Courland Archives - Air War Publications

Bostons Over the Baltic

by Andrew Arthy | Feb 28, 2021 | 1.GMTAP, A-20 Boston, Books, Courland, Eastern Front, Frontline, Fw 190, Jagdgeschwader 51, Luftwaffe, Pilots, Publications, Research, VVS, VVS Units

Various Lend-Lease aircraft saw action in the Courland region throughout 1944 and 1945, but one of the more prominent was the Douglas A-20 Boston. In fact, the twin-engine Boston (or Havoc, its official American name) was the most numerous Lend-Lease bomber in the...

A Beginners Guide to the Soviet Air Force Over Courland

by Andrew Arthy | Feb 14, 2021 | 1.GBAK, 1.GMTAP, A-20 Boston, Air Force, Books, Courland, Eastern Front, Frontline, Il-2 Sturmovik, Jagdgeschwader 54, La-5, La-7, LaGG-3, Luftwaffe, Pe-2, Pilots, Po-2, Publications, Schlachtgeschwader 3, U-2, VVS, VVS Units, Yak-1, Yak-3, Yak-7, Yak-9

The approximate Soviet air army responsibilities between October 1944 and January 1945. IntroductionWhile many of our readers will be aware of the main Luftwaffe units operating over Courland in 1944 and 1945, like Jagdgeschwader 54 and III./Schlachtgeschwader 3, we...

Otto Kittel eArticle available

by Andrew Arthy | May 22, 2020 | Aces, Bf 109, Courland, eArticles, Eastern Front, Fw 190, Jagdgeschwader 54, Kursk, Leningrad, Luftwaffe, Pilots, Publications

The latest Air War Publications eArticle to be released is Evgeny Velichko’s biography of Jagdgeschwader 54’s leading ace, Otto Kittel. Evgeny has done some extensive research into Kittel’s life, and has produced a most interesting story. The article...

Air War Courland – Writing has Begun!

by Andrew Arthy | May 2, 2020 | Courland, Eastern Front, Fw 190, Il-2 Sturmovik, Jagdgeschwader 54, Luftwaffe, Nahaufklärungsgruppe 5, Publications, Research, Schlachtgeschwader 3, VVS

Today we are happy to share some very exciting news: after eighteen years of research and material-gathering, Andrew started writing the Air War Courland book! It’s been a lengthy process to get to this point, involving a huge amount of research, many trips to...

Luftflotte 1 on 7 November 1944

by Andrew Arthy | Nov 7, 2018 | Aces, Books, Courland, Eastern Front, Frontline, Fw 190, Jagdgeschwader 54, Luftwaffe, Pilots, Publications, Research, Schlachtgeschwader 3, VVS

There was a considerable amount of air activity in the immediate aftermath of the creation of the Courland Pocket in October 1944, but terrible wintry weather set in during early November, almost bringing aerial operations to a complete halt. It was not until the...

Courland Air Battle 19 September 1944

by Andrew Arthy | Oct 19, 2017 | Aces, Bf 109, Courland, Eastern Front, Frontline, Fw 190, Jagdgeschwader 51, Luftwaffe, P-39 Airacobra, Pe-2, Pilots, Publications, Research, VVS

19 September 1944 was another busy day in the Courland air war, and this blog post outlines one of the most significant combats to occur. Soviet units from the 3. Vozdushnaya Armiya (3.VA, or 3rd Air Army) flew 1.404 sorties over the south-eastern corner of Courland...