Arming the Luftwaffe

[edwest]

The publisher was remiss in not providing even a projected page count. I do hope that the nuts and bolts as it were, are covered in sufficient detail along with a proportioned view of the slave labor component.

Scheduled for 2012.


http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.p...-0-7864-6521-7



Usual disclaimer,
Ed

[Dénes Bernád]

I checked in other places and indeed, the no. of pages is not given anywhere.
Nevertheless, I placed an order for the book.

[Doug Stankey]

Gentlemen!

My eyebrows were raised a couple of notches when I realized that the "Arming the Luftwaffe" being referred to in the thread was NOT the book that I have had in my posssession since 1978, but a completely different book!

The book I have a copy of is:

Homze, Edward. L. Arming the Luftwaffe (Lincoln, Nebraska:University of Nebraska Press, 1976). ISBN 0-8032-0872-3. - 296 pages - few illustrations

The title is misleading as this is actually about the program management and financial aspects during the build-up years. (A more accurate title might have been "Program Management of the Luftwaffe" but I suspect that this might not leap off the shelves, unless to escape.) Thus far, this is the only book I have seen on this aspect of our favorite subject. I recommend it highly. Mr. Homze is described in the dust jacket as:

A professor of history at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Edward L. Homze is the author of Foreign Labor in Nazi Germany (1967) and with Alma Homze, of: Germany: The Divided Nation (1970) and Willy Brandt (1974).

Not mentioned, because it came later, was:

Homze, Edward L. German Military Aviation - A Guide to the Literature (New York: Garland Publishing, 1984). ISBN: 0-8240-9059-4. - 234 pages, no illustrations.

This is a general bibliography of various publications pertaining to the Luftwaffe with commentary from an academic perspective. Interesting, but conspicuously dismissive of technical topics. It is also now terribly dated, as a flood of excellent books has since gushed from the pens of many knowledgeable authors.


Anyway, I thought that the readership should be apprised of this.

DGS

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear All,

Arming the Luftwaffe: The German Aviation Industry in World War II, by Daniel Uziel, is described at McFarland's website at:

http://www.mcfarlandpub.com/book-2.p...-0-7864-6521-7

This soft cover book runs 312 pages and contains 59 photos. I have known Daniel since 2003. He and I met up at NARA II in 2004 while he had a 1-year fellowship at the NASM. His fellowship topic was the German aircraft industry during the last year of the war, a subject not very well covered and certainly of great interest to me and many others. This book is the culmination of this research as well as research conducted worldwide.

As for the book's title, Daniel wrote to me:

'The title photo is OK now, but the publisher chose the title for the sake of publicity. It does not really reflect the focus of the book and I am afraid that this is the first thing reviewers are going to “kill”.'

So, he's already had his first kill here.

I have helped a bit here and there as I could toward the book, but the vast majority of the research effort credit goes to Daniel. I haven't received my author's copy yet, but I can assure you that the book is well worth your consideration. Anyone who would spend the amount of time Daniel spent in front of the microfilm readers as he did for a year has my empathy and respect.

Regards,
Richard

PS. Corrected the link. Sorry.

[Jukka Juutinen]

Richard, the link seems not to work. Anyway, even if the book concentrates on the last year of the war, it will interest me...

Edit: Ed's link works, but not Richard's...

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Jukka,

I had hand copied the link and failed to include part of it. It is now fixed.

Regards,
Richard

[Dénes Bernád]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

'The title photo is OK now, but the publisher chose the title for the sake of publicity. It does not really reflect the focus of the book...

If not German aircraft production then what is the actual focus of the book? I have pre-ordered it, thinking that I will have a general overview of German aviation industry, with lots of 'juicy' details (precise production figures, including sub-types, W.Nr. blocks, etc.)..

P.S. The bookseller (www.thebookdepository.co.uk) just informed me that the book is on its way to me.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Dénes,

The book is out, so it shouldn't be all that long before you have it. My copy will be coming from Israel, so it is going to take a while before I see it.

While it would be nice to have specific production figures and Werk-Nr. lists by aircraft type, my guess is that that isn't what the focus of the book is about. Rather, I expect the book to take us through the history of the evolution of how aircraft got from the initial proposals to actual production, which varied during the war. Uziel had focused very heavily in his research on the He 162, as he considered this essentially the final refinement of this process. The fact that, like the U.S. P-80, it was turned out in an amazingly short time speaks toward the refinement of the process. Add to this that its development and set up for production came at the very end of the war when resources were severely taxed/limited by the crushing Allied efforts and its quick evolution is really remarkable. Now, this is not to say that the design/concept, itself, wasn't flawed, which it certainly was, but just speaks to the manufacturing process, itself.

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Dear Richard,



Based on the information given here, I have only mixed feelings about this book. And, for the sake of fairness, the P-80 had its share of problems as well, with orders being given to look at German research to solve further problems.



Regards,
Ed

[Dénes Bernád]

Originally Posted by Richard T. Eger

...I expect the book to take us through the history of the evolution of how aircraft got from the initial proposals to actual production, which varied during the war. Uziel had focused very heavily in his research on the He 162, as he considered this essentially the final refinement of this process.

Well, in light of this summary, I will have a copy for sale soon.