When the revolutionary Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter first appeared in the skies over northwest Europe in mid-1944, it represented the greatest challenge to Allied air superiority since the Battle of Britain. The first group to solely fly jet fighters, Jagdgeschwader 7 was formed out of the test unit Kommando Nowotny, and was tasked with taking back command of the skies. Put almost immediately into action, despite fuel shortages, poor training and problems with the jet engine, victories quickly followed against both US and British aircraft, including at least one Mosquito.

By the end of the war, the Jagdgeschwader had claimed nearly 200 enemy aircraft destroyed in daylight bomber raids during 1945. Fighter aces and those who became jet aces with JG 7 included Heinrich Ehrler (201 victories), Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert (174 victories) and Hans Waldmann (132 victories). This book follows the history of the revolutionary JG 7 unit, examining how their courage, determination and the most advanced aircraft in the world were simply not enough to ensure victory. In the final section of the book Robert Forsyth details how JG 7 eventually became ground down by losses, restricted operating conditions, lack of fuel and overwhelming Allied fighter strength, culminating in final surrender in May 1945, but not without scoring some of the final aerial victories of World War 2....

From the summer of 1944, the adversity facing the leadership of the Third Reich was formidable. Ironically, the very existence of such adversity prompted many inventive designs for the air defense of the Reich on a determined and even manic scale. The pinnacle of these accomplishments was the so-called Volksjäger (the 'People's Fighter') project, which was, and still is, regarded as a miracle of production. Created in desperation by the Nazi leadership in mid-1944, and powered by a BMW turbojet, the He 162 was known to its pilots as the 'Spatz' (the 'Sparrow'). It represented an unprecedented aeronautical and engineering achievement, with the aircraft going from drawing board to prototype flight in just three months, often at considerable human cost.
In this book, aviation historians Robert Forsyth and Eddie J. Creek draw on hundreds of previously unpublished Heinkel company papers to offer a unique insight into the workings of the Nazi production system in the late-war period, as well as other German and Allied documents. Their work is supported by many rare photographs, line drawings, facsimile documents, and highly detailed color artwork by He 162 specialist Simon Schatz. This is the first major history of the Heinkel He 162 Spatz published in the English language....

For the first time in the best-selling Duel series, Osprey Publishing presents the horrifying aerial clash between a fighter and a bomber. The Fw 190 was one of the best air superiority aircraft of World War II. When it first appeared over the Channel in 1941 it sent shockwaves through the Allied air commands. By 1944, these fighters had been up-gunned to serve as the front line of defence against the Allied bombing campaign. Although the Fw 190s were responsible for shooting down hundreds of Allied bombers, they met their match against the United States Air-Force B-17 'Flying Fortress.' Capable of carry 4,000 lbs of bombs and bristling with .50-cal machine guns, the B-17 could sow death in every direction. Using brand-new artwork and first-hand accounts, this book recreates the deadly drama in the skies above Germany in 1944....