How has this sim expanded your bookshelf? Just bought Osprey's "LaGG & Lavochkin Aces of World War 2"

[FlyingNutcase]

Hi folks,

 

In Developer Diary 39 we've learnt that we'll initially only be flying the "coffin" aka LaGG-3. It's a plane that I had zero interest in flying - I was all about the IL2 initially. But I think it's really quite good that they've started with the (with respect) dog of the show and I've now starting reading and learning a bit about it. In fact I just bought Osprey's LaGG & Lavochkin Aces of World War 2 (via Amazon Kindle); an interesting read so far.

 

Has this sim got you buying books which you wouldn't otherwise have bought?

[FlatSpinMan]

It may be a dog in terms of performance, but I've long thought it a bit of a looker.

 

Regarding the actual topic, I've not bought any books related to this particular sim, but have a fair few that were inspired by the old Il2.

I'm keen to get a couple of Soviet pilot accounts soon though. Forget the titles but they're about a Sturmovik pilot.

[FlyingNutcase]

...

I'm keen to get a couple of Soviet pilot accounts soon though. Forget the titles but they're about a Sturmovik pilot.

 

I'd love to know those titles. 

[FlatSpinMan]

Yes, it would make my comment a lot more useful, wouldn't it?

I have a feeling they're mentioned in the History forum here. When I'm home I'll check.

[csThor]

Unfortunately that book, FlyingNutcase, cannot be considered accurate at all as it contains one aspect that casts doubt on each and every single information it contains. Look up the "story" (fairy tale is the more accurate description here) on a certain "Arkadiy Sukov" and his supposed achievements against JG 54. Of the six aces mentioned as downed by him one is a very likely, two are impossible to verify (because their names never show up anywhere else) and three are obvious fairy tales. To put meat to (my) bones:

 

a) May 22 1942: Sukov claimed to have shot down 47-victory ace Otto-Bruno Loerzer of II./JG 54. I cannot verify this claim as I have never heard of this man (who is supposed to be Generalfeldmarschall Loerzer's son). The Luftwaffe claim lists supplied by Tony Wood do not list his name at all. Same goes for the books on JG 54 I have.

b) August 9 1942: Sukov claimed to have killed 102-victory ace Max-Helmut Ostermann of 7./JG 54. It may be possible that Sukov's LaGG-3 was responsible. In this case in dubio pro reo.

c) September 18 1942: Sukov claimed to have shot-down Herbert Findeisen who bailed out and became POW. Bull**** (with capital B) !!!! Findeisen was a recon pilot until well into 1944. He did not join JG 54 until then and lead II./JG 54 into british captivity. Remarkable career for a soviet POW from 1942.

 

d) November 11 1942: Sukov claimed to have shot down 54-victory ace Hans-Joachim Heyer. Again Bull**** (with capital B) !!!! Heyer was listed as MIA on November 9 1942 after a collision with either his wingman or his last victim (a Yak) near Gorodok.

e) December 17 1944: Sukov claimed to have shot down 52-victory ace Heinrich Wefers. I have not managed to find this name anywhere else, so either he does not exist or is misspelt. Impossible to verify.

 

f) January 3 1945: Sukov claimed to have shot down 76-victory ace Hans-Joachim Kroschinski. And again - you may guess .... Bull****. Kroschinski was seriously wounded on December 21 1944 when his Fw 190 was badly hit by Pe-2 gunners over Libau. He lost his eyesight, a leg and suffered other grievous wounds so he could not have flown two weeks later ...

 

 

So, even if we allow the two unknown cases, this story contains 50% nonsense ... which shows that the author has merely written what the archives contain and didn't bother to cross-check with other sources. And if that one aspect contains so many errors one has to wonder what else is wrong in that book.  
 

Edited November 2, 2013 by csThor

[LLv34_Flanker]

S!

 

I've got the Il-2 pilot book. It was OK and easy read, if you filtered the obvious Soviet era style of being totally dominating etc. But you could find some nice info there after that. Like how Il-2 barely could keep engine cool enough not to overheat during flights, Guards Regiment pilots colliding midair because barely could fly their plane etc. Still recommended reading. Find by author Vasili B. Emelianenko.

[Tone71]

I bought Antony Beevor's "Stalingrad". Might also get "Fighters over Stalingrad" by Nikita Egorov and Boris Nechki.

[MarcoRossolini]

If you're interested in eyewitness accounts (I've said this before I think...) Check out this site, lots of interesting Soviet accounts.http://english.iremember.ru/airmen.html

[NZTyphoon]

Just bought Stopped at Stalingrad http://www.amazon.com/Stopped-Stalingrad-Luftwaffe-Hitlers-1942-1943/dp/0700611460 unfortunately I'm so tied up with work I haven't had much more than a chance to browse; some really interesting background info and hopefully I'll get some more reading in, starting next week.

Edited November 2, 2013 by NZTyphoon

[Uufflakke]

Talking about the Il2 and Osprey, I still have a digital version of the Osprey book "Combat Aircraft 071 - Il-2 Shturmovik Guards Units of World War 2".

If anyone is interested you can d/l it here:

 

http://www.mediafire.com/?a4an4s4nuz4zd8n (30.8MB)

 

 

[Feathered_IV]

Managed to get a copy of Black Cross Red Star, Vol.3 Everything for Stalingrad.  Very happy about that. 

 

 

Also looking at a novel based on the events of Pavlov's House that looks rather good.  Shall have to get that for the Kindle.

[FlyingNutcase]

Managed to get a copy of Black Cross Red Star, Vol.3 Everything for Stalingrad.  Very happy about that. 

 

 

Also looking at a novel based on the events of Pavlov's House that looks rather good.  Shall have to get that for the Kindle.

 

It seems to be a bit of a classic series. Is it a "readable read" or more reference? AFAIK Amazon doesn't have a Kindle version which is kind of frustrating.

[SvAF/F19_Klunk]

It may be a dog in terms of performance, but I've long thought it a bit of a looker.

 

Regarding the actual topic, I've not bought any books related to this particular sim, but have a fair few that were inspired by the old Il2.

I'm keen to get a couple of Soviet pilot accounts soon though. Forget the titles but they're about a Sturmovik pilot.

I too am all in for the IL2, can't wait to fy her.. or sit in the aft gunner seat with Occulus Rift

That book,"Red Star Against the Swastika: The Story of a Soviet Pilot over the Eastern Front" by Vasily B Emelianenko I read a few years back... but for this sim I bought this one a few weeks back for Kindle:

 

Over Fields of Fire: Flying the Sturmovik in Action on the Eastern Front 1942-45 (Soviet Memories of War)

Anna Timofeeva-Egorova

 

During the 1930s the Soviet Union launched a major effort to create a modern Air Force. That process required training tens of thousands of pilots. Among those pilots were larger numbers of young women, training shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. A common training program of the day involved studying in 'flying clubs' during leisure hours, first using gliders and then training planes. Following this, the best graduates could enter military schools to become professional combat pilots or flight navigators. The author of this book passed through all of those stages and had become an experienced training pilot when the USSR entered the war.

 

Volunteering for frontline duty, the author flew 130 combat missions piloting the U2 biplane in a liaison squadron. In the initial period of the war, the German Luftwaffe dominated the sky. Daily combat sorties demanded bravery and skill from the pilots of the liaison squadron operating obsolete, unarmed planes. Over the course of a year the author was shot down by German fighters three times but kept flying nevertheless.

 

In late 1942 Anna Egorova became the first female pilot to fly the famous Sturmovik (ground attack) plane that played a major role in the ground battles of the Eastern Front. Earning the respect of her fellow male pilots, the author became not just a mature combat pilot, but a commanding officer. Over the course of two years the author advanced from ordinary pilot to the executive officer of the Squadron, and then was appointed Regimental navigator, in the process flying approximately 270 combat missions over the southern sector of the Eastern Front initially (Taman, the Crimea) before switching to the 1st Belorussian Front, and seeing action over White Russia and Poland.

 

This is a quite unique story of courage, determination and bravery in the face of tremendous personal adversity. The many obstacles Anna had to cross before she could fly first the Po-2, then the Sturmovik, are recounted in detail, including her tough work helping to build the Moscow Metro before the outbreak of war. Above all, Over Fields of Fire is a very human story - sometimes sad, sometimes angry, filled with hope, at other times with near-despair, abundant in comradeship and professionalism – and never less than a large dose of determination!

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna Alexandrovna Timofeeva-Egorova was born on 23 September 1916. After attending school she had hoped to learn to fly but this wish was delayed due to one of her brother’s becoming a victim of the Communist security system, which deemed him an ‘enemy of the people’. After a number of setbacks Anna learned to fly, and during the first part of the Great Patriotic War flew Po-2 biplanes for the 130th Aviation Signals Squadron, being shot down three times. She then switched to flying the fearsome Ilyushin Il-2 Sturmovik ground-attack aircraft with the 805th Ground Attack Regiment (805 ShAP), 197th Ground Attack Division. Anna flew approximately 270 combat missions before being shot down in the summer of 1944, being severely injured and taken prisoner by the Germans. Thanks to her determination, and the skill, dedication, care and kindness of numerous individuals, she made a remarkable recovery and was liberated when the Soviets overran her POW camp near Küstrin in 1945. However, her troubles were not over, as the Soviet authorities initially believed her to be a traitor and collaborator and subjected her to 11 days of continuous interrogations. She was released, although her injuries were such that was medically discharged from the Air Force in 1945. She continued to fight to clear her name after the war – she was eventually reinstated into the Communist Party and in 1965 finally received the award of ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’. She died in October 2009.

 

 

 

Unfortunately little time to read just now, but I am packing my Kindle full with e-books for X-mas/new years holiday in South East Asia

 

(darn it.. it's too easy to buy e.books)

Edited November 2, 2013 by F19_Klunk

[FlyingNutcase]

@Thor: Thanks for the detailed rebuttal. At least I've garnered some understanding of the general progression of the aircraft and now I can appreciate the background and differences between "LaGG-3", "La-5" and "La-5FN" for example. 

 

BTW Have you written any books? You seem to be the go-to guy for historical facts.

 

@Klunk: Thanks for that. At less than $10 via Kindle I'll definitely get it after reading the current book.

Edited November 3, 2013 by FlyingNutcase

[csThor]

BTW Have you written any books? You seem to be the go-to guy for historical facts.

 

Goodness, no. Just because I have bought a lot of books I'm not a potential author or even historian. If I were to write a book I'd need to be able to access wartime archives and research their primary sources - something that would only be possible as full-time job and not something I'd do in my spare time. I prefer to stay an amateur and buy books others have written. 

[SOLIDKREATE]

Managed to get a copy of Black Cross Red Star, Vol.3 Everything for Stalingrad.  Very happy about that. 

 

 

Also looking at a novel based on the events of Pavlov's House that looks rather good.  Shall have to get that for the Kindle.

 

 

+1 Great Book, I need to consult it more when I do emblems, LOL. I have Vol.1 though not this one.

Edited November 3, 2013 by Erg./JG54_SPEKTRE

[dkoor]

I have a lot of Osprey (Aces and few Aviation Elite) titles in excellent condition, practically mint since I only read them once.

But now I'll sell them all due to few reasons, first being I misjudged the series as being limited to much less issues, second I'm running outta space for my WW2 aero books  and third and most important I can't justify it to my old... (hmmm... not sure how she would feel about that adjective  ) lady.

I'll probably put 'em on ebay one of these days...

 

So I'm sticking to single titles or very very limited editions, like http://www.amazon.com/Air-Yugoslavia-Greece-Crete-1940-41/dp/0948817070 for instance.

Edited November 3, 2013 by dkoor

[[BBQ]brandtryan]

Listening to Beevor's Stalingrad (kindle/audible whispersync), and just finished an interesting Audible title - Life and Fate: The Complete Series - by Vasily Grossman

 

Many actors read for the title, including Kenneth Branagh.

 

The story basically follows some characters around Stalingrad and elsewhere as the Germans approach and attack Stalingrad.  It's kind of like a play in the theater, read aloud -- and very well done IMHO.

Edited November 5, 2013 by [BBQ]brandtryan

[Feathered_IV]

I listened to the Audible reading of Stalingrad too. I thought it was exceptionally well done. I'll keep an eye out for the Grossman book too, I've been meaning to look into his books for a while.

[ram0506]

Not really expanded my bookshelf, but I reread Rudels "Mein Kriegstagebuch" (english title is "Stuka Pilot"). His Stuka unit took part in the battle of Stalingrad.