World War ll in the Air by James F Sunderman

Hardcover 16x23 cm, 346 pages. While older, these are fine vignettes of European combat. From the Blitzkrieg, through Battle of Britain, to the counterattack over the occupied countries, digressing to North Africa, then the Strategic Air Offensive, D-Day, and those final-hour 'miracle weapons'- this moves rapidly. Some sections will be written by familiar names: Johnny Johnson (RAF), Ernest K. Gann or Robert S. Johnson (USAAF). Others are from unknowns like Maj. Richard Thruelsen and Lt. Elliott Arnold. Units from different Allied air forces were tightening a noose around Rommel's army in Africa after the second battle of el Alamein. 18 April 1943: 'It was known that the German Command was using large convoys of tri-motored transports -- the dependable Junkers 52s -- to bring essential supplies and personnel to the African battlefronts. These planes flew down from supply bases in Sicily, crossed the narrow neck of the Mediterranean now denied their surface vessels... Occasionally, a small convoy of transports was sighted and chased and a few planes shot down...' However, this time was different: 'All three Vees of the transports were turning toward land by now. I got my second Junkers near the beach - it crashed into the surf and exploded, Another crashed near it at the same time and I saw a Warhawk hit the water. There weren't any chutes in the air. I don't think the transports carried any. I turned off the radio about that time. There was so much yelling and yammering that it didn't make any sense. I had an inconclusive scrap with a Me-109 before I ran out of ammunition and found myself low on gas. That ended my part of the scrap. ' 24 Junkers were destroyed and 35 damaged, 9 Bf 109s and 1 Bf 110 (about half of those claimed). This was near the end of the airlift; the Afrika Korps surrendered 13 May 1943. In the back, an appendix lists aircraft specs, broken down by nationality.