The concept of aircraft working to support ground forces traces back to World War I, where German Schutz- and Jagdstaffeln operated not only as reconnaisance, but also as attack aircraft. At times they enjoyed considerable success, even against tanks. As the inter-war period came, allied air forces focused on more on level bombing due to influence from strategists and the current need for aerial suppression in colonial territories where threats to aircraft were low. Germany took a different course, much owed to pioneers in dive bombing, such as Ernst Udet. The Luftwaffe also enjoyed freedom to pursue their own agenda due to many high ranking officers coming from other branches of the armed forces and was virtually untouchable with Hermann Göring as the top brass. This led to the creation of doctrines on how to use aircraft for close combat support in hostile environments, doctrines which would be revised and improved during the Spanish Civil War. The Schlachtflieger – ground attack units – were developed.

"Schlachtflieger" is the latest in the ‘classic colours’ series from Ian Allan Publishing. As the series name suggest, imagery and large colour illustrations are central to this book. It’s comprehensive, telling the development and operations of Schlachtflieger units through separate articles, each from a different theatre as well as some special units. To illustrate the text, there are numerous b&w photos and also large colour re-creations of aircraft pictured. They serve great for pointing at different technical solutions as well as a reference for identifying Luftwaffe units. The most interesting chapters deal with the early years, operations over England, night attack units and small units, such as Kommando Schenk. As for the aircraft, the image of German ground attack aircraft is closely related to the famous Junkers JU-87 Stuka bomber. However, as the book explains, they were not the mainstay of Schlachtflieger units who relied heavily on Jabos such as the Me-109 and FW-190 as well as dedicated machines like the Hs-123 and Hs-129. These aircraft features in most chapters. Fighters like the Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf had the advantage of speed and manouverability and was modified to carry heavy bomb loads – sometimes as big as 1000 kg. As war went on and fortunes turned for the Germans, more desperate measures were taken, like using the Me-262 as an attack aircraft, a task it was less suited for. The most telling example must be the late war Panzerjagdstaffeln, equipped with Bücker Bü-181 learning aircraft with 4 Panzerfaust strapped to its wings. However, the reader is well advised to be familiar with Luftwaffe OOB and TO&E, as the authors constantly throws new units into the text as they appeared on the scene, some of them dedicated Schlachtflieger, others Jagdflieger. German army units as a whole were constantly re-arranged and renamed through the war and the Luftwaffe was no exception. The authors also mention units upgrades to new versions of aircraft, the advantage of which is not explained but raises curiosity. I would have enjoyed an appendix with a list of SG units and their organization, but that may fall outside the scope of this book. So, keeping a reference at hand while reading is a tip. Thankfully, there are also helpful suggestions in the text for continued reading on specific units. In all, the book is a comprehensive read and a good introduction to how the Luftwaffe employed ground attack aircraft. As mentioned, it provides good illustrations for reference, which also modellers will find use for. An enjoyable read, without getting too much into depth.

(Reviewed by Mattias)
Thanks to the publisher for the review copy.