Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile: (Schiffer Military History Book) [Hardcover]

Christer Bergstrom (Author), Claes Sundin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1997 | Series: Schiffer Military History Book

A superb study for both the historian and modeler, this book contains 124 color profiles showing Luftwaffe single-engine fighter aircraft - Bf 109, Fw 190, Ta 152, Me 262, Me 163, and He 162 - once piloted by some of the most famous German aces of World War II. Also shown are war-era photographs of select aircraft and pilots. The book begins with a summary of Luftwaffe fighter camouflage and color schemes on the various war fronts, then explains unit markings, tactical codes, personal markings and other markings. Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile serves as the perfect introduction to the history of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. At the same time, it is an indispensable volume to the aircraft modeler.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (November 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764302914
• ISBN-13: 978-0764302916
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #607,988 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book has become for me the encyclopedia., March 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile: (Schiffer Military History Book) (Hardcover)

It is magnificent. Very well and beautifully is made. For me this book at once has become the encyclopedia on the German pilots. It is a pity, that I about the German pilots know a little. But your book very much has helped me to receive a lot of new and magnificent information. It really is magnificent.

The short biographic data about the pilots very much have liked. For me this opening. I speak to the authors of a thank. And main do not stop. Continue this theme. And me is sad that we in Russia can not buy such books. It is very expensive. A thank.

I apologize for my English language.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful introduction to the world of Luftwaffe paint., December 13, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile: (Schiffer Military History Book) (Hardcover)

This book provides a useful starting point for anyone interested in the complexities of Luftwaffe paint schemes from the Second World War, in particular the closing 12 months. Its appeal to modellers will be immense; each profile is associated with a known pilot and thus gives the paint schemes depicted far more than just technical interest.

The desire to associate each colour profile with a known pilot also results in the one weakness of the book. Some of the atypical schemes are missing, such as the late-war Bf 109G aircraft that were painted in an overall air-superiority light grey or the Fw190D-9 and Me262 aircraft flying with bare metal undersurface panels. A colour is also missing. No use is made in any of the profiles of RLM 84 (a yellow-green) that was used as the undersurface colour on several Fw190D-9 and Bf 109G aircraft. I suspect this is in part becasue these very late-war schemes are difficult to associate with a pilot. On another colour, Ken Merrick, one of the doyens of Luftwaffe paint shcemes, has now apparently decided that RLM 83 was not quite as bright as all that (see the NASM Me262 for an extreme example of RLM 83), and I am glad to see that the artist for this book has used a toned-down colour for RLM 83. The interpretation RLM 81 looks a little too brown to me, with not enough violet, so to speak, but that may simply be a matter of taste.

These, however, are minor quibbles. The book contains excellent art and the information for each profile is generally spot on. It is an excellent addition to my shelves, which I will no doubt refer to frequently. As Claes Sundin makes clear in his foreword, it is just so useful to have all this information in one source, especially in such an attractive format. I heartly agree and I look forward to the follow-up volume alluded to in the foreword.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb reference work, October 8, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Daniel Slick) (Vancouver, B.C., Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Luftwaffe Fighter Aircraft in Profile: (Schiffer Military History Book) (Hardcover)

This is probably the best work of its kind that I have read - a must have for WW-II aviation buffs and modelers. The artworks and production quality are stunning, and set a new standard. The accompanying text appears to be the product of scrupulous research is very interesting and informative. My only wish is for plan drawings and coverage of additional types such as the DO 335 and HE 100-112. I hope the authors don't stop with this book, but instead go on to cover the fighter forces of other nations in WW-II.