The Luftwaffe holds a fascination for many of us and while some wonder why this is, the truth behind it is probably due to not only the large number of different types of aircraft operated by this air force, but also by the bewildering array of camouflage schemes worn by these aircraft. This was especially true during the last years of the war when some pretty complex and interesting schemes were developed.

In accord with other Classic Books' titles, this one takes photos of aircraft and makes the best effort to interpret what we are seeing in terms of the camouflage and markings of the subject in question. What makes this book a bit different, is that all the aircraft so portrayed are either abandoned or wrecked to some degree or another.

Some of these subjects are from the early days of the war, but the vast majority of them were taken in the last months of the war or even post war when these planes were grouped together in huge aircraft scrap piles. The photos are mostly well done and taken from archives or personal collections. Some of them are in color, which is a real treat as period color images are quite rare. The majority are also printed either one or two to a page so we can see considerable detail. As a long time fan of these sorts of things, I was pleased and delighted to see some images that I'd not seen before in other publications over the years. As always, the artwork of Tom Tullis is exceptional and his profiles and sectional work very much enhances the book.

There is also an eight page section at the end of the book on "Modeling the aircraft of Götterdämerung". This section includes models of the Me-262, of which one is actually of a plane illustrated in the rest of the book. While I'm sure that there are readers who will like this, to me, it seems like filler. I'd rather have eight more pages of aircraft and profiles.

Overall, this is a fine work and a book that I know Luftwaffe enthusiasts and modelers alike will enjoy browsing through over and over again.

March 2007

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