For anyone who is interested in the air war 1941-45, the information provided here is of inestimable value. There are no more than a handful of Second World War Luftwaffe members alive today. Patrick Eriksson had the foresight to record these experiences first-hand before it was too late. Some witnesses ended up as senior fighter controllers. The recollections and views of the veterans are put within the context of the German aerial war history. By no means all the witnesses were from the ranks of the so-called 'aces'. It was on the Eastern Front that, essentially, much of the Luftwaffe was destroyed, and this is the subject of the second in the author's trilogy. Death wasn't always in the air: '"Quick, out of the aircraft, the Russians are here." The airfield had been overrun. Chaos followed.' In addition to giving voice to those who were there, Patrick Eriksson describes pilot training and scrutinises the Luftwaffe's complicated victory claims system to find out if it really was as accurate as is often suggested.

Alarmstart South completes Patrick Eriksson's Alarmstart trilogy on Second World War German fighter pilots, detailing their experiences in the Mediterranean theatre (1941-1944), and during the closing stages of the war over Normandy, Norway and Germany (1944-1945). He utilises extensive personal reminiscences of veterans and original documents, set within a brief factual framework of campaigns, equipment and the progress of the war. Veterans who flew in Me 109, Fw 190 and Me 110/410 aircraft provide their stories in their own words. They range from junior NCOs to Colonels, including a senior fighter controller and even one of the Luftwaffe's psychologists. The Mediterranean theatre provided the top scoring aces on both sides for the entire war (excluding the Russian front battles): Hans-Joachim Marseille (158 victory claims) on the German side and South African 'Pat' Pattle (an estimated 41+), on the Allied side. In the air battles over the Mediterranean region, many aircrew ended up 'in the drink' with little chance of being found. Occasionally, a miracle would happen, as with Dr Felix Sauer of JG 53, a pre-war biology teacher, who used his knowledge of chemistry and a calm demeanour to survive eight days in a dinghy at sea without water, apart from rain or dew. For many pilots the war would end only in death, for others in imprisonment. Oberfeldwebel Horst Petzschler endured forced labour in southern Russia: 'On 22 September 1949 I arrived in Berlin, my home town, weighing 118 pounds, half dead but having survived!'

For anyone who is interested in the air war from 1941 to 1945, the information provided here is of inestimable value. There are no more than a handful of Second World War Luftwaffe members alive today. Patrick Eriksson had the foresight to record these experiences first-hand before it was too late. Some witnesses ended up as senior fighter controllers. The recollections and views of the veterans are put within the context of the German aerial war history. By no means all the witnesses were from the ranks of the so-called 'aces'. It was on the Eastern Front that, essentially, much of the Luftwaffe was destroyed, and this is the subject of the second in the author's trilogy. Death wasn't always in the air: '"Quick, out of the aircraft, the Russians are here." The airfield had been overrun. Chaos followed.' In addition to giving voice to those who were there, Patrick Eriksson describes pilot training and scrutinises the Luftwaffe's complicated victory claims system to find out if it really was as accurate as is often suggested.

The tactical abilities of small unit leaders were critical in winning the Battle of Britain and the many innovations and even experiments which they tried out during the active fighting merit examination. The pre-war Fighter Area Attacks - much beloved of the Air Ministry and founded on the notion that incoming German bombers would be unescorted due to the distance from their German home bases - would prove to be almost totally useless. Nobody then thought France would fall, enabling enemy fighters to be based just across the Channel. Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding built the defensive system and made it work before the war; he also prevented too many fighters from going to France. During the battle he played the strategic role, keeping Fighter Command in business while minimising losses; this was directly related to small British fighter formations, essentially a squadron - any raid would thus be attacked by a number of discrete squadrons - this approach reduced losses and ensured a sequence of attacks. Dowding's subordinate Group commanders, notably Keith Park of 11 Group, fought the actual tactical battle, deciding every day how many squadrons would be allocated to every raid. The squadron leaders needed to know German bomber formation and type to choose fighter attack methods, and the disposition of German escort fighters. It was a subtle, deadly balancing act to maintain the aggressiveness needed to break up bomber formations and allow follow-up destruction of straggling and struggling machines, yet limit casualties among their own pilots. In July 1940, the author shows how this was achieved - or not achieved. In his analysis Patrick Eriksson is not afraid to say it as he sees it: 'The British fighters could never have won the Battle if they, like the Germans often did, attacked only when favourable conditions pertained.'