We are very pleased to present an interview conducted with our long-time friend and research colleague – Englishman Robert Forsyth. The Air War Publications team have known him for more than twenty years, and he took on Andrew and Morten’s Focke-Wulf Fw 190 in North Africa, releasing it under the legendary Classic Publications banner in 2004, and Adam’s Seeflieger title in 2009, under the same banner. There have also been several meetings in person over the years, starting with a quick catch-up at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2005. We then had a more leisurely chat and some pints at the Railway Pub in Kew, London, and Andrew has met up with him on several occasions at the British National Archives, with Adam similarly meeting him at Kew for a fleeting visit around the same time. Over the years Robert has proved an invaluable colleague, providing us with research support and general assistance, and we have done the same in return. Robert is the author of numerous books, including, most recently, To Save an Army: The Stalingrad Airlift. We hope you enjoy the latest interview in our series of interesting people in the field of Luftwaffe and aviation history research (scroll to the bottom of this blog post for a complete list of Air War Publications interviews).

An album cover that helped develop Robert’s interest in the German Me 262.

1. When and how did you become interested in Second World War aviation?
As a boy growing up in England in the 1960s and 1970s, ‘the war’ was everywhere: on television, in films, books, comics and plastic kits. So, like thousands of other boys, my initial interest was in the war generally. In terms of aviation specifically, it was probably late 1969/early 1970 when I was taken to see the film ‘The Battle of Britain’. That had a big impact on me.

2. What was the first military aviation subject you really looked into?
JV 44. I became aware of the story of JV 44 many, many years ago when I first read Adolf Galland’s The First and the Last. The whole ‘exiled aces’ thing on the enemy side intrigued me, as did the Me 262 as an aircraft. Why the Me 262 especially? Honestly? Well, firstly because William Green’s Warplanes of the Third Reich had (for the time) some wondrous photos of the Me 262 and a little later, in my teenage years, I had a 1974 album by the US rock band Blue Öyster Cult called Secret Treaties and guess what was on the cover? So to my fifteen-year-old-self, the Me 262 had become a really cool machine.

3. What was the hook, or the moment that made you realize you wanted to carry on down the path of research?
As I say, in the early 1970s I read Galland’s autobiography and that was followed by Johannes Steinhoff’s Straits of Messina. I guess I was already ‘hooked’, but in the early 1980s I read Steinhoff’s The Last Chance. That book also really intrigued me. Were the events he described really true? Was there really a ‘decent’ group of disillusioned German fighter pilots who tried to present their opinions to Göring, despite knowing what could probably happen to them – even bringing in the SS?
Though I think the term ‘mutiny’, as has been used in post-war years, stretches the facts.

Robert with Franz Stigler, formerly of JG 27 and JV 44, during an interview at the Champlin Fighter Museum. The photo was taken by fellow Luftwaffe researcher and author, Dave Wadman.

4. What was the first book you wrote, and when was it published?
JV 44 – The Galland Circus in 1996 (that was Galland’s idea for a title).

5. What was your motivation for starting Classic Publications in 1994?
Three things:
1. In the early 1990s I was working in quite a ‘high demand’ job for a big Japanese shipowner. I was doing a lot of travelling across Europe, so I was away from home a lot and was becoming quite disenchanted with it.
2. I always wanted to work for myself.
3. One night, over a beer, Eddie Creek asked me how I planned to publish the book I had written. I said I hadn’t a clue. He said, “Well why don’t we publish it?” He had just retired at the time, but I thought he was mad. Anyway, for some crazy reason I quit the day job and started publishing books about aeroplanes. Here we are, some 300 books later …

6. What is your most memorable moment meeting with a Second World War veteran?
I’ve met quite a few (including those in my own family of course), but I cannot say there have been any particularly ‘memorable’ encounters. Such meetings (interviews) are generally conducted in a state of calm concentration and peace! However, I do remember meeting Adolf Galland for the first time in March 1994. I flew to Düsseldorf or Frankfurt and then caught a train to Bonn. The problem was that the morning I was due to fly, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) decided to fire some mortar bombs at Heathrow Airport, which caused significant disruption. I managed to fly out, but delayed, and then raced to get a train to Bonn. I was really worried. By the time I got to Galland’s house by local taxi, I was sweating. It was a bad start. I had corresponded regularly with Galland over the past two years, but he wanted to meet me before writing an introduction to my book. I walked up the path to the house and Galland’s wife was standing at the door looking somewhat vexed. She announced, “You’re too late,” and pointed at her watch. “My husband has other appointments now.” I felt like the world was crumbling. But then I heard a gruff male voice from within and Frau Galland beckoned me to follow. In the hall, I explained there had been a terrorist attack on the airport and Galland nodded and said that he heard about it on the radio. We all had a laugh and I was there for the next few hours and returned next day. They could not have been nicer.

With Eddie Creek (left) and Jim Kitchens (centre) at the IPMS Nationals in Columbus, Ohio, 1997. They were promoting Martin Pegg’s Hs 129 book and launching the first volume of Eddie’s and Richard Smith’s Me 262 series.

7. What is your current primary research focus?
I have two ‘retirement writing projects’, for both of which I have been gathering material for some 30 years. Firstly, a multi-volume biography of Generalfeldmarschall Dr.-Ing. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, and secondly, a history of the Luftwaffe’s air-launched V1 campaign against Great Britain in 1944-1945.

8. How do you think research has changed over the years?
Without question, the use of email, the internet and desktop scanners has meant people in the same and different countries can communicate and exchange information faster. The same applies to archival services which, more recently, have improved, with researchers allowed to use digital cameras. These are fantastic benefits. However, we should not believe ‘everything’ we read on the internet!

9. If you have any advice for people getting into this field, what would it be?
Look under every stone – no matter how small and inconsequential it might appear to be. Try to follow every lead. Treat others as you would expect to be treated. Be patient. Never give up. Enjoy what you’re doing.

With Götz Freiherr von Richthofen, the son of Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, during a research trip in Germany, 2004.

10. Where do you think the military history book publishing industry is heading?
I think interest in the Second World War will never fade entirely, but it is fading. Just like the First World War and Napoleonic history has its enthusiasts, albeit with smaller numbers than, say, ten or twenty years ago. The audiences for all these markets are ageing and decreasing. The Cold War and beyond will be the next area of focus and archival exploration. Print technology will continue to evolve and assist smaller publishers. The big question is how long will (expensive and heavy) paper books remain popular and desirable as audiences grow younger with new areas of interest? Or will there continue to be a collector value placed on them?

11. What has been the biggest frustration in research that you have faced?
I can’t think of anything too bad off-hand! I have encountered the occasional disinterest and unreasonable delay at one or two archives over the years but, happily, that is the exception, not the rule.

12. What is one ‘wow’ moment that you have had in researching the air war of the Second World War?
Being shown items of Wolfram von Richthofen’s private papers and photos by his son.

13. What makes a good military aviation book for you?
Qualified research with writing that you do not want to stop reading.

14. As a final question, do you have a favourite Second War World aircraft, and if so, what is it?
De Havilland Mosquito.

Robert Forsyth has authored the following books:
JV 44: The Galland Circus, Classic Publications, Burgess Hill, 1996, ISBN 13: 978-0952686705
Battle over Bavaria: B-26 Marauder v German Jets (with Jerry Scutts), Classic Publications, Crowborough, 1999, ISBN 13: 978-0952686743
Mistel: German Composite Aircraft and Operations, Classic Publications, Crowborough, 2001, ISBN 13: 978-1903223093
Jagdwaffe: Defending the Reich 1943-1944 (with Eddie J. Creek & Martin Pegg), Classic Publications, Hersham, 2004, ISBN 13: 978-1903223444
Jagdwaffe: Defending the Reich 1944-1945, Classic Publications, Hersham, 2005, ISBN-13: 978-1903223512
Me 264 Amerika Bomber (with Eddie J. Creek), Classic Publications, Hersham, 2006, ISBN-13: 978-1903223659
He 162 Volksjäger (with Eddie J. Creek), Classic Publications, Hersham, 2009, ISBN 13: 978-1906537005
Heinkel He 111 – An Illustrated History, Classic Publications, Hersham, 2014, ISBN 13: 978-1906537470
Junkers Ju 52/3m – An Illustrated History, Classic Publications, Hersham, 2014, ISBN 13: 978-1906537463
Blitz Bombers – Kampfgeschwader 76 and the Arado Ar 234 Luftwaffe Jet Bombers on the Western Front 1944-1945, Chandos Publications, Kingston upon Hull, 2020, ISBN-13 978-1999316518

Osprey Publishing
‘Aces’ series
Jagdverband 44, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2008, ISBN 13: 978-1846032943
Jagdgeschwader 7 ‘Nowotny’, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2008, ISBN 13: 978-1846033209
Aces of the Legion Condor, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2011, ISBN 13: 978-1849083478
Luftwaffe Viermot Aces 1942–45, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2012, IBSN 13: 978-1849084383
Jagdgeschwader 1 ‘Oesau’ Aces 1939-45, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2017, ISBN 13: 978-1472822918
Ju 88 Aces of World War 2, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2019, ISBN 13: 978-1472829214

‘Combat Aircraft’ series
Luftwaffe Mistel Composite Bomber Units, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2015, ISBN 13: 978-1472808462
Me 262 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units (with Eddie Creek), Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2012, ISBN 13: 978-1849087490
Arado Ar 234 Bomber and Reconnaissance Units (with Nick Beale), Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2020, ISBN 13: 978-1472844392
Junkers Ju 188 Units of World War 2, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2022, ISBN 13: 978-1472836380
Heinkel He 177 Units of World War 2, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2018, ISBN 13: 978-1472820396
Ju 52/3m Bomber and Transport Units 1936-41, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2017, ISBN 13: 978-1472818805
He 162 Volksjäger Units, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2016, ISBN 13: 978-1472814579
Me 210/410 Zerstörer Units, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2019, ISBN 13: 978-1472829108
Me 262 Units in Combat, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2024, ISBN 13: 978-1472860774

‘Duel’ series
Fw 190 Sturmböcke vs B-17 Flying Fortress, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2012, ISBN-13: 978-1846039416
Me 262 vs P-51 Mustang, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2019, ISBN 13: 978-1472829559
Tempest V vs Fw 190D-9, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2019, ISBN 13: 978-1472829252
Ju 87 Stuka vs Royal Navy Carriers, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2021, ISBN 13: 978-1472840837
Ju 87D/G Stuka versus T-34, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2024, IBSN 13: 978-1472854759
Me 163 vs Allied Heavy Bombers, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2024, ISBN 13: 978-1472861856
B-26 Marauder vs Me 262, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2025, ISBN 13: 978-1472862594 [to be released in July 2025]

Robert with one of his recent books – the Stalingrad Airlift.

‘Dogfight’ series
Fw 190 D-9 Defence of the Reich, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2022, ISBN 13: 978-1472849397
Fw 190 Sturmjäger, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2024, ISBN 13: 978-1472857460
Me 262 North-West Europe, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2023, ISBN 13: 978-1472850522

‘X Planes’ series
Messerschmitt Me 264 Amerika Bomber, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2016, ISBN 13: 978-1472814678
Bachem Ba 349 Natter, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2018, ISBN 13: 978-1472820099
Dornier Do 335, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2018, ISBN 13: 978-1472828897

Stand-alone titles
Luftwaffe Emergency Fighters: Blohm und Voss P.212 , Heinkel P.1087C, Junkers EF 128, Messerschmitt P.1101, P.1110 and P.1111, and Focke-Wulf Ta 183, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2017, ISBN 13: 978-1472819949
Luftwaffe Special Weapons 1942–45, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2021, ISBN 13: 978-1472839824
Shadow over the Atlantic The Luftwaffe and the U-boats: 1943–45 – Fernaufklärungsgruppe 5 ‘Atlantik’, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2017, ISBN 13: 978-1472820457
To Save An Army – The Stalingrad Airlift, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2022, ISBN 13: 978-1472845412

Non-aviation titles (Moonshine Editions)
Climax Blues Band – An Illustrated History Volume One – Using the Power 1968-1976 (with Derek Holt), Moonshine Editions, Ticehurst, 2020, ISBN-13: 978-1916361201
Climax Blues Band – An Illustrated History Volume Two – Shining On 1977-1982 (with Derek Holt), Moonshine Editions, Ticehurst, 2022, ISBN-13: 978-1916361218
So Many Roads – Pete Haycock: True Bluesman, Moonshine Editions, Sussex, due early 2025, ISBN-13: 978-1916361225

Robert’s books have been translated into French, German and Japanese, and he has also authored various magazine articles in FlyPast, Aeroplane, The Aviation Historian, AéroJournal, Military History, as well as appearing on television a couple of times (documentaries for the National Geographic channel) and various podcasts.

Links to Other Air War Publications Interviews
Clint Mitchell: https://airwarpublications.com/interview-with-clint-mitchell/
Christer Bergström: https://airwarpublications.com/interview-with-christer-bergstrom/
Andy Mitchell: https://airwarpublications.com/interview-with-andy-mitchell/
Doug Stankey: https://airwarpublications.com/interview-with-doug-stankey/
Donald Caldwell: https://airwarpublications.com/interview-with-donald-caldwell/
Larry deZeng: https://airwarpublications.com/interview-with-larry-dezeng/