Bf 109 Defense of the Reich Aces

This Book by John Weal tells the story of the units and the pilots (using the legendary Bf-109) defending the Third Reich in daylight during WW2. The years 1939-42 are briefly covered then by 1943 the USAAF 8th Air Force starts to attack in ever growing bomber formations and all the action is better covered, with the luftwaffe holding on and exploiting flaws in the allied formations and making them pay a high price especially in the deeper incursions. Then by 1944 the reality was that the Luftwaffe was losing too many expert pilots in the skies (in all the fronts), the replacements with less and less training just fed the meat grinder and obviously everything got worse when allied escort fighters appeared deeper and deeper into the reich. After the Normandy landings in mid 1944 the allies had an overwhelming air superiority, the Luftwaffe pilots had no respite, attack formations of 1000+ bombers and defend their own bases. The book focuses on this fighter aces who fought with great determination and heroism against impossible odds, mainly because there was no retreat for them and also because they were the only line of defense between the bombers and Germany's cities and industry, making some of the greatest aces in history. This is arguably the most savage and costliest campaign in the history of aerial warfare. John Weal only give us an overview here of one of the parts of this bloody campaign. with that in mind, this is a great book.