The 'storm troopers' of the Luftwaffe, the elite Strumgruppen units comprised the most heavily armed and armoured fighter interceptors ever produced by the Germans. Their role was to smash like a mighty fist through the massed ranks of USAAF daylight bombers. Only volunteers could serve with these elite units, and each pilot was trained to close with the enemy and engage him in extremely short-range combat, attacking from the front and the rear in tight arrowhead formations. In exceptional circumstances pilots would even ram their enemy. This book chronicles the brief, but violent, career of the Sturmgruppen during the dark days of 1944-45, employing first-hand accounts and rare archival photography.

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.

CHAPTER ONE
STURMSTAFFEL 1 - TRIAL BY FIRE
CHAPTER TWO
IV.(STURM)/JG 3 - A SHAKY START
CHAPTER THREE
OSCHERSLEBEN - NATIONAL HEROES
CHAPTER FOUR
PEAK STRENGTH, DIMINISHING RETURNS
CHAPTER FIVE
THE BULGE, BODENPLATTE AND THE END IN THE EAST
CHAPTER SIX
POSTSCRIPT - FROM STURM TO RAMM
APPENDICES
COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX