Fw 190D-9: Defence of the Reich 1944–45 (Dogfight, 1)

By 1944, the Third Reich was under direct assault from Allied forces. In the skies over Germany, British and U.S. bombers were increasingly escorted by long-range and very capable fighters. A desperate Germany continued to field new fighters.One of these was the Fw 190D-9, an upgraded version of the aging Fw-190 fighter with an improved power plant. The Fw 190D-9 proved to be competitive with the most recent British Spitfire variants, and with U.S. long range fighters such as the P-47 and P-51. This Osprey Dogfight Series book details the efforts of Fw 190D-9 units and pilots to stave off the inevitable. The narrative offers lots of tactical detail. The text includes period photographs and modern illustrations and air combat diagrams. Well recommended to students of the air war over Europe, 1939-45.

Bought this book as a kindle as I was not sure I wanted to send $22+ on a soft back! I went back and forth as to whether to give it a 3 or 4 star but finally settled on 4. The main reason I was that I found this book more informative than the “Duel” series since development training etc centered on one aircraft rather than two. The art work as always is great, but I found the combat panels disappointing! They try to crowd three or more event on each panel, which to me was too small too busy to be helpful. I believe that by doing two panels a page, with only one or two events per panel the effect would be much better. I did pick up and skim thru a actual paperback version of the book and feel that my comments can be applied to it too. I disliked the panels so much they were the reason I was considering a three star. In addition I bought the P-51 book to see whether it might change my position. It did not.

El libro serecibio.

Fw 190D-9 gets Osprey’s new Dogfight series off to a good start. The approach is very different from the Combat Aircraft, Aircraft of the Aces, and Air Vanguard series. The goal is to give readers and in depth feel for what it was like to fly the aircraft. It’s a far more personal and individual approach than the earlier series.The focus is on the small unit experience. There’s a minimal amount of technical information and relatively little discussion of higher level strategy. Instead, the spotlight is on how pilots trained to fly and fight the plane. To this end, there's a huge number first person accounts from Fw 190D-9 pilots and their adversaries - 52 direct quotes in all. Some of the quotes are short (a few sentences), but many are detailed stories running for several paragraphs. Like all Osprey books, there are tons of illustrations and photos. The one down side to the book is the inclusion of artistic panels showing different air engagements. There are 3 of these. They are all very busy and frankly do not add anything to the book; the in-text descriptions of the engagements are much more understandable and valuable.I liked the Fw 190D-9 book and it’s certainly worth 5 stars. It will make a very nice addition to an exiting air war library. Given it’s very narrow focus, however, it probably isn’t a great stand alone book for people unfamiliar with WWII air combat.

Ótima fonte de informações para quem se interessa por aviação de combate e aqueles que querem enriquecer a experiência em simuladores de voo. Excelente impressão e acabamento. Recomendo!!!

It gives the most detailed information and pictures of the D-9 that I’ve been able to find so far.

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I bought this to help me build a kit of an FW190D. I was not disappointed. An interesting book for modellers and aviation dabblers such as myself. Beautifully illustrated.

Looking forward to this publication, it was well illustrated and full of detail for such a small book.