An exciting account of the aerial battles fought by the USAAF's P38
Lightnings and the Jagdflieger's Bf 109Gs for dominance over North
Africa and the Mediterranean.
USAAF fighter pilots experienced a baptism of fire when flying the
technically advanced but fragile P-38 Lightning over North Africa in the
wake of 1942's Operation Torch. Their opponents were battle-hardened
jagdflieger of the Jadgwaffe, flying the tried and tested Bf 109 in
its very lastest Gustav iteration.
Responsible primarily for escorting USAAF bombers attacking Afrika
Korps installations in Tunisia, the P-38 units in North Africa had to
develop effective tactics to defend the bombers against Luftwaffe
fighter attacks. For several months the Lightning squadrons had to also
cope with shortages of aircraft and spare parts, steady losses and a
lack of replacement pilots. To survive, American aviators had to learn
quickly. While it is difficult to definitively attribute victories in
air combat, in the air battles over Tunisia and later over Sicily and
Italy, the claims made by Lightning pilots were comparable to Luftwaffe
claims for P-38s destroyed.
Edward M. Young turns his attention to the bitterly fought air war in
North Africa and the Mediterranean in 1942-43. Using original archival
sources, official records and first-hand accounts from both USAAF and
Luftwaffe veterans, as well as newly commissioned artwork and 50
carefully selected photographs from official and personal archives, this
book sees two of the most iconic piston-engined fighters of their era
pitted head-to-head for control of the skies in a key theatre of World
War II.
