new Luftwaffe books - Jagdwaffe emblems, David Isby's 'The Decisive Duel', Me 262 bomber and recce units Osprey, Valiant Wings Heinkel He 219 Uhu 'Airframe Album'

There has never been any doubt that the fighter arm was pivotal in introduction of the unit emblems with the Luftwaffe. Since, however, the Luftwaffe developed no classification system to register or even monitor its emblems, the emblem motifs and the motivations behind their introduction were to a great degree lost following the collapse of the Third Reich. The Emblems of Jagdwaffe 1936-1945: A More Complete History by Sinisa Sestanovic offers a plausible theory on the emblems' motifs and origins, and establishes the existence of some previously unknown emblems. The centrepiece of the book is the artwork of more than 300 emblems restored to their former glory, a step beyond Karl Ries's groundbreaking design from the 1960s. The said artwork is complemented by 27 photographs and 12 scale-drawings that illustrate the emblem positions on the fighter aircraft in use by the Jagdwaffe between 1936 and 1945. The book is aimed at the enthusiasts and serious researchers alike. Self published, approx 280 large format pages 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1439286450/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

Chris Simmonds writes;

"..I have personally checked a number of the book's emblem artwork against known and clear emblem photographs and can only applaud Sestanovic for his unswerving accuracy and attention to detail. His artwork is both clear and of a size at least three times bigger then that of the artwork in Ketley's new book "Luftwaffe Emblems". For scale modellers this, I am sure, will be big bonus. Lastly, at the end the book is a welcome selection of very clear and well produced period images of aircraft carrying some of the emblems previously discussed.
Highlights for me must be probably the best and fullest pre-war selection of emblems published so far. Second must be potted history of each unit and it's relation to past units and its subsequent evolution, whilst this information is available elsewhere such as Holm's website, having it in conjunction with the emblem is very helpful when trying to identify the unit of an image. Lastly must be the emblem artwork themselves easily the most accurate of any Luftwaffe book publish before or present..."

Read the full review at amazon.co.uk

Got my copy today. Let's face it, anything Me 262-related with the names Forsyth and Creek plastered over the cover is an essential purchase. While I don't really care for the Osprey format - the pics are especially small and dark here - I have to say that Jim Laurier's photo-realistic artwork is superb! In addition this volume presents the best English-language coverage of KG 51's jet operations I've read anywhere. Other units covered include  Sonderkommando Braunegg, NAG 1 and NAG 6.  Sources include Jan Horn's magisterial 'Das Flurschaden Geschwader' and Nick Beale's account of KG 51's early disastrous Western Front deployments as featured on http://www.ghostbombers.com

Chapter headings; 1/ 'That Answers the Fuhrer's Question...'; 2/ Kommando Schenk; 3/ Hitting Back; 4/ High-Speed intelligence; 5/ Bodenplatte To the Banks of the Rhine; 6/ Too little, Too Late

An appendix covers 'Unit Structure and Bases - Me262 Operational Period Mid-1944 to May 1945' and the heart of the work is the fantastic fully annotated colour plate section by Jim Laurier.

Chris Simmonds writes; " Anything by these two authors has to be taken seriously, and this is no different. All late war Luftwaffe enthusiasts will enjoy this book which features the misguided attempts to use the Me 262 as a bomber and the superb effective reconnaissance machine it also became. I have given five stars because the content is so well written, the profiles very well done. But I dislike all the Osprey books for their pathetically small format which result in small photos and cramped pages.."

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bomber-Reconnaissance-Osprey-Combat-Aircraft/dp/1849087490/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343836430&sr=1-1

A 'dual biography' of two of the most significant fighter aircraft in the history of aviation. Isby's latest is a very worthwhile work that considers both the technology and the people and the interaction of the two. The book traces the story of the Spitfire and the Me 109 from their origins through the race to get them into service and the early decisive battles of WWII to their final combats over the Middle East in 1948-49. First deployed in anger over Spain during the Civil War the Me 109 enjoyed the early advantage. In many respects the technology on both sides was on a par during the early years of this story - the Emil and the Spitfire I were pretty evenly matched. But the men and the organisations, and, above all, the regimes, were different and eventually a 'technology gap' did appear  - the two stage supercharged Spit IX was - all else being equal - superior to the two speed supercharged German Gustav variant of the Bf 109 and the author explains how and why this was so. This is important for Isby's story because, as he explains, when the Spitfire finally achieved the upper hand over the 109 the Luftwaffe leadership were too incompetent, to in thrall to the leader's will, to act. The regime had largely through force of circumstance placed their hopes in new technologies that ultimately offered too few qualitative enhancements to overcome quantative differences. And while much of the 109's story is told by the 'charismatic' Fighter General or high-ranking ace, the author is aware that to fall back, for example, on Galland's memoirs, is too convenient, too much of the 'blame' is heaped on Göring, the story is too 'pat' and has suffered from too many re-tellings. So some of the Bf 109 story is told from the view point of the 16-year old forced labourer selected from among Auschwitz inmates for the Messerschmitt production line. Detailed and full of interesting facts; plenty of German-language source material has been consulted and exploited so you know that this is not some cheap catch-all rewrite of old texts but a serious mature work  - and one full of interesting facts; I for one did not know that Erhard Milch had a teenage daughter who had Downs Syndrome- Milch's 'motivation' is not just about personal enrichment or German success but to some extent simply keeping his daughter alive. The balance of the book is skewed towards the Battle of Britain of course, some 200 pages whereas only 10 are devoted to the war in the Mediterranean which is where - in addition to the Eastern Front- the Luftwaffe had most of its forces between 1941-44. Recommended.

Visit author David Isby's web site for more on this book and some interesting resources

http://spitfirevsbf109.com/

Coming soon from Valiant Wings

Airframe Album No.1: The Heinkel He 219 'Uhu'
by Richard A. Franks
The first title in a new Airframe Album series (coming August 2012) will cover the Luftwaffe's ultimate nightfighter, the He 219 'Uhu':

• Period diagrams

• Data from flight manuals and spare parts catalogue

• Walkaround images

• A wealth of pictures of the recently restored NASM example before, during and after restoration

• 3D isometric views of all variants by Jacek Jackiewicz

• Colour profiles and camouflage detail by by Richard Caruana

• 100 pages

• Publication in advance of the Revell and Zoukei-Mura 1/32 scale kit releases

Me 110 D II./NJG 1 Deelen 1940

Michael Meyer's current Ebay sales

Me 110 C of I./ZG 76 photographed in Kielce, Poland in September 1939 being refueled -Wart Hans Grohmann on the wing.

Me 110 D fitted with "Dackelbauch" (Dachshund belly) of II./NJG 1 undergoing an engine change , photographed in Arnhem/Deelen most probably during autumn 1940. Capacity of the tank was 1050 litres. It is possible that this machine was previously on the strength of ZG 76 - 2./ZG 76 was re-designated 5./NJG 1 during September 1940 - and may even have flown combat sorties across the North Sea from Norway during the Battle of Britain with that unit.

Ebay album 5./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 123 at St.Pol 1942-43 (Fw 190, Bf 109)

 Very nice album spotted on Ebay.de captioned by the seller as belonging to 5./Fernaufklärungsgruppe 123 at St.Pol between November 1942 and March 1943. 

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Fotoalbum-5-Fernaufklarungsgruppe-123-Fw-190-Bf-109-St-POl-Monchy-2-WK-/120955676997#ht_49977wt_814

" Wir fliegen gegen England  " -   We fly against England. 

Rückkehr vom Feindflug  - returning from a combat sortie

Die Maschinen werden zu neuem Einsatz klargemacht  - The aircraft are readied for another mission

Verdiente Besatzungen werden ausgezeichnet  - Meritorious crews are decorated

The Staffel celebrates its 200th combat sortie

Die Staffel feiert den 500. Feindflug - The Staffel celebrates its 500th combat sortie

Gruppenkommandeur Oberstlt. Giesse visits the Staffel

The Bildwarte (camera techs) installing the cameras

Current Ebay sales of flpanzerfahrer_1

Current Ebay sales of flpanzerfahrer_1

http://www.ebay.de/sch/flpanzerfahrer_1/m.html?hash=item27c985998e&item=170884700558&pt=Militaria&rt=nc&_trksid=p4340.l2562

Dans le ciel de France - Jagdgeschwader 2 Vol III 1942 - first look at the new volume due this summer from Erik Mombeeck !

Cover illustration - Fw. Martin Reichherzer of 7./JG 2 seated on a JG 2 Bf 109 “Friedrich”


While it may have taken more than 60 years for the first installment of a detailed history of the second fighter wing of the Luftwaffe to appear with the publication of volume I of 'Dans le ciel de France' ('In the skies of France') back in 2009, Erik Mombeeck is already preparing to launch volume 3 of his French-language chronicle of Jagdgeschwader 2 due this summer. Conducting operations principally over France and the Channel, JG 2 was destined to become one of the most celebrated of German fighter units, accorded extensive coverage by the propaganda services of the Reich. Awarded the honour title "Richthofen" as early as 1935, JG 2 spearheaded the campaign in the West and the assault against England in the Battle of Britain. The unit remained in France when the majority of German fighter units were dispatched eastwards for the invasion of Russia during the spring of 1941. Tasked with defending the airspace of Brittany, Normandy and much of Picardy along the French Channel coastline, JG 2 constituted a bulwark against the incursions of the RAF and the USAF through to the summer of 1944.
This new volume covers the year 1942 with JG 2 continuing  to counter RAF raids over the continent, while for the first time the pilots of the leading Kanal Geschwader would come up against the first examples of what would ultimately become the nemesis of the Jagdwaffe - the long-range P-51 Mustang escort fighter and the B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. This new volume also covers in depth JG 2's conversion on to the first variants of the famed Focke Wulf 190 fighter, the break-out of the German battleships (Donnerkeil) and the huge air battle over Dieppe on 19 August 1942 which saw the Geschwader claiming almost 60 Allied aircraft shot down in one day of bitter fighting. And later in the year elements of the Geschwader - including Jules Meimberg's special high altitude Bf 109 Gustav Staffel 11./ JG 2 - would be dispatched to Tunisia following the Anglo-American landings in north-west Africa. An exclusive text extract follows..

       " A murderous summer"

Having completed their conversion training, 2./ JG 2 flew out of Le Bourget on  1 June with ten Fw 190s and headed back to Triqueville. However on their return to Normandy an unpleasant surprise awaited them - their quarters had been taken over by their 6. Staffel comrades under Oblt. Erich Rudorffer. In the event the cohabitation of the two Staffeln on the airfield would be short-lived. Elsewhere Bruno Stolle's 8.Staffel, who had also spent the last two weeks of May at Le Bourget alongside 2. Staffel, now departed St. Brieuc for Morlaix and the coasts of Brittany. The intensity of the fighting along the Channel and the transfer of a number of JG 2 veterans to Geschwader engaged in fighting on the Eastern Front saw the Richthofen receive a number of reinforcements during the month of June. One of the most notable departures to the East was Fw. Otto Pohl, the 5./JG 2 pilot who had registered the Geschwader's 1,000th combat success on 17 April 1942 (his victim on that day an early production RAF Lancaster sent out as part of the low-level raiding force on the MAN diesel engine works at Augsburg, deep in Bavaria). Another transfer was Wolfgang Wehrhagen of 4./JG 2. Both pilots went to JG 77 while a third, Kurt Rose, was posted to JG 51 - of these three pilots only Otto Pohl survived the war. Several JG 77 pilots were posted back to the Kanal Front with JG 2 - among them Lt. Bruno Siekmann who had achieved ten victories in a year of fighting in the East with II./ JG 77 and Lt. Hermann Staege, an aerobatics champion of the pre-war Kunstflugstaffel, incorporated into I./LG 2 during 1939-40, a Gruppe that had been re-designated I./ JG 77. He had been credited with sixteen victories at the time of his transfer to the West. As most of these Eastern Front veterans were Bf 109 pilots they too underwent the Fw 190 conversion course before joining JG 2.

On 21 July 1942 Hptm. Helmut-Felix Bolz, Kommandeur of II./JG 2 shot down an unknown aircraft type that he initially identified as a 'Tomahawk'. A short while later he visited the crash site at Caudebec-en-Caux between Rouen and Le Havre and was able to inspect at first hand what he later learnt was a 'Mustang' (more usually 'P-51' in  American parlance). The Mustang's pilot F/Lt Veal Rowland of No. 239 Squadron had been taken captive.


Vol III of 'Dans le Ciel de France - 1942' (French-language text only) will be available later this summer. This title, along with Luftwaffe Gallery 3, can be pre-ordered at Erik Mombeeck's site http://www.luftwaffe.be

For Stalingrad! Ju 88s of KG 77 at Tazinskaja (?)

Currently on offer at Heiko Fuchs ebay sales. Click on these images to see a larger view. And don't forget to click on the link and put on a bid, still nine days left. I post these pictures, not only to grab them 'for posterity' (to coin a phrase) but as a thank you to the vendors kind enough to let me post them here in the first place. I have no problem with helping them to achieve a decent price..

According to the caption these are Ju 88s of KG 77 (3Z) at Charkow, Osnowa during June 1942 along with a selection of ordnance. A member of the ground crew adds a no doubt pithy comment to the tail fin of a 1000 kg bomb. Note the seahorse emblem on the rudder in the third photo, although 9K (KG 51) is obviously not a KG 77 machine...

Below, a nice atmospheric selection of airfield scenes taken at Tazinskaja in the run-up to the encirclement of VI. Armee in Stalingrad, winter 1942. Again according to the caption these are Ju 88s from KG 77. The last two images to conclude this post are very nice clear photos of a Heinkel He 111 Z seen at Bagerowo, Kertsch

new and forthcoming from Geramond ( publishers of Flugzeug Classic) - Flieger-Asse und Kanonenfutter

In their 'Special' series Geramond in Munich publish Flugzeug Classic 'Special 10 - Projecke, Bomber, Transporter' in September 2012. This is a 100-page A-4 softback devoted to fighter, bomber and transporter types and projects. Twelve aircraft and designs are profiled, including one of the leading contenders in the 'Bomber B' programme, the Fw 191 (the Ju 288 was covered in 'Special 9'). Also featured are the two little-known late-war Junkers designs, the Ju 388 and the ill-fated four-engined Junkers Ju 488 'Amerika' bomber project. The Junkers Ju 488 was a hybrid assemblage of Junkers medium twin parts and two prototypes were (partially) constructed in the Latécoère factory in Toulouse (Montaudran district), before the wings and centre section of the V401 were blown up and destroyed in a French resistance attack during July 1944. Other types covered in this Flugzeug Classic 'Special' include the Me 263, Me 323 and the high altitude Bv 155 fighter. 100 photographs and at least 60 colour profiles - not bad for 10 euros! I am a big fan of this series and rate these volumes as highly as the quarterly 'Batailles Aériennes' titles published by Lela Presse. Flugzeug Classic 'Special' issues are available direct from Geramond (although postage from Germany can be a tad on the high side) or via The Book Depository with free postage worldwide.

The August issue of Flugzeug Classic magazine features the usual selection of high quality Luftwaffe content. Cover feature is an eight-page history detailing the story of the R4M air-to-air rocket. Elsewhere there are articles on the air-war in North Africa, the Bv 238 and part 3 of Ju 52 Transporter pilot Wilhelm Geitz's memoirs. German language. More page views available at Geramond.

'Fighter aces and cannon fodder' due in September 2012 from Geramond is Peter Cronauers's 225-page story of the German fighter pilot during WWII. This volume includes plenty of first person accounts and 70 photos as the author describes the careers of six Luftwaffe fighter pilots. German language text.