Bf 109 Aces of North Africa and the Mediterranean

Description

Totally outnumbered throughout their short two-year sojourn in the Western Desert, the crack fighter pilots of the handful of Jagdgeschwader in-theatre fought an effective campaign in support of Rommel's Afrika Korps against the British and American forces. Relying almost exclusively on the Luftwaffe's staple fighter of World War 2, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the battle-hardened aces used the aircraft's superior performance to achieve incredible scores against the Allies. Similarly, once pushed out of North Africa, these units continued to take the fight to the RAF and USAAF from makeshift bases in northern Italy.

Jerry Scutts has worked in the field of aviation publishing since the late 1960s, writing over 40 books that have covered a broad spectrum of subject matter ranging from US Navy floatplane fighters in World War 2 to the exploits of the USAF's Phantom IIs over Vietnam. His specialist areas are the Luftwaffe and the US Army Air Forces in World War 2, and he originally appeared on the Osprey list as long ago as 1977, when he wrote the second volume in the now much sought after Air Cam Air War series -- many of the jacket illustrations in this series were also painted by him. Jerry has been a regular contributor to Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series since its inception in 1994. An airbrush artist with years of experience, Chris has become Osprey's principal illustrator of RAF aircraft, having produced the profiles for over a dozen books since 1994. His most recent work includeds Aces 27 and 30, and Combat AIrcraft 14 and 19. He is particularly adept at 'big' aircraft like the Halifax and Sunderland.