{"product_id":"bf-109de-9781472850317","title":"Bf 109DE","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eUsing first-hand accounts and brand-new artwork, this book brings to life the realities of flying the Bf 109 in combat during the very first battles of World War II.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Bf 109 was one of the principal fighter aircraft types in the Luftwaffe''s inventory during the opening months of World War II and it was central to many of Germany''s early victories, before coming up against the unbeatable RAF during the Battle of Britain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis book presents first-hand experiences of the pilots who flew the Bf 109E, the aircraft which first featured a Daimler-Benz DB 601 powerplant, and which was in the front line in the skies over Poland, the Low Countries and France, and the older Bf 109D, still in use in the Polish campaign.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe early variants of the Messerschmitt fighter, the Bf 109E-1, Bf 109E-2 and Bf 109E-3, swept all before them during the opening wartime campaigns, their successes only fading at the Battle of France, when the Bf 109''s seasoned pilots encounter\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou will not find any books out there with this high level of detail supported by superb artwork at such an affordable price. I highly recommend this book to any Luftwaffe historians, Bf 109 enthusiasts, or anyone wanting to learn more about early Luftwaffe fighter capabilities, design, and employment in the first year of the war. -- Todd Shughart * Aviation News Magazine *\u003cbr\u003eThe swooping illustrations of individual actions add drama, being accompanied by a step by step explanation of the action. All this makes for a fascinating and original look at a well-documented subject material -- Gary Hatcher * Scale Aircraft Modelling *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 1  In Battle Two case studies of aerial combat in the opening phases of World War II, these being the initial actions over Poland and the start of the Battle of France   Chapter 2  Setting the Scene Design, development, production, early actions, the Polish campaign explained leading to detailed analysis of the Bf 109E’s participation in the Battle of France against French and British aerial opposition   Chapter 3  Path to Combat Charting the careers of two Luftwaffe pilots who flew the Bf 109E in combat during the opening phases of World War 2, including Johannes ‘Hannes’ Trautloft who the author has studied in depth   Chapter 4      Weapon of war A brief technical appraisal of the Bf 109E-1 and E-3, detailing their development and the weaponry they employed   Chapter 5      Art of War Tactics for Bf 109E units at the start of World War II were in their infancy, and drew on combat experience during the Spanish Civil War and the actions of the \u003ci\u003eLegion Condor\u003c\/i\u003e. This chapter will look for example at the employment of the revolutionary ‘finger four’ combat formation, and how it revolutionised fighter combat to the point where all other air arms eventually adopted it as a standard offensive formation. The ‘Split S’ manoeuvre and the evolution of the \u003ci\u003eRotte\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eSchwarm\u003c\/i\u003e tactical formations will also be explained.   Chapter 6      Combat In this chapter, Bf 109E pilots explain what it was like fly the ‘Emil’ in combat against the widely differing opposition that was encountered in the opening months of World War 2, from such obsolete, but highly agile, types as the Polish PZL P.11 to the French Morane-Saulnier MS.406 and British Hawker Hurricane fighters that had comparable performance to the ‘Emil’.   Appendices    Listing of early Bf 109E units, aces and performance data    Index\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48867220848983,"sku":"9781472850317","price":12.59,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781472850317.jpg?v=1722282276","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/bf-109de-9781472850317","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}