Introduction
Bf 109E: Battle of Britain is the twelfth title in Osprey Publishing's series Dogfight. Authored by Andy Saunders, and illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier, the book is 80 pages of history, first-hand accounts, analysis, archive photos, newly commissioned artworks, and tactical and ribbon diagrams. Osprey's short code is DOG 12. It is available in the formats of paperback, and Ebooks in Epub & Mobi, and PDF. Each format has its own ISBN, with 9781472862402 being the paperback.
What about the book?
Are you a modeler or a historian, and what drives one towards the other? Regardless, I greatly enjoy these Dogfight books and think you will, too. With possibly hundreds of thousands of words in hundreds of books on this subject, with access to previously inaccessible archives, and personal letters and journals and dairies, have opened up a new world to the recent generation of researchers, affording fresh iconoclastic challenges of the past 80 years of conventional wisdom about an aircraft's role in its war. One surprise came from a pilot's diary:
...I had often seen Bf 109s getting home to France with 50 or more hits.
That certainly does not mean that everything we have read was not true. But aircraft need to be viewed in context and this book brings more to the table - including Commander-in-Chief of RAF Fighter Command Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding describing the Spitfire as moribund as a Home Defence fighter. Go figure. There is much more from the German side including some intrigue and conflicts between commanders, and in the case of Hauptmann Hans-Jürgen von Cramon-Taubadel, commander of III./JG 53, with the Nazi hierarchy. If modelers are looking for some unique Bf 109 markings, III./JG 53 of the period provides it in spades.
Osprey describes this title as;
An illustrated account of the Bf 109E's evolving role during the fateful first stages of the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe's famous Bf 109 Emil saw considerable combat across the first stages of World War 2, but it was 1940's Battle of Britain that truly put it to the test. During the early operations of that clash, in July and August 1940, German pilots had to reckon not only with the RAF but with another enemy – the English Channel itself. This evocative new study explores how the Channel's breadth and the short range of Emil combined to force the Luftwaffe's fighter units to evolve their tactics in pursuit of victory.
Author Saunders recounts the flying characteristics of the Bf 109 and mission details, including combat experiences. Whether you are a modeler or historian, this book provides new material. Let's delve a bit deeper.
Content
Bf 109E, Battle of Britain is told through 80 pages divided thusly:
1. In Battle
2. Setting the Scene
3. Path to Combat
4. Weapon of war
5. Art of War
6. Combat
Aftermath
Selected Sources
Index
We are treated to a wealth of detailed information. We also find many and somethings lengthy excepts of interviews and letters and diaries, some from the collection of the late Dr. Alfred Price. The story opens at the end of the Battle of France and focuses on the blooded and tired state of the Jagdwaffe pilots, as the Luftwaffe prepared for the Battle of Britain (BoB). We learn about basic Rotte and Schwarm formations and the Gruppe, freie Jagd (‘free hunt’) tactics, Adlertag (Eagle Day), and the recognized beginning of the BoB. Those are just a few topics covered in the first 10 pages. In Setting the Scene the author starts with the Legion Condor and explores the mistakes of the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL – Luftwaffe High Command) concerning drop tanks, attrition, replacements, planning, and other topics of the forthcoming BoB. It even recounts the capture of a Bf 109 by the French, who refused to share its secrets with their British allies. We learn of command changes with fighter pilots with famous names, e.g., Mölders, Osterkamp, Galland, Lützow, Trautloft, and many lesser known leaders of the beginning of the war.
In Path the Combat we learn of tactical advantages and find many more personal accounts of fighting the 109 over England. Leutnant Erwin Leykauf of 7./JG 54 writes of engaging Spitfires:
I have another one in front of me, flying in the same direction. I’m already within ramming distance! The pointed wings, the radiators, the roundels . . . my machine guns and cannon hammer them. With thick black smoke, I see the burning Tommy fall into the void below me. That was the fourth of his tribe who made the acquaintance of my faithful ‘5’. But what is that thread of smoke just passing my cockpit? Tracers!
The rest of Leykauf's account concludes about two pages of his description of combat. Another pilot wrote of a rare encounter with Spitfires above them, and another wrote of trying to keep up with Werner Mölders who was flying a Bf 109F:
Unfortunately, we then discovered that the squadron we were about to attack was covered by another full squadron of Spitfires. Much to my surprise, I found they were flying some 2,500ft higher than us. Prior to this, we had not encountered any aircraft of the RAF that could beat our ceiling of more-or-less 30,000ft. In retrospect, I concluded that just as we were using the Bf 109F for the first time, so a new model or series of the Spitfire with an improved boosted engine performance was put into operation for the first time that day. Anyway, I could not keep up in my Bf 109E with the faster Bf 109F of Mölders, and found myself in a most unhealthy tactical position versus 15 Spitfires that were higher than me and on my tail. I had to get away.
Weapon of War explores development and ability of the Bf 109, as well as some Jagdflieger equipment. It includes excerpts of a RAF evaluation of a Bf 109 captured and test-flown, "The Messerschmitt 109E-3 is inferior to the Hurricane and Spitfire as a fighter." However, that assessment is challenged by operational pilots who flew - and fought against - 109s, including ace Flt Lt Robert Tuck. Art of War mainly explores freie Jagd operations. It is supported with two pages of excepts from Legendary ace Adolf Galland.
Finally, the main event, the 15-page chapter Combat. I recall that in previous Dogfight books that this chapter usually comprises a quarter or more of the pages. With the treasure trove of detail and action in proceeding chapters, much of which could easily be in this chapter, it is not a disappointment. The expanding missions of the Bf 109 are indicated by the author, "So far, we have looked at the experiences of Bf 109E pilots on freie Jagd operations and those who were tied to the bomber formations following the directive that ordered them to do so. Further compounding the difficulties and frustrations for German fighter pilots over Britain later in 1940, however, were the escort missions now being flown for the Bf 109E Jabo operations." A significant portion of this chapter are quotes from pilots. Finally, an 8-page Aftermath sums up everything we just read, and yet includes even more information and detail, i.e., using kill-to-loss records to imply the effectiveness of the four main BoB fighters, the Bf 109, Spitfire, Bf 110, Hurricane.
Overall, I am in pressed by this title.
Photographs and Artwork
Enough quality black-and-white photography enhances the text to provide a strong visual component for this book. Each is accompanied with a narrative. Modelers will find good source material for their models, and inspiration for individual aircraft and dioramas. Some photos of detail for models and dioramas worth mentioning are:
- Pulling an engine of a Bf 109
- Interior of a wing at the root
- Ground personnel building makeshift blast pens from sandbags and timber posts
- Closeup of unusual aircraft markings.
Original artwork by artists Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier fill in views and scenes that the camera missed. The tactical ribbon displays (TRD) diagram the complexity of a "there I was" aerial engagement (even simple ones) although one must concentrate on them to fully absorb what they depict. Each ribbon display is accompanied by a multi-step narrative and each illustration has a caption and description. We are also treated to a cutaway of Bf 109E armament, a two-page combat illustration, and maps.
1. FOUR AIRCRAFT SCHWARM FORMATION AND CROSSOVER TURN
2. DEATH OF AN ACE: a 2-page combat scene of the last moments of Hauptmann Ernst Wiggers.
3. 1345 hrs, 16 AUGUST 1940: TRD keyed to 6 sequences of battle.
4. 1300 hrs, 18 AUGUST 1940: TRD keyed to 7 sequences of battle.
5. 1800 hrs, 30 AUGUST 1940: TRD keyed to 8 sequences of battle.
6. & 7. Maps: Airfield locations used by Bf 109E units in France between July and October 1940.
Conclusion
So are you a reader who builds models for a physical representation of your topic, or do you read to learn about the subject you like to model? Regardless, BF 109 Battle of Britain is another valuable title in Osprey's series Dogfight. It presents scholarly material full of first-hand Bf 109E pilot reports and accounts focused on "There I was," as well as technical details. Modelers, historians and enthusiasts of the Bf 109 should find this book to be a concise, useful and unique part of the aircraft's history. Modelers may find source material and inspiration for their 1940 Bf 109 model. A useful gallery of photographs and artwork provide support to the text.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Battle of Britain performance of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the legendary pilots who flew them. I look forward to the next subject in the series. This book not only reinforces "why," it also expanded my understanding and fascination with the Bf 109 of 1940. I believe that it can do the same for you and recommend this title.
Please remember to mention to Osprey and retailers that you saw this product here - on Aeroscale.
