Mention of JG 27 'Afrika' automatically brings to mind a single image: Hans-Joachim Marseille's Bf 109F slicing through the North African skies, methodically downing opponent after opponent. Yet, in truth, JG 27 saw combat from 1939 to 1945 on all fronts, producing a number of top-scoring Experten. John Weal relates JG 27's story in this 'Aviation Elite Units' volume from Osprey, #12.

A pre-war creation, JG 27 fought its first major engagements in the 1940 sweep across France. Heavy combat in the Battle of Britain produced 140 kills. Several pilots who later became high-scoring Experten - Gerhard Homuth, Gustav Rodel and Adolf Galland - opened their scoring during this period. After helping crush the Balkans, the wing took part in initial air strikes against Russia before transferring to North Africa in April 1941.

It was in North Africa under the tutelage of JG 27's irrepressible CO, Eduard Neumann, that Marseille, who had transferred in with a reputation of being an unreliable, irresponsible maverick, transformed himself into the Luftwaffe's deadliest ace. Before Marseille developed his unique fighting style, 'old hands' like Homuth, Ludwig Franzisket and Karl-Wolfgang Redlich headed the 'Afrika' victory lists. Other promising pilots - Otto Schulz and Hans-Arnold Stahlschmidt - began making names for themselves. Yet once Marseille worked out his uncanny deflection shooting skills, the kills mounted rapidly. He became almost a one-man air force! Despite JG 27's best efforts - Marseille alone downed over 150 aircraft - Africa fell to the Allies; Marseille dying in September 1942.

After further service in the Med including intercepts of 15th AF heavies, JG 27 became a 'Defense of the Reich' unit. Veterans like Rodel, Franzisket and Werner Schroer in company with a new crop of Experten fought on but, as in Africa, could not stave off defeat. By war's end JG 27 has claimed over 3,100 victories and lost 725 pilots in return.

Given such a wide canvas to cover, Weal does a commendable job of relating the wing's history. The section on North Africa is especially good at capturing the flavor of those combats and the personalities of Marseille, Neumann and other 'Afrika' stars.

The book is illustrated with over 130 photographs and 12 pages of color profiles by Weal.

All in all, another fine effort from Weal and Osprey!

This book provides an excellent highlighting of Jagdgeschwader 27, which, though having served on a number of Germany's fighting fronts in the Second World War, made a name for itself in North Africa, boasting aces like Hans-Joachim Marseille and Werner Schroer. Marseille himself was "the virtuoso of fighter pilots", having achieved 158 victories (all of them against the Western Allies) in only 388 missions before dying in a flying accident on September 30, 1942.

Like the other Osprey books in the Aviation Elite Series, this one has a colorful, detailed layout of the various aircraft used by Jagdgeschwader 27 throughout the war. Highly recommended.