The Luftwaffe : a photographic record 1919-1945 / Karl Ries ; translated from the German by Alex Vanags-Baginskis.

Translation of: Luftwaffe Photo-Report.

Illustrations on lining papers.

With over 500 photographs (most of which have not been published in any other book), and detailed text and captions. this is a record of the Luftwaffe's clandestine origins, rise, trial by combat and ultimate decline. Based on his extensive research in war diaries, and operational and combat reportts, the author presents the real life of the Luftwaffe. Each chapter deals with a phase in German airforce history: the Luftwaffe as an underground force, its build-up on a war-establishment basis; the Condor Legion in Spain; the Polish campaign: the "phoney war" in the west, and Operation'Weser Exercise" the campaign in France and the aerial war against England; the Balkans, Greece, Crete and the Mediterranean; war on the eastern Front; North Africa and the German retreat from the Mediterranean; war in the air over Germany and the occupied Western regions. There are Appendices devoted to German abbreviations used in the book, the organisational structure of the Luftwaffe and associated terminology, and a comparative listing of ranks in the Luftwaffe, the RAF and the USAF.