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Mar 2023
57m 49s

189 - The Stalingrad Airlift

Angus Wallace
About this episode

Stalingrad ranks as one of the most infamous, savage and emotive battles of the 20th century. To supply the trapped and exhausted German Sixth Army, the Luftwaffe mounted an airlift in the winter of 1942/43. The weather conditions faced by the flying crews, mechanics, and soldiers on the ground were appalling, but against all odds, and a resurgent and active Soviet air force, the transports maintained a determined presence over the ravaged city on the Volga, even when the last airfields in the Stalingrad pocket had been lost.

I'm joined by Robert Forsyth, whose new book is To Save An Army: The Stalingrad Airlift.

Robert has been with us before discussing Luftwaffe special weapons and, before that, the Luftwaffe's attempt to support U-Boat operations in the Atlantic.

 

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