Article Type: Book Review
Article Date: June 28, 2001
Valuable Resource
Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft In Profile by Claes Sundin and Christer Bergstrom is a goldmine of reference material not only for those interested in individual pilot histories, but also for those who make Luftwaffe skins for any number of World War Two flight sims. As World War II recedes into history, we have begun to see fewer works on the overall broad strategy of the war, and more about tactics and individual actions. This book takes the latter option for its historical perspective.
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| Book Cover |
Detailed in this book are 124 individual single seat German fighter aircraft profiles and pilot histories, along with paint colors, camouflage, unit markings, theatre markings, Luftwaffe ranks and structure, and a brief explantion of the Ritterkruez. Aircraft include the Bf 109 series, FW190 / TA series, Me262, Me163 and He162. This book is not divided into chapters, as most of the book's 139 pages are filled with the 124 aircraft profiles. I will begin with the first section: Camouflage and Markings.
Camouflage
The first pages of this book detail the evolution of the Luftwaffe fighter paint schemes. Various paint schemes are described, ranging from the black-green and dark green upper surfaces with a light blue underside of 1939 and 1940, to the Battle of Britain through 1941 with its shades of gray with mottled gray and green fuselages. The next paint scheme descriptions featured are the varied schemes of 1941 through 1944 which had dark gray and gray upper surfaces and the common blue-gray undersides.
Next comes a desription of the Mediterranean and North Africa paint schemes, featuring the sand-yellow and light blue scheme. The Eastern Front paint schemes notes the evolution of the standard European paint scheme into the various winter type schemes.
Finally, the 1944 and 1945 section discusses the seemingly eternal debate about the RLM colors 81, 82 and 83. It is interesting to note that while the Luftwaffe did not specify the exact color shade for these three RLM numbers, Dornier listed 81 and 82 as dark green, while Messerschmitt listed 81 as brown-violet and 82 as light green. So, fifty six years after World War II, the RLM color shade for these three numbers is still in question. For referrence, there are three color charts on pages six and nine.
Markings
The next featured discussion regards various markings, such as the Hakenkruez (swastika), Balkenkruez (girder cross), theatre markings, and the famous yellow engine cowling from the early part of the war. In the several pages given to detailing Luftwaffe markings, there is broad coverage of tiny, yet important details such as aerial victory markings, staffeln colors and leadership markings. If you are a flight sim skin maker, this book provides a rich variety of the tiny details that can make a good skin great.
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| 109 in Microprose's 'European Air War' |
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| 109 in Rowan's 'Battle of Britain' |
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| 109 (damaged) in 1C Maddox Game's 'IL-2 Sturmovik' |
Ranks and Awards
The other small section of this book is on pages 134 through 136. On these pages, Luftwaffe ranks are detailed, and equivalent RAF and USAAF ranks are given. This is followed by a small section regarding the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross), with small illustrations and totals of each award given.
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| Pilot's Badge |
An overview of the Luftwaffe's structure is presented, along with translations of the various terms for the various types of aircraft units. Finally, a table lists aircraft loss results, by year, for German and Allied air forces on both the Western and Eastern Fronts.
Aircraft and Pilot Profiles
The main content of this book, is of course, the 124 individual aircraft profiles and short pilot histories. These histories detail many of the famous, and often poorly recollected, individual incidents that made heroes out of ordinary men, and legends from circumstance and accidents. The short history profiles average 300 words, and the detailed aircraft profiles measure over eight inches long (200 millimeters). Most of the history profiles include a relevant historic photograph of the aircraft or pilot being discussed.
Classic stories of the more famous German aces fill this book, like Lt Hans-Joachim Marseille, whose exploits merit two profiles in this book of his famous Bf109 F4, "Yellow 14". The text tells of Marseille's anti-Nazi feelings, and his extraordinary skill in aerial combat. The only shortcoming of this book is that for armchair historians, these short profiles only scratch at the surface of the fascinating events in these pilots lives.
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| Marseille's Bf 109 |
One colorful aircraft event is the story of Major Wolfgang Spate, and the story of how he came to fly a bright red Baron Von Richtofen Me-163 Komet because of an overzealous ground crew wishing to bring their pilot good luck. Spate flew it that day, but was unsuccessful because of a malfunctioning rocket motor.
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| Spate's Red Me 163 Rocket Plane |
Another favorite profile is of a TA152 H1, "Green 9", flown by Oberfeldwebel Willi Reschke of JG 301. Reschke shot down a Tempest flown by New Zealander Warrant Officer Mitchell, in an intense tree top dogfight over Ludgwigslust.
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| Reschke's Ta 152 |
I recommend this book based on its quality aircraft profiles and broad range of historical information.
| Activity | Score | Comments |
| Historian | 3 | Varied, but brief stories |
| 3D Shape Maker | 1 | Only side profiles are included |
| Aircraft Skinner | 5 | Excellent color profiles and details |
| Flight Model Designer | 0 | No flight data |
Amazon.com Link:
Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft In Profile
by Claes Sundin and Christer Bergstrom