Eagles over the Sea, 1943-45: A History of Luftwaffe Maritime Operations

by Lawrence Paterson

Overview

This is the second volume of Lawrence Paterson's detailed account of all the Luftwaffe's naval operations during World War II. The first volume took the story up to 1942, and by the end of that year Hermann Gring's Reich Air Ministry had subsumed nearly every aspect of Wehrmacht maritime aviation. Kriegsmarine attempts to develop an independent Fleet Air Arm had been perpetually frustrated, reflecting the chaotic nature of the Third Reich's internal military and political mechanics. Driven more by vanity than operational prudence, the Luftwaffe had continually thwarted the advancement of maritime aviation, and by 1942 began to reap the whirlwind it had created. Heavily illustrated throughout, this detailed and exciting narrative will be of huge appeal to both naval and aviation historians and enthusiasts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526777652
Publisher:	Naval Institute Press
Publication date:	06/15/2020
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Lawrence Paterson has spent many years researching aspects of German naval operations and has written more than ten books on various aspects of the Kreigsmarine, including Donitz's Last Gamble, Black Flag, Schnellboote, and, most recently, Hitler's Forgotten Flotillas, a study of the Kriegsmarine's security forces.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Glossary ix

1 Battles over the Bay

The Atlantic 1

2 Blood and Sand

In Defence of North Africa 39

3 North and South

The Arctic and Eastern Fronts 90

4 Losing Control

The Struggle for Biscay 127

5 Fractured Axis

Defending Sicily and Italy 171

6 The Soft Underbelly

Battles in the Mediterranean and Aegean 237

7 Running the Gauntlet

Supporting Atlantic Surface Forces 262

8 Outflanked

Last Gasp in the Mediterranean 284

9 Retreat

The Western Front 309

10 Epitaph

The Final Struggle in Norway 342

Appendix: Aircraft Introduced into the Luftwaffe Maritime Forces 1942-1945 359

Notes 363

Bibliography 373

Index 376

Editorial Reviews

"Eagles Over the Sea 1943-45 provides a focus on maritime aviation that both parallels and is entwined with the Atlantic U-boat war…. Patterson's detailed narrative helps the reader understand the maritime role of the Luftwaffe. It's also a cautionary case study in what happens to an organization where the leadership lacks a unified objective and fails to understand how those goals were to be achieved. Readers with an interest in maritime air operations will find this book of interest." --Armchair General

"Eagles over the Sea provides a comprehensive treatment of its topic, with a good balance between aircraft and people, the narrative being enhanced by eyewitness accounts from airmen who took part in some of the operations covered. The choice of illustrations is … good, with a number of images of individuals alongside those of aircraft and ships... Eagles is to be recommended as likely to be the definitive work on the subject for a long time, of interest to both those concerned with the Second World War in the air, and those whose interests lie in its conduct at sea." --Warship

"This is an epic two-volume set (1st volume: Eagles Over the Sea 1935-42) that required years of meticulous and dedicated research that … has no rival. With facts, figures and personal accounts and opinions by participants both German and Allied, the books establish the author as one of the post-war's researchers and writers on a level with Gordon Prange and Walter Lord whose several works on Pearl Harbor and Mid-way have set their own level of expertise for many years." --Naval Aviation News

From the Publisher