AirDOC's Ju-87 'Stuka' Part 2: the D-variant

This book continues the series of WWII Photo Archives from AirDoc. This time, it is on the second major airframe variant, the later Ju-87D models that were in action from about 1942 until the end of the war. 

As you might guess from the series title, the book is mostly photographs taken from a variety of sources. Though most are labeled as from someone's collection, some of these photos were old friends that I've seen over the many years I've been interested in aircraft. However, many of them were  new to me, and that is always a nice thing. The images are either one, two or three to a page. I found them to be well done, and all were nice and clear, something one doesn't always get from older images.

In line with other AirDoc books in this series, there is a short historical background and description of the variants in both English and German. I found that the translation was generally good, with only one or two instances where the sentence sounded a bit odd. Certainly not enough to interrupt the flow. AirDoc continues to put images in the backgrounds of those pages which have no photographs, however, they have made them light enough so it doesn't interfere with reading, and I do appreciate that. The inside of both covers have excellent color profiles and a three-view done by artist Herbert Ringsletter and they are truly well well done. As an interesting aside, none of the images or profiles on the front or rear covers show the swastika, yet once the book is opened, none of those are censored.

The book offers a plethora of photos of not just the overall planes, but also the weapons it carried, interior photos and detail shots of other parts of the airframe and images of crew working on the planes. These sorts of things are great references for diorama builders and thanks to the mass of aftermarket bits and pieces, most of these scenes can be easily duplicated. I find that this book and this series are excellent resources for both the aviation enthusiast, historian and modeler alike. It is a book that you can buy with confidence.

My thanks to AirDoc for the review book. You can find these at your local hobby shop and if not, ask them to order them for you. You can also order direct at www.airdoc.eu

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and quickly, please contact me or see other details in the Note to Contributors.