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With machine gun turret positions in the nose, atop the fuselage, under the belly, in the tail, and with two side gunner positions, it was anticipated no hostile fighter would penetrate a B-17 defensive formation. The sheer mass of defensive fire from a group of B-17s flying in geometrically calculated boxes would be enough to see off any Luftwaffe fighter pilot brave enough to make an...
By Spring in 1945, most of the Luftwaffe's assets were dedicated to the defense of the Reich. Relentless bombing of Germany's cities and industrial hubs and dwindling supplies kept Luftwaffe defense fighters busy in a desperate attempt stop the inevitable fall of Germany.
"Dora's Defense" depicts Focke-Wulf 190Ds scrambling to meet another morning raid on the Reich by...
The Luftwaffe had been held at bay, and with the Battle of Britain won, the Royal Air Force turned its attention from one of defence to a more offensive stance. Having played a pivotal role in Britain’s dogged defence, in November 1940 Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding was replaced as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Fighter Command by the more aggressively minded Sir William Sholto...
Summer 1940: It’s been another rough day for the seasoned pilots of JG-26 Schlageter . Once again they have flown out of their base at Abbeville in northern France to escort the massed bombers of the Luftwaffe against the RAF’s fighter airfields of southern England; and once again they have been locked in combat with the Spitfires and Hurricanes of RAF Fighter...
Luftwaffe Ace Johannes 'Macky' Steinhoff downs two P-38 Lightnings near his airbase at Foggia, Italy, 25 August 1943.
In the summer of 1943, Luftwaffe Ace Johannes 'Macky' Steinhoff was on his first tour as Kommodore of JG77 based at Foggia Airfield in Italy. Around 8 am on Wednesday 25 August 1943, Steinhoff took off to test a new engine that had been installed in his...
Previously un-released work from the Military Gallery Archive Collection
5 March 1936: As soon as he was in the air test pilot Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers knew that the sleek prototype fighter in his hands was a winner. It was a called a ‘Spitfire’ and not only had it been beautiful to look at but on this, its maiden flight, the nimble little machine...
By the early winter of 1944 Allied bombing missions to Germany had become an almost daily occurrence. Most Luftwaffe fighters had been re-assigned to the Defense of the Reich duties in an attempt to prevent the ever-increasing destruction of German cities.
One German fighter which played a significant defensive role was the advanced Focke-Wulf Fw-190D. With its superb high...
Anthony’s atmospheric painting depicts a definitive moment in late August 1940 as the Mk.I Spitfires of 610 Squadron, one of the units to bear the full brunt of the Luftwaffe’s attacks, scramble away from their base at Biggin Hill towards the Channel where yet another incoming Luftwaffe formation has been spotted. Combining great skill with thoughtful insight, Anthony...
In 1940 Adolf Galland took command of JG-26 and transformed the unit into an elite squadron and the Luftwaffe’s best known Fighter Wing. For the next two years they duelled daily over northern France with the very best of the RAF who nicknamed them the ‘Abbeville Boys’.
One of Robert’s most iconic pieces features the outstanding Galland leading a loose...
A moving Masterwork graphite edition from Robert Taylor, the world’s most widely collected Aviation Artist
The Battle of Britain was long over but by the summer of 1942 the fight back against those Luftwaffe units left to defend northern France remained a bitter struggle. Although the pilots of Fighter Command had stopped the enemy in its...
