The Luftwaffe's Secret WWII Missions

Book excerpt: “Full of mystery and intrigue surrounding the Abwehr and the Luftwaffe secret missions supporting the insertion and less frequent extraction of agents.” —Aviation News There are many vivid episodes in the operational service of the Luftwaffe’s special and secret units which engaged in the delivery of agents and saboteurs in the rear of the enemy throughout the Second World War—not just on the Eastern Front but across Asia and Europe. The activities of the pilots and crews of these squadrons, even in the Luftwaffe itself, were closed and secret. Information on the operations and missions of these units was known only to a limited number of people. It was common practice for the crew of one aircraft in these units to know nothing about the assignments of their fellow airmen. The area of activity of such units and aircraft covered the whole of Europe, North Africa, the Arctic circle, the Urals, the Caucasus, and Central Asia including Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Luftwaffe not only flew to these remote regions, but also created secret bases for their aircraft. Drawn from German and Russian sources, much of the latter only recently declassified, the authors expose for the very first time the Luftwaffe’s secret operations and reveal the fate of many of the pilots, agents and saboteurs in a story as breathtakingly dramatic as any blockbuster novel. “A most interesting account of the special Luftwaffe units that flew agents into enemy territory during WWII . . .What may surprise many readers is the extent of these operations that stretched deep into the Soviet Union and also into the Middle East and Afghanistan.” —Firetrench