The Messerschmitt Me 262, nicknamed Schwalbe in fighter versions, or Sturmvogel in fighter-bomber versions, is a fighter aircraft and fighter-bomber that was designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt. It was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft and "the only jet fighter to see air-to-air combat in World War Two".
The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger is a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe late in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its wing-construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the name given to the plane by the Heinkel aviation firm.
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied but is usually considered to be five or more.
Hans-Joachim Marseille was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One of the most successful fighter pilots, he was nicknamed the "Star of Africa". Marseille claimed all but seven of his 158 victories against the British Commonwealth's Desert Air Force over North Africa, flying the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter for his entire combat career. No other pilot claimed as many Western Allied aircraft as Marseille.
Walter Nowotny was an Austrian-born fighter ace of the Luftwaffe in World War II. He is credited with 258 aerial victories—that is, 258 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—in 442 combat missions. Nowotny achieved 255 of these victories on the Eastern Front and three while flying one of the first jet fighters, the Messerschmitt Me 262, in the Defense of the Reich. He scored most of his victories in the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, and approximately 50 in the Messerschmitt Bf 109. Nowotny scored an "ace in a day" on multiple occasions, shooting down at least five airplanes on the same day, including two occurrences of "double-ace in a day" in mid-1943.
Gerhard "Gerd" Barkhorn was a German military aviator who was a renowned wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. As a fighter ace, he was the second most successful fighter pilot of all time after fellow pilot Erich Hartmann. Other than Hartmann, Barkhorn is the only fighter ace to ever exceed 300 claimed victories. Following World War II, he became a high-ranking officer in the German Air Force of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Jagdverband 44 was a German Luftwaffe special operations unit during World War II. It was formed during the last months of World War II to operate the Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter.
The Battle of Britain was an effort by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) during the summer and autumn of 1940 to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom in preparation for the planned amphibious and airborne forces invasion of Britain by Operation Sea Lion. Neither the German leader Adolf Hitler nor his High Command of the Armed Forces believed it was possible to carry out a successful amphibious assault on Britain until the RAF had been neutralised. Secondary objectives were to destroy aircraft production and ground infrastructure, to attack areas of political significance, and to terrorise the British people into seeking an armistice or surrender.
Otto Hans "Hannes" Trautloft was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and general in the postwar German Air Force. As a fighter ace, he is credited with 58 enemy aircraft shot down, including 5 in Spain, 8 on the Western Front and 45 on the Eastern Front of World War II.
The so-called Fighter Pilots' Revolt was a minor insurrection of a small group of high-ranking Luftwaffe pilots in early 1945, when they confronted Reich Marshal and chief of the Luftwaffe Hermann Göring with their demands on the conduct of the air war. Following the incident some officers were relieved of their positions or were reassigned.
Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert was a German Luftwaffe military aviator during World War II, a fighter ace credited with 174 enemy aircraft shot down in 715 combat missions. The majority of his victories were claimed over the Eastern Front, with 51 in the Mediterranean theatre and 20 over the Western Front. He was "ace-in-a-day" four times, shooting down five or more aircraft on a single day.
Wolf-Udo Ettel was a German World War II Luftwaffe flying ace and a posthumous recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, the highest award in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. Ettel is listed with 124 aerial victories—that is, 124 aerial combat encounters resulting in the destruction of the enemy aircraft—claimed in over 250 missions. He was killed in action by anti-aircraft artillery on 17 July 1943 over Fascist Italy.
Oberleutnant Ludwig Franz Stigler was a German fighter pilot and fighter ace in World War II.
Larry Alexander is an American journalist and military historian who has written a number of books about World War II, most notably about Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. Easy Company was made famous principally by Stephen Ambrose's book and the Band of Brothers of that name.
Throughout a normal flight, a pilot controls an aircraft through the use of flight controls including maintaining straight and level flight, as well as turns, climbing, and descending. Some controls, such as a "yoke" or "stick" move and adjust the control surfaces which affects the aircraft's attitude in the three axes of pitch, roll, and yaw. Other controls include those for adjusting wing characteristics and those that control the power or thrust of the propulsion systems. The loss of primary control systems in any phase of flight is an emergency. Aircraft are not designed to be flown under such circumstances; however, some pilots faced with such an emergency have had limited success flying and landing aircraft with disabled controls.
The Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident occurred on 20 December 1943, when, after a successful bomb run on Bremen, 2nd Lt. Charles "Charlie" Brown's B-17F Flying Fortress Ye Olde Pub of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was severely damaged by German fighters. Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler had the opportunity to shoot down the crippled bomber but did not do so, and instead escorted it over and past German-occupied territory so as to protect it. After an extensive search by Brown, the two pilots met each other 50 years later and developed a friendship that lasted until Stigler's death in March 2008. Brown died only a few months later, in November of the same year.
Adam Makos is an American author and military historian. His works include A Higher Call (2012), which recounts the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident, and Spearhead (2019), a detailed biography of World War II tank gunner Clarence Smoyer. Both books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. The 2022 film, Devotion, is based on his 2015 book of the same title, which tells the true story of a friendship between two U.S. Navy pilots in the Korean War.
Charles Lester "Charlie" Brown was a United States Army Air Forces pilot during World War II. He became well known for being the pilot of the B-17F Flying Fortress named Ye Olde Pub which was involved in the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident.
