帝国的王牌：空军飞行员的制作

1939年，德国空军可以说是世界上装备和训练最好的空军。它的战斗机是首屈一指的，他们的飞行员拥有比世界上任何其他国家都优越的战术系统。在波兰、挪威、低地国家和法国的竞选活动中，他们把一切都摆在了前面。直到1940年夏天，他们才以微弱优势击败英格兰。在西方，他们仅仅凭借一支守备部队，就对英国皇家空军保持了令人羡慕的杀伤率，而在其他地方，他们横扫巴尔干半岛，然后摧毁了数量庞大的苏联空军。他们的得分最高者在空战中创造了前所未有的成绩。然而，在三年之内，尽管推出了世界上最先进的战斗机Me 262喷气式飞机，德国空军的战斗机部门Jagdwaffe却被彻底击败。这是怎么发生的？空战历史学家迈克·斯皮克深入探讨了这个问题。他最令人惊讶的结论是，贾格德瓦夫的动机存在根本性缺陷。曼弗雷德·冯·里希索芬（Manfred von Richthofen，又名红男爵五世）的传奇故事——第一次世界大战中得分最高的飞行员——由总司令赫尔曼·戈林（Hermann Goering）宣传，以提升自己的形象——成为了一个典范。对德国战斗机飞行员来说，最重要的是高胜利分数和勋章，而不是其他一切。结果往往是一场不合时宜的争夺冠军的比赛，这对德国空战的效率产生了有害的影响。从高层指挥的失败到个人的分数和荣誉，《帝国的王牌》是对二战中最可怕的空军以及与之一起飞行的熟练飞行员的引人注目的研究。迈克·斯皮克的其他作品包括空军战机王牌和空军胜利号。
Aces of the Reich: The Making of a Luftwaffe Pilot
In 1939, The Luftwaffe was arguably the world’s best-equipped and -trained air force. Its fighters were second to none, and their pilots had a tactical system superior to any other in the world. In campaigns over Poland, Norway, the Low Countries and France, they carried all before them. Only in the summer of 1940 did they fail by a narrow margin in achieving air superiority over England. In the West, with a mere holding force, they maintained an enviable killvloss ratio against the RAF, while elsewhere they swept through the Balkans, then decimated the numerically formidable Soviet Air Force. Their top scorers set marks in air combat that have never been surpassed. Yet within three years, and despite the introduction of the jet Me 262, the world’s most advanced fighter, the Luftwaffe fighter arm, the Jagdwaffe, had been totally defeated. How did this happen? Air-warfare historian Mike Spick explores the question in depth. His most surprising conclusion is that the motivation of the Jagdwaffe was fundamentally flawed. The legend of Manfred von Richthofen, aka the Red Baron v the top-scoring pilot of World War I v which was promoted by Commander-in-Chief Hermann Goering to enhance his own image, became a paradigm. What mattered most to German fighter-pilots was a high victory score and decorations, at the expense of all else. The result was often an unseemly race for the top spot, which had a pernicious effect on the efficacy of German air combat. From the failings of High Command to the scores and decorations of individuals, Aces of the Reich is a compelling study of World War II’s most fearsome air force and the skilled pilots who flew with it. Mike Spick’s other works include Luftwaffe Fighter Aces and Luftwaffe Victorious.

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