Junkers Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader on the Russian Front

By John Weal

Completing Osprey's triliogy on the Ju 88 Kampfgeschwader this new volume focuses on activities on the Eastern Front during World War II (1939-1945). Comprising the main punch of the Luftwaffe's bomber arm during the initial invasion of the Soviet Union, the Ju 88 participated in a number of early strategic bomber raids on Moscow before assuming responsibility for supporting the Wehrmacht's ground forces in the field. In this role, the Ju 88s attacked bridges, road and rail communications, and troop concentrations and gave rise to many individual incidents that contribute to a varied and interesting narrative.

Along with this main narrative, the book also covers the role the Ju 88s played in attacking the artic convoys that were shipping allied war supplies to Russia, and the several variant models that were employed. The strangest of these was a Ju 88 packed with explosives and guided by a fighter clipped onto its back that was used as a giant bomb against the Russians as they were approaching Berlin late in the war.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781782005315

John Weal

John Weal is Osprey's primary Luftwaffe author and artist. He has written, illustrated and/or supplied artwork for several titles in the Aircraft of the Aces series. He owns one of the largest private collections of original German-language literature from World War 2, and his research is firmly based on this huge archive.