Classic Books has earned a reputation for producing superb reference books and this one has to be one of their best. As the name implies, it is the known history of every Me-262 that can be positively identified and some that can't.

The vast majority of the book is listed by serial number. Information on each aircraft is taken from a variety of sources including factory logs, pilot log books, photographs showing the serial or werkenumber, and other official sources.

Each entry includes as much information as possible including its fate. Of the over 1500 Me-262s built (of which only about a quarter actually saw combat) this book includes information of some sort on around 1200 of them, certainly no mean feat of information gathering and compilation.

The author has striven to be as accurate as possible and where information is in doubt or conflict, that is clearly stated. What makes this an especially interesting book is the number of photographs it includes. Though quite a few were ones that I'd seen before, this is the first time I'd seen them all in one place.

The book is basically two sections. The majority of it is the listing by werkenumber and this includes the stammkennzeichen (factory radio call sign), known history of the aircraft as well as the factory in which it was built. A much smaller section is for aircraft and losses where the werkenumber is unknown.

This isn't a book that one just sits down and reads from cover to cover like a novel, though many of the entries are most interesting. It is a research tool and as such is an excellent reference and the finest work of its type on the Me-262 that you are likely to find. It is one that no serious Luftwaffe enthusiast should be without.

February 2006

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