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The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
- The U.S. Army Air Forces Against Germany in World War II
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
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The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
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Publisher's Summary
In this dramatic story of World War II, Jay A. Stout describes how the US built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force. In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion. This difficult task fell largely to the US, which, at the outset, lacked the necessary men, material, and training. Over the ensuing years, thanks to visionary leadership and diligent effort, the US Army Air Force developed strategies and tactics and assembled a well-trained force that convincingly defeated the Luftwaffe.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ben
- 2018-05-13
Fun stories, better history, exactly what I wanted
I saw this book described as a history of the average Joe of the USAAF - the story of the flyers not of the leaders - so I was a bit surprised by the first six chapters or so being mainly a top-level history of "Happ" Arnold and the early Army Air Force development. Nonetheless, it was a really interesting history, providing a solid background for the rest of the book.
It is hard for this book not to come across like an "America is the best, America won the war single-handedly, America's planes/fliers/strategy/etc was naturally going to win anyways" argument. To be fair, the points are correct, but as is often the case with popular American history it can sound bragging or egotistical and does not give credit to other nations (though, yes, it is an American history). This book toes that line, with stories and arguments that had me at times mumbling "what about Britain?" but the author was careful to give credit to other nations (and aircraft types) when necessary. Still, hard not to be blown away by the American airplanes and production capabilities!
The book does bring in the stories of average flyers as the war progresses, but I felt they were less stories selected to back up the author's arguments and more stories that the author then tried to argue as true fact. The stories felt very selected for the sake of making a point, and then the historical record was really hammered home to back them up. It doesn't affect the flow much (I would say the jumping between bomber groups and fighters was more confusing) and doesn't lessen the impact or awe-factor of the personal stories, thankfully. And they are amazing stories!
This was a fun book to listen to. The "good old war stories" element makes it fun and leaves you amazed by the Greatest Generation, but the history and larger geopolitical context makes it an eye-opening history. I recommend it for people that enjoy history of air warfare or are interested in the development of the USAAF in the Second World War.
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