Arming the Luftwaffe: Machine Guns, Cannon and Aerial Artillery that Powered German Air Combat, 1939–1945

Soon to be released from Pen and Sword History and author Tim Heath is German Aircraft Weaponry: Machine Guns, Cannon and Aerial Artillery in Luftwaffe Service, 1939-1945. The book examines the use of the humble rifle calibre machine gun as an aircraft weapon along with the efforts to develop suitable cannon with greater destructive power for aircraft use, the advances made during the inter-war years and the various barrelled weaponry either used or proposed by the German Luftwaffe in the Second World War.

This work encompasses not only the technical and operational appraisals of the various weapons used by the German Luftwaffe aircrews, which include some of Germany’s leading surviving fighter aces of the Second World War, but also the armourers tasked with their day-to-day maintenance, the instructors and technicians on the ground, and those who found themselves at the receiving end of their firepower both in the air and on the ground. This unique work encompasses many new and previously unpublished testimonies as told by those who were there in their own words and for the first time.

The 256 page hardcover book is currently available for pre-order with release slated for March 30.

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