Sharks of the Air: Willy Messerschmitt and How He Built the World's First Operational Jet Fighter
Jan 2011 · Casemate
4.4star
16 reviewsreport
Ebook
425
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About this ebook
“[A] perfect blend of sympathetic career biography and gripping military history . . . a definite winner for all World War II military history buffs” (Library Journal).
In July 1944, the Allies were stunned by the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world’s first operational jet warplane. More than one hundred mph faster than any other aircraft in the skies, the Me 262 gained scores of victories over Allied fighters and bombers, and by the end of the war, many of the Luftwaffe’s greatest aces had clamored to be in their cockpits.
Sharks of the Air tells the story of Willy Messerschmitt’s life and shows how this aeronautical genius built many revolutionary airplanes—not excluding the Luftwaffe’s mainstay, the Me 109—and culminating in the Me 262. It describes how his various warplanes fought in Spain, Poland, France, Britain, the USSR, and Germany, and it provides thrilling accounts of air battles drawn from combat reports and interviews with veterans.
And finally, this biography gives “insight into the life of a man who played a role in the Nazi war machine, but is not defined by it” (Scale Aviation Modeller International). Aspects of Messerschmitt’s life never before made public are revealed, including his love affair with the beautiful Baroness Lilly Michel-Rolino, a rich aristocrat who left her husband to live with Willy.
Author James Harvey “uses his 40 years of flying experience and experience of aviation to tell the fascinating story of Messerschmitt and how, given the right conditions, Messerschmitt and other German aircraft designers could have changed the course of WWII” (Military Scale).
In July 1944, the Allies were stunned by the appearance of the Messerschmitt Me 262, the world’s first operational jet warplane. More than one hundred mph faster than any other aircraft in the skies, the Me 262 gained scores of victories over Allied fighters and bombers, and by the end of the war, many of the Luftwaffe’s greatest aces had clamored to be in their cockpits.
Sharks of the Air tells the story of Willy Messerschmitt’s life and shows how this aeronautical genius built many revolutionary airplanes—not excluding the Luftwaffe’s mainstay, the Me 109—and culminating in the Me 262. It describes how his various warplanes fought in Spain, Poland, France, Britain, the USSR, and Germany, and it provides thrilling accounts of air battles drawn from combat reports and interviews with veterans.
And finally, this biography gives “insight into the life of a man who played a role in the Nazi war machine, but is not defined by it” (Scale Aviation Modeller International). Aspects of Messerschmitt’s life never before made public are revealed, including his love affair with the beautiful Baroness Lilly Michel-Rolino, a rich aristocrat who left her husband to live with Willy.
Author James Harvey “uses his 40 years of flying experience and experience of aviation to tell the fascinating story of Messerschmitt and how, given the right conditions, Messerschmitt and other German aircraft designers could have changed the course of WWII” (Military Scale).
Ratings and reviews
4.4
16 reviews
Paul Wight
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December 4, 2018
Loved it, but it needs proofreading.
Danswell Starrs
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September 4, 2020
well researched. a good read.
1 person found this review helpful
James Bryant
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August 12, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
2 people found this review helpful
About the author
James Neal Harvey has been a pilot for more than 40 years and has owned a dozen aircraft (including a De Havilland Tiger Moth built for the RAF, a Stinson V-77 that flew in the Royal Navy, and a Messerschmitt Bf-108 that served in the Luftwaffe). Author of six previous books, his grasp of aero-dynamics informs the narrative, as he examines how Messerschmitt might well have changed the course of the Second World War.
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