This fascinating book offers a rare account into the operations of the Luftwaffe's aerial torpedo units during World War II. Often overlooked, the crews who flew in these units were highly trained and experienced and their missions involved hazardous flying against difficult and well-defended maritime targets.Harold Thiele has researched this field for many years. Before providing a detailed diary of Luftwaffe torpedo operations, he explores the origins of the aerial torpedo and offers a comparative study of its development in Germany, Britain, the USA, Italy and Japan from World War I until the outbreak of World War II. The body of the book comprises a detailed chronological diary of operations mounted off the English coast, in the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, off North Africa and in the Black Sea by the Ju 88s, He 111s, He 177s, and Ar 95s (etc.) of Luftwaffe's torpedo units, such as KG 26, KG 77 and the various floatplane-equipped Staffeln which also undertook such operations. Supplemented by color artwork, target listings, aircraft and torpedo types, units and all ships known to have been sunk or damaged by aerial torpedo attack, this work will ber an indispensable reference for modelers & researchers.