Classic Publications

Horten Ho 229 Spirit of Thuringia

by  Andrei Shepelev and Huib Ottens

Reviewed By  Floyd S. Werner, Jr., IPMS# 26266

MSRP: $44.95 ISBN: 1-903223-66-0 Looking every bit the futuristic machine it was, the Horten H0-229 jet fighter was a glimpse of the potential of German engineering. The design of two brothers, Walter and Reimar Horten, the Ho-229 was the last in the line of a concept, the all wing fighter. This new book by Classic Publications is the BEST reference available on this unique airplane. Okay with that out of the way what do you get inside of this 128 page hardbound book? Some of the things that stand out are the color photos of some of the developmental aircraft which was fascinating to me. There are numerous drawings, all very large and quite useful. The drawings are first class and should aid the modeler in detailing their models. This book provides a comprehensive history in the development of the Horten all-wing fighters. Most of the 200 photos are clear and large; many of the photos are previously unpublished. The text is very easy to read and you will find yourself reading it quite quickly. Of course, there are photos of the Horten V3 taken at the NASM Silver Hill facility. These are very helpful in that they are well exposed and show things that most books don't. If you have the Dragon or Revell/Germany Ho-229 you will find this book both interesting and essential. The history of the recovery of the prototypes is interesting. Did it actually fly? Sure did, and with jet power, no less. The Ho-229 V2 took to the air on 18 February 1945. Despite many attempts to cancel the program and the fact that the brothers were busy fighting the war and were located in different parts of Europe, they developed the concept, along with others, the all wing concept. The Hortens didn't even have an aviation company until mid-war. The amount of work they were able to do in the shadows of the RLM amazed me. Their ideas and their drive propelled them to develop all wing gliders, some of which were to aid in the invasion of England. The Hortens desired to see their concepts proven. Considering the small number of aircraft produced by the Hortens a surprising number of them survived the war and are in storage and repair throughout the world. Unfortunately, the Hortens had died in 1993 and 1998 before their dream was brought to fruition. While the all wing airplane didn't fight in WWII it nonetheless persevered and reached its pinnacle with the B2 Stealth bomber. The all wing concept had finally caught up with the technology that would allow the dream to be realized. I highly recommend this book to aviation historians, modelers and anyone who enjoys unique airplanes. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and its pictures. It is typical of the quality you find in all the Classic Publications. It would be hard to find a better book on the Ho-229. I would like to thank Specialty Press for the review sample. You can obtain your copy directly from Specialty Press by calling 1-800-895-4585 or by visiting their website (www.specialtypress.com). A $4.95 shipping and handling fee is added to each order. Don't forget to tell them that you heard about it from IPMS/USA.

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