Fw 190 Sturmbocke vs B-17 Flying Fortress: Europe 1944-45 (Duel)

For the first time in the best-selling "Duel" series, Osprey Publishing presents the horrifying aerial clash between a fighter and a bomber. The Fw 190 was one of the best air superiority aircraft of World War II, and when it first appeared over the Channel in 1941 it sent shockwaves through the Allied air commands. By 1944, these fighters had been up-gunned to serve as the front line of defence against the Allied bombing campaign. Although the Fw 190s were responsible for shooting down hundreds of Allied bombers, they met their match against the USAAF B-17 'Flying Fortress'. Capable of carry 4,000 lbs of bombs and bristling with .50cal machine guns, the B-17 could sow death in every direction. Using brand-new artwork and first-hand accounts, this book recreates the deadly drama in the skies above Germany in the closing stages of the war.

Customer Reviews:

Amazon discount makes this worth getting..

By N. Page - November 25, 2009

My discounted copy of this new 'Duel' title arrived today - at this price these titles are worth getting. The Osprey 'preview' image from this volume depicting JG 300 pilots Loos & Dahl boring in on the 303rd BG over Bitburg, 15 Aug 44 appaeared on a number of web-sites pre-publication and my 11-year old thinks its pretty decent - I have to agree this type of computer-art beats the usual dreary battle scene 'painting' in these titles even if the Fw 190's are too close together and the rear B-17 gunner wouldn't be firing a stream of tracer. Whether I can actually persuade my son to read any of the text will be another matter altogether. There seems to be rather more words here than in previous 'Duel' titles starting with a chronology that curiously ends on 2 December 1944. The themes of FW 190 as 'bomber killer' over Germany are explored and there are chapters on the design and devlopment of both types with technical specifications and cutaway artworks, before the author moves on to... read more

Fw 190/ B-17 Match-Up!

By Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" - December 14, 2009

The heavily armed and rugged Fw 190 was a B-17 crewman's worst nightmare. Moreso than its Bf 109 stablemate, the 'Butcher Bird' had the firepower and staying power to decimate 8th AF B-17 and B-24 units especially those lacking fighter escort. The combats fought between Fw 190s and B-17s are the subject of this 2009 Osprey release, the latest in their 'Duel' series. Over the years Robert Forsyth has written several wonderful Luftwaffe histories; unfortunately his latest effort misses the mark.

Though the idea of pitting the Fw 190 against the B-17 appealed to me initally, I had misgivings about the appropriateness of the match-up. Pitting a P-51 against a Bf 109, for instance, is valid, both aircraft having pluses and minuses in a dogfight. In a Fw 190/B-17 combat however, there was/is no comparison. The Fort always functioned as a clay pigeon albeit a well-armed clay pigeon!

While Forsyth checked off all the squares in the established Duel format, the book... read more

The cost of the air war over Europe

By Theodore A. Rushton - January 7, 2011

The US Eighth Air Force lost 3,339 heavy bombers from the time of its first mission in August 1942 to the end of September 1944, by which time the Luftwaffe was reduced to a token remnant of its original "blitzkrieg" force.

That's 33,390 Americans dead or prisoners of war, an average of 43 losses every day for 26 months. Add the British, Canadian and other Allied losses, and the scope of the air war over western Europe becomes real. Many of those losses were due to the Fw 190, one of the finest fighters of World War II.

Early in the war, the British tried strategic bombing of German naval bases. Almost all bombers were lost; so they switched to night bombing. The B-17, which carried a bomb load equal to the twin-engine Mosquito, was used to confront and crush the Luftwaffe in daylight. It took just over two years; without victory in the air, the ground war would have been horrendous if not impossible.

Ironically, the B-17 was intended for... read more