Eagles of the Third Reich: Men of the Luftwaffe in WWII (Stackpole Military History Series) (17 page)

An American two-engine bomber is shot down over Toulon, 1943.
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY

General of Flyers Joseph Kammhuber, the first general of night fighters.

General of Fliers Beppo Schmidd (center), a long-time Nazi and personal friend of Hermann Goering, was a terrible failure as chief of intelligence of the Luftwaffe.

A Ju-88. This Junkers aircraft was used in a variety of roles, including bomber, dive-bomber, night-fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft.

The Moelders brothers: Werner (third from the left), the first general of fighter forces, and Victor (second from the right), who was shot down over Britain in 1940.

The Me-163 Komet, one of the first jet fighter airplanes.

Col. Hajo Hermann, fighter ace and innovator who invented the “wild boar” fighter tactics that wreaked havoc on Allied bombers.

Field Marshal Albert “Smiling Al” Kesselring, the second chief of the General Staff of the Luftwaffe.

A Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter after its capture by American forces, 1945.

Johannes Steinhoff, commander of the 77th Fighter Wing in Sicily. He ended the war as a jet fighter pilot with 176 victories.

Hugo Sperrle, commander-in-chief of the 3rd Air Fleet, in 1944.

A Ju-88 night fighter is shot down over France, 1943.

Lt. Gen. Adolf “Dolfo” Galland, the second general of fighter pilots.