Prien, Jochen. (Translated from the German by David Johnston) Jagdgeschwader 53: A History of the "Pik As" Geschwader, volume 1: March 1937 - May 1942. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military Books, 1997.

ISBN 0-7643-0175-6
394 pages

Preface; Foreword I; Foreword II; Introduction; maps; photos; tables.

Seldom does an air unit history -- or any book, for that matter -- have lavished upon it the loving care that obviously went into this monumental account of JG 53. No effort has been spared: a careful, thorough reconstruction of the history of the geschwader and its pilots, staff, and groundcrew; the highest standards for paper, binding, and dustjacket; hundreds of photos including a selection of faded but beautiful color shots; gorgeous design and layout. Just to lift this book and open the pages at random is sufficient to show how special it is. And this is only volume one!

Most of the official records of the "Pik As" (Ace of Spades) were "carefully sealed in zinc cannisters 'for better times' and buried" in Bavaria but never recovered. This history, then, has been painstakingly compiled from fragmentary records, wartime diaries, and the recollections of veterans. Families of the deceased veterans also provided much in the way of photographs and assistance.

The Pik As formed in 1937. It served in the West during the Phoney War and the German blitzkrieg of 1940, and took part in the Battle of Britain. The geschwader then transferred to the Russian Front for Operation Barbarossa, late in the year moving to bases in Sicily for operations against Malta (with elements also serving the Netherlands and North Africa). Each front on which the unit serves is accorded its own section in the book.

Each section of the book opens with an overview of the current air situation and outlines the progress of the war as a whole. Prien then writes about the daily activities of the geschwader, its missions, and its tactics.

By now III Gruppe's days on Sicily were numbered; on 20th May the air elements began their move to North Africa, where the Gruppe was to be deployed for the next five months. The last Malta mission from Comiso were apparently flown on 21st May-- on this day 8 Staffel reported the loss of Uffz. Seidel, who was shot down by Spitfires off the east coast of Malta while on a free chase. He was still on board his aircraft when it crashed into the sea and sank.

The Stab and II Gruppe were now alone in the struggle against the rejuvenated Royal Air Force on Malta; the success which had been achieved at great effort at the end of April had already largely been forfeited. It was a clear demonstration that cooperation between the Axis partners in the Mediterranean did not work, if one could speak of cooperation in the true sense of the word. At the end of 1942, when the necessary conditions for a landing on Malta had been created, there were no preparations and no forces which could have carried out such a landing. Two or three months later, when preparations were supposedly complete and the necessary airborne and naval forces should have been ready, there were no air forces left to maintain the air superiority that had been won over Malta. Once again it was painfully demonstrated that Germany lacked the forces to fight the two-front war she had got herself into; the result was a continual overburdening of the available forces, which had to be paid for in heavy sacrifices by front-line soldiers.

Prien's text is interspersed with tabular data, the firsthand accounts of veterans, and passages from surviving documents.

On 13th May 7 Staffel lost Lt. Siegmund Hosnedl; the next day Lt. Jurgen Harder wrote:

"My machine came back from repairs and I was supposed to take it up to 10,000 meters. I was too tired and also duty officer so I asked a comrade, Lt. Hosnedl, a young hotspur with ten victories, to test fly my '109'. The engine failed at a height of 8,000 meters and he came straight down and crashed. His funeral was today-- I was supposed to be the one flying, and it was my aircraft and the first time someone else had flown it."

The circumstances of Hosnedl's death were especially tragic; the following is the official casualty report:

"Lt. Hosnedl took off at 5:05 pm on 13/5/1942 on a maintenance test flight. It is thought that Lt. Hosnedl developed altitude sickness. The aircraft went into a steep dive; when he came to Lt. Hosnedl tried to regain control of the diving aircraft and the tail broke off. The aircraft went into a spin and Lt. Hosnedl bailed out. His parachute opened. The faster-falling aircraft reached the open parachute and shredded it with its propeller. The pilot fell to the ground."

Each section is liberally illustrated with carefully captioned photos and maps and each closes with a tabular accounting of daily losses. A book with this many photos would usually be deemed a "pictorial history", but in this case the photos -- although interesting and well reproduced -- are secondary to the text.

Volume one closes with the geschwader serving in the Mediterranean. Volume two will continue the unit history through the end of the war.

Highly recommended for anyone interested in air unit histories, of which this is one of the best.

Available through mail order booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Schiffer for $89.95.

Thanks to Schiffer Military Books for providing this review copy.