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Title: Luftwaffe Secret Projects: Strategic Bombers 1935-1945 by Dieter Herwing, Heinz Rode ISBN: 1-85780-092-3 Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN) Pub. Date: 01 July, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $44.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Great Work
Comment: I mostly disagree with "anhistorian" and his review of the book. The artwork in it, and it's two companion works, are top notch. I agree much of the text is simplified, but as a bonus that gives more room for line drawings, illustrations and photos. And I am not really interested in the authors political alignment, I am just reading his book. If you think he is being pro-German, well it appears to me that he IS German, and loves his country. Mr "anhistorian", if you are an American, don't you love your country? Nuff said. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this unique subject. Great job!
Rating: 2
Summary: Good illustrations, but disorganized & uninformative
Comment: The paintings in this book, realizing in many cases designs that were never constructed, are first rate. Unfortunately, the rest of the book is not to the same standard.
Data on the designs is sparse at best, and the information is far from complete. The entry on the Junkers Ju 390, for instance, even though it appears in the section "Target New York," neglects to mention the second prototype, which flew to within 12 miles of the American coast near New York (only the first prototype is mentioned, and described as if there never was another -- an outright mistake). A vastly better entry on this plane appears in William Green's Warplanes of the Third Reich. Text entries in this book are consistently brief & lacking in detail; too often, they are oversimplified or inaccurate.
Likewise, the chapters on projects from 1944-5 contain a number of designs from the early 1940s, and even some from the 1930s. There seems no rhyme or reason to the organization (furthermore, some of the planes included are not strategic bombers at all, despite the supposed focus of the book). Another problem is that related series of aircraft designs are scattered, out of order, through different parts of the book, without reference to chronology, technological development, or any other logical consideration.
The author's pro-Nazi sympathies are also too much in evidence; he served in the Luftwaffe's design bureau during the war, and his regret that Germany lost the war is repeatedly expressed. He is actually quite strident in calling it a tragedy that New York was not bombed. He blames rigid bureaucrats at the top of the Nazi government for stopping designs which he clearly feels might have turned the war in Germany's favor, something he sorely wishes had happened. Given the horror that Germany unleashed on Europe and the world in the 1940s, I find it hard to read such dubious nostalgia.
The one plus point of this book is the illustrations. The paintings are first-rate, showing all of the various designs in splendidly realized detail. Unfortunately, it's hard to appreciate the illustrations, since the book gives no clear sense of the development of the aircraft they depict.
In short, if you are a modelmaker, you may well find this book very helpful. If you are interested in the remarkable technological leaps carried out by the German aircraft industry during the war, this book will not teach you much. For all the designs that were actually flown, Green's book, mentioned above, is vastly superior to this. For the planes only designed, this book is still the only game in town -- but poor information is not much better than none. I returned this book.
Rating: 5
Summary: Heartily recommended
Comment: A fabulous buy. Heartily recommended. It doesn't have reams of text making for a dull read like many historical books, but still remains informative and to the point (as many designs were just that with no hard data available). The artwork on the cover by renowned aviation artist Keith Woodcock sets the tone for what is an excellent resource for modellers of Luftwaffe aircraft and military enthusiasts alike. Plenty of nicely rendered artwork can help modeller's choose paint schemes, decals, as well as fire the imagination to try and kit-bash some of these designs and view with interest what was so close to becoming our reality. This is more than a coffee table book. And UFO enthusiasts should look elsewhere - I don't see the relevence of a mention of that from a previous reviewer as the book extends only as far as a variety stealth bomber/flying wing designs which are so familair today....
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Title: Luftwaffe Secret Projects: Fighters 1939-1945 by Walter Schick, Ingolf Meyer ISBN: 1857800524 Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN) Pub. Date: 01 June, 1997 List Price(USD): $44.95 |
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Title: Luftwaffe Secret Projects: Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft by Dieter Herwig, Heinz Rode ISBN: 1857801504 Publisher: Midland Publishing, Ltd. Pub. Date: 01 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $54.95 |
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Title: Jet Planes of the Third Reich, The Secret Projects (Volume 1) by Manfred Griehl, Thomas H. Hitchcock ISBN: 0914144367 Publisher: Monogram Aviation Publications Pub. Date: 06 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $49.95 |
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Title: Hitler's Flying Saucers: A Guide to German Flying Discs of the Second World War by Henry Stevens ISBN: 1931882134 Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: British Secret Projects: Jet Bombers Since 1949 (U.K.) by Tony Butler ISBN: 185780130X Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN) Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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