The arduous development of a dedicated naval air arm for Germany's
resurgent military was fraught with the kind of fierce interservice
rivalry that was rife throughout the turbulent history of the Third
Reich. However, almost despite the odds, a small dedicated maritime
strike force was assembled, germinating during the Spanish Civil War
before being committed to action from the first days of the invasion of
Poland. Concurrently, the operational Luftwaffe developed its own
maritime units that would eventually subsume all of the
Kriegsmarine-controlled formations as the war years progressed. Eagles
Over the Sea offers an in-depth study of all the Luftwaffe maritime
operations.
The story of Luftwaffe maritime operations has frequently been written
about in fragmentary terms, delineating between the planned naval air
arm operating under Kriegsmarine direction and the operational
Luftwaffe. Each branch of service -- and even aircraft type -- has
usually been studied in isolation. This book, however, broadens the lens
to study the development of German naval aircraft as a whole. Heavily
illustrated throughout, this detailed and exciting operational history
will be of huge appeal to both naval and aviation historians and
enthusiasts.