MSRP: $25.95 USD
ISBN 13:978 1 84603 294 3
Web Site: www.ospreypublishing.com

This is the latest in a series of Osprey Publications series entitled "Aviation Elite Units", and this unit certainly more than qualifies for this exclusive category. JV44 was created by General der Jagdflieger Adolf Galland after he was removed from his command after speaking out against the failed policies of Field Marshall Hermann Goring. Galland was too well known to be publicly humiliated by Goring. The fiasco of Operation Bodenplatte, in which Galland's carefully hoarded fighter reserves were frittered away in an unsuccessful attack on Allied airfields on 1 January 1945 in conjunction with the Ardennes offensive, or Battle of the Bulge, effectively destroyed the fighter force which had been defending Germany, and caused a mutiny from among the ranks of the Luftwaffe's most experienced commanders. In January, 1945, Galland was officially dismissed from his post, and he asked to finish out the war flying operations, preferably in the ME-262 jet fighter with which he had tried so hard to reequip the Luftwaffe.

This book reviews the people and policies that interacted in the formation of this elite unit. As the Luftwaffe was being ground into dust by the tremendous air superiority achieved by the American and British air forces, some of the more experienced leaders, led by Galland, and including Steinhoff, Bar, Barkhorn, Brucker, Krupinski, Lutzow, and Sachsenberg, and others, were allowed to form a "Dream Unit", in which all of the pilots had high scores in their careers as fighter pilots and leaders. The author reveals some of the problems faced by Galland in forming this unit, including the controversy with General Gollob over operations, and examining the problems faced by Galland in taking a group of high achievers and placing them in an unfamiliar airplane with very unusual flight characteristics. In fact, one school of thought said that the jets should be flown by pilots with multi-engine and instrument flight experience, i.e. former bomber pilots, since the bomber units had been disbanded and many experienced pilots were available. Galland felt otherwise, and in this case, he prevailed. The unit was formed and somewhat trained, and went into action on a small scale during late March, 1945. Fuel, aircraft, and spares were always in short supply, but somehow Galland managed to keep a few airplanes operational, managing to defend them on the ground against unceasing Allied fighter bomber attacks, and moving the entire unit as Allied ground forces approached. JV-44 continued to operate until the beginning of May, when Allied forces completed their occupation of Germany, and German forces were surrendered after Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin.

This book is very well written, and conveys the sense of dedication and hopelessness that these men must have felt during the closing days of the war. The book is as much about personalities as equipment, but provides a wealth of information about the airplanes used. It will be extremely useful to modelers. Many photos and eighteen color profiles are provided, including four FW-190D-9's and one Si-204D that was used for conversion training. One area that particularly interested me was the fact that there were FW-190D's attached to JV44 for airfield protection, and that only about five aircraft were used for this purpose. Photographic evidence is provided showing three of these aircraft, all with red identification numbers on the side, not white, as shown in other sources, and provided in several kit decal issues. These planes were unique in that they had the undersides painted red with thin white stripes, a signal to flak gunners, "don't shoot at me; I'm on your side."

This is one of Osprey's better publications. If you are interested in Luftwaffe operations towards the end of World War II, this book is a "Must Get." Don't pass this one up. Most highly recommended.