Whilst the ambition implied in the title would present an immense challenge to any author limited by the length of this book Ken Delve makes a decent fist of providing a fair overview of the struggles in the air over the skies of Britain, and Nazi occupied Europe. Readers who have read extensively on the subject will find little new here, but the author brings his own aircrew experience and training to bear on the analysis quite effectively. Extracts from diaries, speeches and post-war testimonies of key players, especially from a Luftwaffe perspective, are also used to good effect. As is often the case when reading accounts of the air war in Europe there are many ‘what if’ questions. In particular, the author highlights how much more difficult it would have been to secure eventual victory if the development and procurement of Luftwaffe aircraft had been efficiently planned and resourced and if Luftwaffe training and doctrine had been secured on the basis of a strategic analysis of the likely requirements of a long conflict. The ability of German industry to keep increasing fighter aircraft production into 1944 despite the effects of intense Allied bombing demonstrates that productive capacity was not the limiting factor. Recommended reading.

Author Ken Delve will publish the book “How the RAF and USAAF Beat the Luftwaffe” in 2021 (May 30). Mr. Delve has published more than two dozen books.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘G’. The book tells how the RAF and later the US Air Force defeated the German Luftwaffe during WWII.

The book examines both sides of the conflict from many different angles. The details of what worked and what didn't on both sides are discussed. Included in this analysis are the political obstacles both sides encountered.

I enjoyed the 9+ hours I spent reading this 312-page WWII history. I have read a few books on the European air war in WWII. This one did not reveal any earth-shattering new facts. It was a good overview and analysis of the air war. I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a 4 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

Recently, Greenhill Books was kind enough to provide me with an ARC of "How the RAF and USAF Beat the Luftwaffe" by Ken Delve. I must preface my remarks by noting that I have read extensively into the literature surrounding this subject, and that is, of course, apt to color my comments. That said, the text in question is a fairly technical and rather academic "study" of the complex events surrounding the defeat of the Luftwaffe in the West by the combined efforts of the American AAF and the British RAF. Make no mistake, the book seems heavily weighted towards the British in its interpretation of events, but that is not necessarily a problem. It explicitly notes that the subject matter specifically excludes events on the Eastern Front as well as North Africa and the Pacific. The author's style, while somewhat ponderously academic, is especially rewarding for those who are new to the material. The author often uses "bullets" to outline technological, tactical and strategic matters, making it relatively simple for the reader to seek out specific data (and the book is full of data), The student, trying to make sense of the mass of material presented and the way that it might have influenced events seems the obvious target audience for the text. The casual reader, looking for an entertaining and interesting narrative history needs to understand that this may not be precisely what they are looking for. Nonetheless, the data alone is fascinating if you have an interest in the numbers and don't mind the somewhat pedantic structure of the text.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it gave a great overview of the air war of world war two. Alongside the statistics were veteran comments giving a nice human touch.
It was fascinating how the war unfolded and how each side strived to improve their air forces and to also counter each others improvements. Once the USAAF joined the war, the GAF was simply overwhelmed and combined with over-politicising by the Nazis led to their downfall.
I recommend this book to all avid military historians.