Although I must admit that my all-time favorite aircraft will always be the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, right next to it in second place is the legendary Messerschmitt 262 Stormbird (also known as the Schwalbe {Swallow}). In my stash of unbuilt kits are several boxes containing various versions of the plane, and yes, there may a double or two present. I have seen and photographed the Me 262 that is kept at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum on more than one occasion, and have several books in my personal library on this legendary fighter. Anyway, I normally start my reviews talking about the history of the item I am assessing, but thought that I would instead talk about my interest in the topic before delving into the contents of this book.

This book opens with a forward by Jorg Czypionka, who flew the Stormbird as a night fighter, and another forward by Barrett Tillman, who is an author and historian. What I enjoyed immensely about this book is that the chapters come from the words of several individuals who flew and fought against the jet. Contained within the pages are forty-six black and white photographs (only six of which are of the plane by itself), two diagrams, and three appendixes, which provide the story of pilot Joe Peterburs’ final mission, German ranks and medals, and additional Me 262 data.

In the first chapter of the book, titled “Too Little, Too late”, German Admiral Otto Kretschmer speaks of the propaganda surrounding the Me 262, and how it had reinforced the hopes of those who did not realize the ongoing futility of the war. He discusses the politics of Germany beginning in September of 1933, and how the restructuring of the military “…was to increase effectiveness and reliability and combine the efforts among the various military and technical departments.” From here he writes about the development of the Me 262 as one of the wonder weapons of the war. I found one paragraph particularly interesting where he quotes Hermann Buchner on his comparison of the Me 109, Fw 190, and Me 262, where for reliability, Buchner preferred the Fw 190 over both Messerschmitt offerings.

James H. Doolittle follows with “On the Drawing Board”, where he calls the plane “a very revolutionary design, far beyond its time”. In “Test Flights”, Wolfgang Schenck talks about his first flight and how he lost an engine, but managed to land the plane safely. In addition to Schenck, there are stories of the crashes of several other 262’s during the days of development. From here, the book talks about field operations of the jet and then chapters dedicated to how the plane was used to take on fighters as well as bombers. Three chapters are dedicated to Major Walter Nowotny and his command, one of which talks about his loss, and includes the recollections of several pilots on the ground who observed the crash (including Adolf Galland), as well as P-51 pilot, First Lieutenant Edward “Buddy” Haydon who shared the kill with Captain Ernest Fiebelkorn.

After this, the book talks about the final operating months of the Me 262 in both victories and defeats that include the losses of Johannes Steinhoff and the end of the war. The final chapter is titled “Operations Lusty and Paperclip: the Postwar Scramble for Jets” and discusses the race between the Americans, who along with the British, were attempting to obtain as many technological wonders as they could before the Russians could do the same. The chapter also describes how many of the top German scientists would end up in the United States, even though President Truman had ordered that no Nazi party members or supporters be provided refuge.

The perspectives offered in this book are really a nice change from what the reader will find in many military history books as they are the stories of the pilots who were there during World War II. It is also good to have several different points of view offered to the reader by the men who flew the Me 262 as well as those who flew against it. Rather than a technical book on one of the most influential planes of all time, this book tells the story of the Me 262 from development to war prize in an entertaining, and easy to read package.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any person who holds an interest in the world’s first operational jet fighter. The stories will grab the attention of any reader with an affinity for what it was like to experience an incredible time in history first-hand. I would like to thank the folks at Quayside Publishing Group, and specifically Zenith Press for providing this book to the IPMS-USA for review. My thanks also go to Steve Collins, who runs the Review Corps, for allowing me to appraise the book, and as always, thanks to you the reader for taking the time to peruse my comments.