The Me 262 was the first of its kind, the first jet-powered aircraft. Although conceived before the war, with the initial plans being drawn in April 1939, the Stormbird was beset with technological (particularly the revolutionary engines) and political difficulties, resulting in it not entering combat until August 1944, with claims of nineteen downed Allied aircraft. The performance of the Me 262 so far exceeded that of Allied aircraft that on 1 Sepember 1944, USAAF General Carl Spaatz remarked that if greater numbers of German jets appeared, they could inflict losses heavy enough to force cancellation of the Allied daylight bombing offensive. The story of how the Stormbird came to be is fascinating history, and it comes to life in the hands noted historian Colin Heaton. Told largely in the words of the German aces who flew it, The Me 262 Stormbirdprovides the complete history of this remarkable airplane from the drawing boards to combat in the skies over the Third Reich.

Professor Colin D. Heaton served in the U.S. Army and later the U.S. Marines as a scout sniper under Livingston's command. He was a guest historian on the History Channel program Dogfights: Secret Weapons and has authored several books of military history: German Anti-Partisan Warfare in Europe 1939--1945 (Schiffer Publishing 2001); Night Fighters: The Luftwaffe and RAF Air Combat over Europe, 1939--1945 (Naval Inst. Press, 2008), which he coauthored with Anne-Marie Lewis; and Occupation and Insurgency: A Selective Examination of The Hague and Geneva Conventions on the Eastern Front (Algora, 2008). He has taught history and military history at American Military University. Anne-Marie Lewis (Southport, NC) has coauthored Night Fighters: The Luftwaffe and RAF Air Combat over Europe 1939--1945, The German Aces Speak, Noble Warrior, and is working on a biography of Hans Marseille with Colin Heaton.Barrett Tillman is the author of Whirlwind in addition to more than 40 books and 550 articles. Tillman's work has been cited in dozens of history books and has been used as course work by the air force, the navy, and Marine Corps. He lives in Arizona with his wife, Sally.