Customer Reviews

Kampfflieger -Bombers of the Luftwaffe July 1940-December 1941,Volume 2 (Luftwaffe Colours)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Volume Two in the four-volume Kampfflieger set covers Luftwaffe bombers in action in 1940-41, a period that saw the Luftwaffe suffer its first defeat followed by further combats in the Mediterranean and Russia.

As with the first volume, J. Richard Smith and Eddie Creek do an admirable job of summarizing combat ops flown by Germany's bomber units in this period. Though defeated over England, Germany's Junkers, Dornier, Focke Wulf and Heinkel bomber units were still a force to contend with and contributed mightily to the initial successes in North Africa and, especially, Russia.

The author's comprehensive text is well served by almost 200 black & white and color photos and 15 Tom Tullis color profiles of Ju 88s, Do 17/217s, FW 200s and the old He 111 warhorse. Photographically this volume really stands out for presenting so many, previously unknown camouflage schemes. Just imagine - low contrast gray camouflage in use 40 years before its use by RAF Sea Harriers over the Falklands!

In any case, Ian Allan has a winning formula going and Luftwaffe fans will enjoy this volume and the Kampfflieger set in general.

***
One quibble: I would have preferred more first-person narratives from aircrew in the book and fewer organizational charts.