Best regards,
Andrey

In some ways it still is but I wouldn't be surprised if compiling this document was just a job handed to some RAF desk people or civil servants and nobody thought the authors need be credited. It would quite possibly be seen as the work of a department rather than individuals.

[leonventer]

Originally Posted by Andrey Kuznetsov

But the catalog says about the 1969 edition. Was it freely available? And did it even exist?

Hi Andrey,

Yes, I have a copy of the 1969 edition. Here are pictures of the cover and title page:




I also have a copy of the 1983 edition:




These two editions are essentially the same book, but with some minor differences:

• The 1983 edition has a new introduction by Air Commodore H.A. Probert, head of the RAF's Air Historical Branch.
• The 1983 edition is physically a bit larger but retains the exact same page layout, so the font is a bit bigger and more readable.
• Some of the maps in the 1983 edition are larger.
• Both contain the same number of photos and all the photo captions are the same, but the 1983 edition features different pictures of some subjects.

I don't have the 2001 edition, but I suspect it might have undergone some similar tweaking.

Hope that helps,
Leon Venter