Jagdverband 44: Squadron of Experten (Aviation Elite Units, 27)

Osprey Publishing has produced a richly fascinating book about a most unique German fighter unit --- Jagdverband 44 (JV 44) -- that was created in February 1945 "amidst political dissent within the leadership of the Luftwaffe." Its commander was Adolf Galland, the youngest general officer in the German military, distinguished fighter ace, and General of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Arm) until his dismissal in January 1945. Galland's goal in setting up JV 44 was to prove the efficacy of the Messerschmitt ME 262 jet fighter in the purely fighter role in combat. (The deployment of the ME 262 in combat had been delayed because of Hitler's insistence that it be used as a bomber.) To this end, Galland recruited some of the most highly skilled and experienced fighter pilots -- officers and NCOs alike --- to fly the ME 262 in combat over Austria and Southern Germany, where JV 44 was based during most of its 3-month existence.This book also provides a richly detailed history of JV 44's activities as well as lots of interesting photos and illustrations of the various unit personnel, pilots, and aircraft. It's a winner and for any reader wanting to know more about this "Squadron of Experts", this is a good place from which to start.

In 1996 Classic Publications published Robert Forsyth's excellent - near definitive - history of Adolf Galland's Me 262-equipped JV 44. In 2008 Osprey Publishing lured Forsyth back to take another crack at Galland's Circus. The result is JAGDVERBAND 44, a comprehensive, well-illustrated unit history that supplements Forsyth's original book while standing on its own as an excellent overview of the Luftwaffe's most illustrious squadron.The details of JV 44's life and death, as detailed in JAGDVERBAND 44, are fairly well known. Set up to demonstrate that the Me 262 could be the superior fighter Galland had always claimed it was, JV 44 led a nomadic existence in the rapidly disintegrating Reich. Moving from base to base, drawing aircraft and personnel -including top aces like Steinhoff, Lutzow and Bar - from a variety of sources, Galland and his meager staff grappled with effective tactics. The squadron went into action in late March 1945.Forsyth certainly packed a lot of information in the book's 120-odd pages. Along with insightful details on many of JV 44's "stars," he recounts the logistical effort of trying to set up and operate the unit, the various missions flown not to mention the unbelievable political intrigues swirling around JV 44 as the Third Reich disintegrated.Likewise, JAGDVERBAND 44 is brimming with illustrations. It contains 130 photographs of pilots and aircraft along with six pages of marvelous Jim Laurier artwork depicting the units's Me 262s, FW 190s and even a Siebel 204!Having said all that, I would have given Forsyth's book 4 1/2 stars if that was possible. JV 44 was set up to prove the Me 262 was a superior fighter. Although Forsyth recounts the missions flown by the unit, he makes no effort in the book's final pages to analyze what the unit achieved and whether they did, in fact, prove the Me 262 was a superior fighter. Other sources indicated JV 44 downed 45-50 Allied aircraft; is that JV 44's legacy?In any case, JADGVERBAND 44 is compelling history and one of Osprey's better 'Aviation Elite Units' entries. Luftwaffe enthusiasts will want to snap this one up. Highly recommended.

I'm not a big fan of the Third Reich but I am also a sucker for WWI/WWII high tech and JV 44 did consist mostly of people who had butted heads with the Nazi leadership so that gave me an excuse to buy this book. I had always wanted to know more about JV-44 and this book gave me an overview of its history without going into too much detail. It's a nice overview, it is also worth reading since it gives you an idea what the Me-262 could do in the hands of really experienced pilots and what problems they had with this revolutionary aircraft. This included things you would not expect to be a problem at first glance, such as the fact that pilots consistently underestimated the speed of the 262 which led to several near collisions and at least one actual collision of an Me-262 with enemy aircraft being attacked while pilots were busy performing simple one or two second tasks like flipping a switch or checking their instrumentation.

J 44 was a hybrid squadron flying the ME 262 in a too little, too late effort to wrest back control of the air over Germany. Myriad mistakes by Hitler, Goering and others hobbled the Luftwaffe's ability to bring the ME 262 into the skies earlier and as a game changing fighter. This book is the story of those activities.

This book reads like a log book of pilots that flew in JV44. The format is pretty much the same for about half the book: a little history about the pilot, which squadrons they belonged to, how many kills they had, how many times they were shot down, how they got injured. But it's all published like a log of events and by the 10th pilot you just start skipping the details because it's full of numbers.It's still a good reference document for JV44.

Enjoyed the book but was hoping for something with a bit more detail in the story telling dept.Plenty of photo's which is always great.Details the pilots and some of what they went through.If you need something to help kill an afternoon this is just right. Just wish it was a little longer with more story telling of combat with this awesome aircraft.Still a nice book and enjoyed all the photo's of the ME-262.

Great research by someone wholived it, start to finish. Must read for ALL fighter pilots.

Excellent, in depth coverage of the first all jet squadron in history. Covering the important individuals, events, politics and military issues of this topic the book brings a very full picture of the overall situation.

Excellent

Excellent read

Great Book - Super Service

Excellent book, excellent price!

A1