HISTORY:
This is the account of machines of war pitted against each other and the combatants who operated them. Step onto the battlefield and immerse yourself in the experience of real historic combat.
** As the world's first jet-engined fighter aircraft, the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt Me 262 heralded a new dawn in design, performance, and combat capability upon its operational debut in 1944, outclassing its Allied counterparts in both speed and firepower. The skies over Austria and southern Germany saw the Me 262 enter savage aerial clashes as fighter ace Generalleutnant Adolf Galland's JV 44 engaged three USAAF bomber groups over the course of 1945, exploiting a lack of intelligence on the Me 262 to target formidable – but ill-prepared – Martin B-26 Marauders with often devastating results.
In this new dramatic study, Luftwaffe historian Robert Forsyth examines how USAAF crews in twin-engined Marauders endeavored to fulfill their bombing missions while jet pilots in Me 262s attacked with 30 mm MK 108 nose-mounted cannon and, eventually, 55 mm R4M air-to-air rockets. Firsthand accounts, newly commissioned artwork and archive photography add detail to the fascinating and action-packed story of these two aircraft in what was, in some respects, a “private” war waged between them. **
** Quoted from the back cover of the book.
THE BOOK:
Osprey Publications has released B-26 Marauder vs Me 262, Europe 1945 as Number 142 in their Duel series. It is a soft cover book with 80 pages and is the standard Osprey Publishing size of 7 1/4 x 9 3/4 inches. Included with the text are black and white photographs, color illustrations, detailed captions and more. It has a 2025 copyright, a publication date of February 27, 2025, and the ISBN is 978-1-4728-6259-4.
THE CONTENTS:
Introduction
Chronology
Design and Development
Technical Specifications
The Strategic Situation
The Combatants
Combat
Statistics and Analysis
Aftermath
Further Reading
Index
** The Osprey Publishing website states that the contents list shown with the book listing is “subject to confirmation”. The contents listing I have provided has been taken from the book and is accurate.
THE TEXT:
Author Robert Forsyth has written an excellent history about the American B-26 Marauder twin-engine medium bomber and the German Me 262 jet-powered fighter and combat action between the two in Europe during World War II. The text goes into great detail in all areas of the book as outlined on the contents page, please refer to the contents listing that I have provided for the areas that are covered. The design and development section of the B-26 Marauder and the German Me 262 are well discussed as are the technical specifications section and the prerequisites that were required. Information on the B-26 includes its measurements, weight, engine types and size, airspeed, fuel capacity, crew served weapons, payload capability and operational ceiling and other such technical information. The Me 262 also has specifications detailed such as its measurements, fuel capacity, weapon systems, speed, climb speed, amount of thrust, degree of wing sweepback and other such technical information. Other subjects discussed in the book are German pilot Adolf Galland’s final mission, problems encountered with the B-26 tail gunner’s ammunition belt feed due its motor being underpowered, how the B-26 Marauders were scrapped after the war had ended and other such information. Other subjects discussed are where the aircraft were stationed and the name of the military units to which they were assigned, their areas of operation and assigned targets, and the training that the pilots and crew members were required to complete. Also detailed are the successes, failures, battle damage, combat losses of both aircraft and personnel and other such information. Along with his own words, Robert Forsyth has also provided several quotes from a variety of individuals and sources such as German pilot Generalleutnant Adolf Galland, German pilots, Allied pilots, B-26 Marauder crewmembers, a German prisoner of war, a U.S. military manual, and Time magazine. The text in the book is nicely written, well detailed and informative. Robert Forsyth doesn’t use what I refer to as fluff writing where a large amount of non-essential extra text is provided just to help fill the pages. As I read through the text, I didn’t notice any spelling or grammatical errors. Grammar and spelling might not be important to everyone; however, it is something that I take notice of and pass on my findings. I feel that if the text is well written then it shows that the author has taken the time to be professional with their writing. As a reader that did not know very much about clashes between American B-26 Marauders and the German Me 262 jet-powered fighters, I found myself to be well informed on the subject upon finishing the book. Anyone wanting to add an excellent reference and history book on aerial combat between the American B-26 Marauders and the German Me 262 jet-powered fighters during World War II to their personal library will be pleased with this very informative and interesting book.
THE PHOTOGRAPHS:
A total of 55 black and white photographs are included in this volume. There are no color photographs included. The photographs range from wide angle photographs to close-up detailed photographs. They are a combination of in-action photographs, photographs removed from motion pictures to photographs that have been staged for the photographer. The majority of the photographs are clear and easily viewable; however, a few have an out-of-focus look to them and some appear to be too dark, and others appear too light. This is typical for the discussed period of history and the quality of the photographs is no fault of the author and does not take anything away from the book. There are several photographs showing the entire aircraft from various angles of both of the aircraft types discussed. The close-up photographs show items such as aircraft nosewheels, engines, weapons, nose art, cockpit gauges, battle damage and more. The close-up photographs also show German and American uniforms to include dress uniforms, flight suits and helmets, soft caps, military insignia, ground crew coveralls and civilian clothing. Author Robert Forsyth stuck to the title of the book and chose subject specific photographs and did not include photographs that strayed from the main subject. The majority, if not all, of the photographs will prove to be excellent reference material for the scale modeler due to the details they contain. The military historian, and the military aviation enthusiast, will benefit from the excellent photographs as will anyone that is interested in aerial combat between the American B-26 Marauders and the German Me 262 jet-powered fighters during World War II.
THE ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are a total of 10 color illustrations included in the volume by illustrators Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier.
The illustrations are all very well done, nicely detailed and are of:
- B-26C-45 Marauder
- A one-page illustration showing port side, front and overhead views of a B-26C-45 Marauder.
- Me 262A-1a.
- A one-page illustration showing port side, front and overhead views of an Me 262A-1a.
- B-26 Marauder Waist Guns
- A one-page illustration showing the two 0.50 cal. Browning AN/M2 machine guns in an interior view of a B-26 Marauder. It is accompanied by a detailed caption and a key detailing 10 points of interest.
- B-26 Marauder Tail Turret
- A one-page illustration showing the tail gunner’s position and the controls of the 0.50 cal. Browning AN/M2 machine guns in an interior view of a B-26 Marauder. It is accompanied by a detailed caption and a key detailing 8 points of interest.
- Me 262A-1a MK 108 Cannon
- A one-page illustration showing the standard installation of four 30mm belt-fed, electrically-ignited Rheinmetall-Borsig MK 108 cannon in the nose of an Me 262-A-1a interceptor. The weapons are viewable through two cutaway views and an open access hatch.
- B-26B Marauder Cockpit
- A one-page illustration showing the pilot and co-pilot’s view from the cockpit of a B-26B Marauder. Accompanying the illustration is a key detailing 53 points of interest.
- Me 262A-1a Cockpit
- A one-page illustration showing the interior view of an Me 262A-1a cockpit with 46 items of interest pointed out and identified in a detailed key.
- Me 262A-1a R4M Orkan Rocket
- A one-page illustration showing two EG.-R4M racks, which each held twelve 55mm R4M Orkan air-to-air rockets, mounted one per wing on the underside of an Me 262A-1a.
- Me 262s engaging U.S. Ninth Air Force B-26s.
- A two-page action illustration showing Me 262s engaging U.S. Ninth Air Force B-26s that had been dispatched to attack the German marshalling yard at Memmingen in Bavaria on April 20, 1945.
- Engaging the Enemy
- A one-page action illustration showing the pilot’s view from the cockpit of an Me 262 as he fires his battery of R4M Orkan air-to-air rockets at the rear of a B-26 Marauder that is part of a tight formation of B-26 Marauders.
THE CAPTIONS:
The captions are well written and explain the accompanying photographs and illustrations in great detail eliminating any doubt as to what is shown. The captions go into very specific detail as to specific aircraft types shown and the military unit they were assigned to, individuals shown and their military rank and military unit they are assigned to, weapon types shown, dates and locations and other such pertinent information. I was impressed by Robert Forsyth’s captions as they are very helpful to the reader due to their detailed content as opposed to other captions that I have seen that are very brief and lacking in detail. I did notice an error in the caption on page 66 where it states, “….that saved all bar one of his crew”. It should state “….that saved all but one of his crew”.
MAPS:
There are two color maps included in this volume that show:
- The trio of Ninth Air Force B-26 groups most often engaged by JV 44 flew from bases in northern France and Belgium. The map shows locations and dates.
- The map shows five targets in Germany that were attacked by B-26 Marauders of the 17th, 322nd and 344th BGs (Bombardment Group) and the dates of the attacks. The map also shows the location of three JV 44 bases in relation to the targeted areas.
PROFILES:
There are two individuals profiled in this volume, and they are:
- Robert M. Ferrara – B-26 Marauder tail-gunner assigned to the 557th BS (Bomb Squadron) of the 387th BG (Bombardment Group).
- Otto Kammerdiener – German NCO flight instructor who eventually joined JV 44 and flew the Me 262 in combat.
DIAGRAMS:
- German standard four-aircraft Schwarm fighter formation as well as the three-aircraft formation used by JV 44
- Shown are three B-26 Marauder basic flight formations. The Flight Vee, the Flight Echelon and the Flight Stagger. The formations are shown with top, rear and side views of each.
CONCLUSION:
As with the other Osprey Publishing titles I was impressed with this book. This is a very nice reference book that contains a well written informative text, many subject specific photographs and illustrations, well detailed captions and more, all detailing Germany’s Me 262 jet-powered fighters and American B-26 Marauder medium bombers and aerial combat between them during World War II. As with the other Osprey Publishing titles, I have no hesitation recommending this book to others as it will be a welcome addition to one’s personal reference library.
Osprey Publishing also offers B-26 Marauder vs Me 262, Europe 1945 as:
Ebook (Epub & Mobi) ISBN: 978-1-4728-6260-0
and
Ebook (PDF) ISBN: 978-1-4728-62624
Osprey Publishing’s, B-26 Marauder vs Me 262, Europe 1945 is also available as a Kindle version through Amazon.
PRICE:
UK £15.99 / US $23.00 / CAN $31.00
This book was provided to me by Osprey Publishing. Please be sure to mention that you saw the book reviewed here on the KitMaker Network when you make your purchase. Thank you.
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