Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 25) [Paperback]

John Weal (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

This volume is the first of its type to be devoted exclusively to the Zerstörer day fighter aces, spanning the war years from Poland to the defence of the Reich. Although Messerschmitt's single-engined Bf 109 has received most of the plaudits for achieving virtual air superiority over Europe in 1939-40, the exploits of the manufacturer's twin-engined Bf 110, the Ju 88 and the Me 410 Zerstörer in the first year of the war also make for very impressive reading. Indeed, on the eve of World War 2 a posting to a Bf 110 unit was considered to be the best career move available in the Luftwaffe.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series combines full colour artwork, the best archival contemporary photography, and first hand accounts from aces to bring history's greatest airborne conflicts to life.

About the Author

John Weal is Osprey's primary Luftwaffe author and artist. He has written, illustrated and/or supplied artwork for several titles in the Aircraft of the Aces series. He owns one of the largest private collections of original German-language literature from World War 2, and his research is firmly based on this huge archive.

Product Details

• Paperback: 108 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855327538
• ISBN-13: 978-1855327535
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.2 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,022,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on Zerstorers, March 30, 2001

By 

CJ Weller (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 25) (Paperback)

This is a great book about the Zerstorer aces of world war 2. It covers the fighting of the Zerstorers in Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, the low countries, Russia, North Africa, Italy, and Finland. It also covers the Battle of the German Bight, and the Battle of Britian. It has lots of pictures, and the color plates are nice because they show how the planes were painted. Also the Ju 88c and Me 410 are also pictured and talked about a little in this book. Some of the pilots talked about are Werner Methfessel, Heinz Nacke, and Theodor Rossiwall.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic color plates, March 23, 2010

By 

Joseph V. Schneider "Seapaws" (North East, Pa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 25) (Paperback)

If you are into German aircraft and I am, this is a great source of information. The color plates are perfect and as a modeler they come in handy to build that next model.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too much minutae, not enough strategic picture, May 19, 2009

By 

Yoda (Hadera, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 25) (Paperback)

This book, like most of what has been written by John Weal, provides too much low level story and anecdotes but not analysis and history at a high level. This would have not been a bad approach in a book of some size but this text is only about 100 pages and about half of that consists of illustration. Not enough discussion/analysis is provided on what made the BF 110 so successful initially although the disucssion on the causes of the decline, over time, are covered. There is also not enough analysis/discussion regarding the actual aircraft itself. Little as to how the aircraft itself actually developed over time.

On the positive side the book is very well illustrated with contemporaneous photographs. There are also many detailed photographs that can be used by model builders that are hard to provide (i.e., close ups of bombs especially). There are also many fine color plates with camo patterns from a wide variety of fronts and time periods. In addition, color plates are provided that are quite good with respect to uniforms. These can prove very useful for figurine builders.