Luftwaffe Secret Projects: Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft

Rating:
Summary: They were ten years ahead.
Review: In this third book of their series on Luftwaffe Secret projects the authors have found some 140 aircraft that were proposed and/or developed for military use by the various German companies. The war years, for Germany were accompanied by great leaps in engine design. The engines of the ME-262 jet fighter, the rocket engine of the ME-163, the V-1 Buzz bombs pulse jet engine and improved traditional engines were all becoming available for new air frame designs.

Further experience on the battlefield had also brought a greater understanding of the needs for new aircraft designs. The German companies responded with a series of designs. Many of these designs look surprisingly like the designs proposed by American and British companies during the early 1950's as these kinds of new engines were becoming available over here. In one case the comparison is so close that there is a picture of a Junkers 1941 ground attack aircraft and a photograph of an American A-10 Warthog on facing pages.

Many of the other aircraft proposed, especially by Blohn and Voss are so goofy looking that I'm reminded of the old saying, "if it looks good it will fly good." In the case of Blohm & Voss, it's apparently the other way around. Reports that I've seen say that their planes fly well, in spite of how goofy they look.

A book to be read a couple of times and to serve as the basis for a lot of conversation with other airplane buffs.

Rating:
Summary: Super Work!
Review: Mr's Herwig and Rode, an excellent work on the topic. I found this book to be very informative, had interesting and rare photos, the illustrations and line drawings were excellent, and it was easy to read. There were some items discussed that I had never heard of, namely the "Flammelwerfer" or flamethrower on the rear of an aircraft. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. A truly super job!

Rating:
Summary: Super Work!
Review: Mr's Herwig and Rode, an excellent work on the topic. I found this book to be very informative, had interesting and rare photos, the illustrations and line drawings were excellent, and it was easy to read. There were some items discussed that I had never heard of, namely the "Flammelwerfer" or flamethrower on the rear of an aircraft. All in all, I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. A truly super job!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Number 3 in the Secret Projects Trilogy is just as good as Fighters and Bombers. The research is as good as it gets considering the subject matter but the authors have resisted the temptation to fill in the blanks with historical licence where the data is lacking. The artwork is inspiring and continues in the tradition of the previous volumes. Highly recommended to all aviation enthusiasts and particularly Luftwaffe 1946 modellers.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Pictures, but disappointing research
Review: Page 7 of this book contains a remarkable Publisher's Note, in which the publisher acknowledges the efforts of translator Ted Oliver (for this book was originally written in German) for his efforts to improve on the original version and the addition of "commentary on the author's erroneous text repeated from sources known to be incorrect or speculative." It must be almost unique to have such a statement in the foreword of a book.

There still is a lot of interesting material in this book, including many fascinating reproductions of original German drawings. But the text is took skimpy, and too much space is devoted to often speculative artwork. This book creates an appetite for more, but one is left feeling dissatisfied and in doubt about the validity of what one has just read.

I don't regret buying this; it is a book worth having. But compared to Tony Buttler's really excellent series on British Secret Projects (which is, that is true, rather harder to digest) this is the work of a dilettante.