Classic Publications

Zerstorer Volume One

by  John J. Vasco

Reviewed By  Michael Scott, IPMS# 43177

MSRP: $29.95 Paperbound, 96 pages, B&W and color photos with color plates. Available from Classic Publications at www.ianallanpublishing.com . This is a large-format paperback, heavy pages and loaded with photographs of possibly every Me 110 variant built between 1936 and 1940. The author is obviously well-versed in Me 110 history and operations and has packed a ton of information within 96 pages and many photographs. Concept and development, the early campaigns including the Battle of Britain, North Africa and the Eastern Front actions are included. The text is arranged chronologically to follow the operations and development of this aircraft during the early months of the war. Interspersed with the operational text and photographs are some personal accounts by pilots of the Me 110 which lends a high degree of readability to the book. It's not all dry description of variants, armament, airspeed and airframes. The major attributes and contributions of this work are, to me, the abundance of operational photographs, the inclusion of color photographs which might contribute something positive to the subject of Luftwaffe color schemes and the color plates. However, I did notice a striking difference between the artists' color plates and the actual photographs - the panel lines in the plates are significantly pronounced, while the actual aircraft usually showed little to no evidence of panel lines. I suspect this has become a modeler's convention to make their models stand out more to the judges' eyes than as an approximation of reality. For the Luftwaffe and Me 110 enthusiast, this is certainly a volume you will want on your bookshelf. Thanks to Classic Publications and IPMS for the review copy.

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