Born in Belgium in 1953, Jean-Louis Roba has a degree in law. Interested in history at an early age, he has met hundreds of Second World War veterans and amassed a large collection of personal accounts, documents and photographs. His numerous visits to archives worldwide have facilitated the writing of some 80 books on this period, mainly related to the war in the air. However, his interest is mainly focused on subjects that are not well known or rarely studied, such as the service history of the Me 323 transport aircraft, the history of JG 53, Beute or captured aircraft in Luftwaffe service and various studies of Belgian pilots in the RAF during the Second World War. He contributed several volumes to the ground-breaking “Luftwaffe in Colour” Casemate series. Neglected theatres of war are also one of his favourite subjects – he has compiled books on the Germans in the Aegean, the air battles over Romania and a multi-volume history of Luftwaffe seaplanes. In addition to these books, Jean-Louis Roba continues to publish articles in specialist journals.
