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Classic Publications |
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Kampfflieger - Volume Four Bombers of the Luftwaffe Summer 1943 - May 1945 by Nick Beale |
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Reviewed By Clarence Wentzel, #11478 |
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MSRP: $29.95 USD A literal translation of Kampfflieger means Bomber Flyer. In this context, this series of Luftwaffe Colours books covers the organization and operation of the Luftwaffe Bomber group from the birth of the bomber force until the end of the war. The first three volumes in this series have previously been reviewed on this site. This last volume covers the final two years of the war when the Luftwaffe bomber force was becoming less and less of a factor in the war but it was also a time when many interesting, last gasp, plans were tried. These included renewed large scale bombing of London, the Mistel experiments as well as jet bomber operations. I am sure that by now, most aircraft modelers are familiar with the Classic Publications Luftwaffe Colours series. Fighter operations were covered in the twenty Jagdwaffe books. This was followed by the four volume Kampfflieger series covering bomber operations. This volume consists of 94 pages crammed full of photos and drawings of the various Luftwaffe bombers in action during the subject time period. In addition to the Ju-88 and He-111, the Do-217, Me-410, He-177, Ju-188, Ar-234 and Me-262 are all covered. A great number of the photos are previously unpublished, including some WW-II color photos. The book contains over a dozen color profiles or drawings and in all cases a photo of the subject aircraft in included. The book is organized by area of operation and time frame. For example, the first section is “The Eastern Front, Summer 1943”. The next section is “Northwest Europe and the North Atlantic, Summer-Autumn 1943”. In this manner, the book rotates several times through all of the various theatres of operation of the Luftwaffe bomber force and slowly works it way to the end of the war. This is a good way to organize the material but a table of contents would be a great help in getting to a specific period for research. Along the way, the book keeps track of the individual groups within the bomber organization and includes little snippets of information from ULTRA decrypts as well as apparent official Luftwaffe communication. As a modeler, I was impressed with the variety of different, interesting camouflage schemes included in this book. Lots of “squiggle” schemes plus a “polka-dotted” Ju-188 that has to be seen to be believed. In the latter case, a color photo is included. Also, some good detail photos are included. While it is not a criticism necessarily, the book covers a lot of ground in a short space and therefore cannot go into any single area in depth. For example, the book gives overviews of Mistel and jet bomber operations but doesn’t go very deeply into them. The book is, however a very good recording of the operational history of the Luftwaffe bomber forces during the subject time frame. As such, it is worth adding to the bookshelf, with the modeling benefits being a bonus. Readers may notice that different people author different volumes of the Luftwaffe Colours series. For the series, the publisher sets the basic parameters and then contracts different authors to cover the specific books. The authors seem to work together well and interchange thoughts and information to provide a cohesive series. Nick Beale is the author of this book and a Google check found Nick’s home page, http://www.ghostbombers.com/. The site includes a list of works from Mr. Beale as well as various additions, updates and corrections to this book. This is very conscientious work on his part. This series is distributed in the US by Specialty Press. The books can be ordered directly from Specialty Press by phone at 1-800-895-4585, at their web site, www.specialtypress.com or from selected retailers. A big thanks to Specialty Press for providing the sample and to John Noack for letting me review this new reference book. Well recommended for Luftwaffe and WW II enthusiasts. |
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