German Air Force Monograph Project

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Richard T. Eger
German Air Force Monograph Project
Sun May 21 20:10:34 2024


A summary of the reports prepared under this project was issued by the Historical Research Division of the Air University, Office of Air Force History, Headquarters
USAF, 1972. The summary for the listings of the reports states:

"The German Air Force Monograph Project was approved by Headquarters USAF in late 1952 at the request of the USAF Historical Division and Air University. The
Project was based on three premises which have since proved valid: the history of the defeat of a great air force can be as illuminating as a history of victory, the vast
body of experience and information acquired by the German Air Force in the war against Russia should be made available to the U. S. Air Force, and the availability of
key German Air force officers as authors offered a unique opportunity to secure a documented history of German Air Force operations in World War II written by men
who were leading participants.

"Through the efforts of several hundred key German officers, a tremendous store of information has been made available to the U. S. Air force in the form of 40
monographs, described in the first two sections of the following inventory. The German Document Collection (sometimes known as the Karlsruhe Collection),
photographs, and books described in remaining parts of the inventory were assembled for use by the project officers, monograph writers, and editors.

"The project was handled by a branch of the USAF Historical Division at Karlsruhe, Germany, until 1958, when the monographs, documents, and photographs were
shipped from Germany to the Division at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. These materials have been deposited in the Air Force historical archives.

"The inventory was prepared by Mrs. Gloria L. Atkinson, Archivist, who had previously cataloged the German Air Force Document Collection.

"Querries concerning the project and the use of these materials for research may be addressed to the Historical Research Division (3285/HOA), Maxwell AFB, AL
36112.

"1 February 1972"

I received my copy of this summary from Harry R. Fletcher at the Albert F. Simpson Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Aug. 1978.

Here are a couple of examples:

NIELSEN, Generalleutnant Andreas. The German Air Force General Staff, ed. Edwin P. Kennedy, Jr. (USAF Historical Studies No. 173), 1959.

This study deals with the organization and historical development of the Officer Corps of the German General Staff, with special emphasis on the Luftwaffe General
Staff. Also included are brief biographies of Chiefs of the Luftwaffe General Staff from 1933 to 1944.

_____. Historical turning Points in the German Air Force, ed. Edwin P. Kennedy, Jr. (USAF Historical Studies No. 189), 1959.

This study examines both the long- and short-range failures of the German Air Force in World War II, including leadership, armament, doctrine, economic mobilization,
research and development, and some of the strategic battles of World War II in which the Luftwaffe participated.

I happen to have copies of both these studies, which were published by Arno Press, a publishing and library service of the New York Times. I am not aware of their
current availability. Rabe, can you fill us in on this? And, also, what was the "German Air Force Document Collection" as well as the reference material for these
studies and where do both now reside?

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard T. Eger
Where to Purchase these Studies
Sun May 21 21:06:23 2024


James Haycraft wrote to me in Mar. 1999 telling me where these USAF Historical Studies could be purchased. I just checked the site and they are still there.

Try: www.sunflower-univ-press.org

This is the URL for:

Sunflower University Press
1531 Yuma
PO Box 1009
Manhattan, KS 66505-1009
Ph: (785) 539-1888
Orders: (800) 258-1232

When you get to their home page, drop down until you see the MA/AH Publishing Series list. Hit aviation and you're there.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Rabe Anton
Re: GAF Monograph Project
Mon May 22 04:39:03 2024


I cannot speak to the current commercial availability of the GAF Monograph series. Availability seems to come and go. In the 70s, I think it was, Arco of New York
published ten of the volumes as a private venture. I don't know if some or all have subsequently been republished. A title/author check with electronic tools now
available would surely tell the tale, however.

The unpublished manuscripts of the GAF Monograph Collection are available from the AFHRA on 16mm microfilm at $30 per roll. A few of them may be worthwhile,
the others are dubious.

The "GAF Document Collection" is simply the collection of source materials that the German authors used in writing the GAF monographs. It resides at the AFHRA at
Maxwell AFB, Alabama, where its street name is "the Karlsruhe Collection" since that is where the GAF Monograph project had its operating center.

I don't wish to seem a misanthrope or naysayer, but most enthusiasts and all historians would do well to hold the GAF monographs at arm's length. They glitter, but
they are not exactly the gold they might seem. Two or three immediate caveats. First, the entire GAF Monograph project was very much a "make-work" operation.
Second,it is true that high-ranking German general officers were involved in the project as authors, but no effort was made to insure that the authors actually had been
involved in the events, the theatre, the policy decisions, or what-have-you that they wrote about. Many of the authors were as remote from their subjects as from the
other side of the moon, and certainly nothing ensured that even a German general would make a good historian!

Second, the authors had little or no official access to sources. Basically, they had to scrounge their own. The former editor of the series, my very good friend Father
Harry Fletcher, has told me that the authors were allowed just a couple of quick flying trips to England to pick up what sources they could within a few days, nothing
more.

Hence, the GAF Document Collection is a vast morass of translations of extracts from Winston Churchill's books
or The First and the Last, for example. Approximately 90
percent of the document collection is so much junk, in my
opinion. Among the worthwhile items is the KTB of the I. JK
in photocopy; the original is now in the BA-MA. There are a few short items by Hitschold and others that are worthwhile, including a very fine and I think unused
typescript on KG 26 operations against northern convoys by a former Gruppenkommandeur of the unit. The collection also includes the KTB for one of the JG 3
Staffeln that was later redesignated as part of JG 5—I can't remember its number right now. Commander and compiler of the diary was Graf von Sponek if I remember
correctly. This could be considered prime historical material. Otherwise, I would not waste time or energy even thinking about the monographs,
and certainly not as the Ring of the Nibelungen.

Horrido!

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard T. Eger
GAF Monograph Project
Mon May 22 14:07:54 2024


Dear Rabe,

Thanks for taking the time to add to our understanding of this series. I, too, had heard that the generals didn't have a lot of source material at their disposal. You
mentioned that the generals flew to England to pick up some source material. What was available and where? Could this be some of the material you expressed a
belief that was destroyed during the war?

For the sake of completeness, would you mind elaborating on some of the acronyms that you mentioned, such as BA-MA, which I assume is the
Bundesarchiv-Militararchiv in Freiburg, KTB, and I. JK?

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Rabe Anton
Re: GAF Monograph Project
Tue May 23 02:27:33 2024


I am not quite certain exactly what the authors of the GAF monographs were able to pick up in England, nor where their
research took place. In many cases, the fact that a document copied then resided in England is noted on many items in the Karlruhe Collection. It is clear that the
authors had access to, and that their clerks copied, many periodic orders of battle and strength reports then in England. There is not a hint, however, that the authors
had access to anything which might be thought destroyed today. For example, the authors of the GAF monographs clearly had no access to KTBs that are not
available today; in fact, they did not use many of those that are known today!

KTB = Kriegstagbuch = war diary = journal de marche
BA-MA = Bundesarchiv-Militaerarchiv = Federal Archive-
Military Archiv
I. JK = I. Jagdkorps = 1st Fighter Corps
I. JD = I. Jagddivision = 1st Fighter Division
VLM = Verlustmeldung(en) = personnel casualty report(s)
LwGQM = Luftwaffe General Quartermeister 6. Abt = Quarter-
master General of the Air Force (6th Section of the
OKL, or Air Force General Staff) daily materiel
loss reports, in combat and non-combat series

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Richard T. Eger
Re: GAF Monograph Project
Tue May 23 02:59:35 2024


Dear Rabe,

Thank you for the explanations of the acronyms. Every little bit helps in gaining a better understanding of historical archive material.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

The following is a link to a listing of all the Numbered USAF Historical Studies:

http://tuvok.au.af.mil/au/afhra/hisstud.htm

The German Monographs are numbered 150 to 196. Copies are available on 16 mm microfilm at $30 per reel from the AFHRA.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'clock High!:

Ruy Horta
GAF Monograph project
Thu Jan 11 19:29:54 2024


Was wondering how to obtain and assessing cost (living in Holland) of the unpublished studies of the GAF MONOGRAPH PROJECT.

For instance:

Nos.
164 GAF Air Defense Operations
158-160 GAF vs the Allies in the West
161 GAF vs the Allies in the Med.
169 Training in the GAF
171 Intel. in the GAF
185 Effects of Allied Air Attacks on GAF Bases and Installations

178-181 all important studies...

So in short, CAN the GAF Monograph studies be accessed (those not printed by ARNO) and if so, where (for a foreigner), and what cost are we talking about?

Thank you,

Ruy Horta
12 O'clock High!

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Robert Forsyth
GAF Monographs
Thu Jan 11 20:05:57 2024


Ruy,

Go to http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/hisstud.htm and also www.sunflower-univ-press.org

Regards
RF

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Antonio Maraziti
Microfilm (silly question)
Fri Jan 12 08:08:44 2024


Thanks for the interesting response. This stuff seems cheap
(30$) but, the silly question is, what can I do with a
microfilm? Will commercial photo labs be able to print it?
Or do I need some special machine (like those at large
public libraries) to read it?

Thanks

Antonio

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Rabe Anton
GAF Historical Monographs
Sun Jan 14 14:39:20 2024


Ruy,

Saw your posting concerning the GAF Monograph Series, which are held by the Air Force Historical Research Agency (AFHRA) and available on microfilm per the notice
posted by Robert Forsyth.

For several reasons, I cannot recommend obtaining these documents. In my view, it would be a waste of money:

• I am close and long-time personal friends with the Rev. Harry Fletcher, the general editor of the GAF Monograph project. Harry, of course, met the authors on several
occasions and has told me quite a lot about his experiences.
He has, however, no positive views of the monographs, for the following reasons.

• The authors of the monographs were retired German general officers under contract to the USAF, more or less as a favor-type deal. This means they were professional
soldiers without any historical education. Worse yet, the monographs were written five to ten years after World War II ended, and the German sources were still in Allied
hands and not available to the authors. They were allowed only a few very quick visits to England to see a few of the more important records, that's all. Allied sources, of
course, were still classified. So basically the authors had to "make-do" with stuff like Churchill's history of the war, published English and German books, and the
memories of their buddies. There is a even a long list of GAF aces
that was created by memory!!! It is pitiful.

• Most of the authors had NO involvement or experience with the theatres and events they wrote about. Yes, they were in the Luftwaffe, but that's about all. It would be
about like USAF General Curtis LeMay writing about the Military Air Transport Command!!! Or worse.

• The unpublished monographs exist as unedited typescripts.
Hardly reliable or finished historical material!!!

So—you can certainly spent your hard-earned money on GAF Monographs if you wish, but I certainly don't recommend it.

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Artie Bob
GAF Monographs
Mon Jan 15 13:38:13 2024


Rabe: Three questions-First, did the authors of the monographs have access to the von Rhoden collection? Second, were the personnel that wrote the monographs so far
removed from their subjects that they are not of value even as first person accounts?, That is the implication in your article. Third, does your evaluation apply to all
monographs equally or just the unpublished numbers?

[Richard T Eger]

From TOCH!:

Ruy Horta
Thank you...rest see Artie...(n/t)
Mon Jan 15 19:13:42 2024

[Richard T Eger]

From within a thread on 12 O'Clock High!:

Rabe Anton
The GAF vs. Russia
Wed Aug 27 13:48:24 2024
198.26.120.13

USAF Historical Monographs Nos. 153, 154, and 155 are available from the AFHRA on 16mm microfilm roll K1026G at $30 (German language).

English language No. 153 - GAF vs. Russia, 1941 - Roll 31564
English language No. 154 - GAF vs. Russia, 1942 - Roll 31565
English language No. 155 - GAF vs. Russia, 1943 - Roll 31565

Thus, two rolls of microfilm at $60 would be required to obtain the three Plocher studies in English.

I am compelled to disagree with my friend Frank Olynyk concerning microfilm reader-printers capable of reading 16mm microfilm. Some older reader-printers are limited to 35mm microfilm only, but most modern equipment such as the Canon 400 series will accept 16mm film without any problem (they have a "collapsing" universal reel width design). The question of a lens of the proper magnification, however, does sometimes arise.

Microfilm could offer a less expensive option than purchasing the commercial published versions of the Plocher studies. I believe a better solution, however, would simply be to wait and watch attentively for cheaper used copies of the books. . . .

I concur with other commentators that overall it would be very sensible to borrow copies on interlibrary loan to make a first-hand assessment before purchasing these materials in any format.

RA

[Richard T Eger]

From 12 O'Clock High!:

David Isby
Sunflower University Press to close
Wed Sep 29, 2024 01:10
157.185.86.235

http://www.sunflower-univ-press.org/

Sunflower University Press (URL above) is to go out of business in December and is running a sale through October.

This small press has produced a number of books on military aviation. Most significantly for this board, they offer a number of reprints of the USAF's Karlshrue studies, produced by Luftwaffe generals in the 1950s. They also offer reprints of manuals on Luftwaffe (and other) bombs and aerial weapons (as used by the bomb disposal people).