Warplanes of the Luftwaffe

Rating:
Summary: Quite Good If Not Superlative
Review: * WARPLANES OF THE LUFTWAFFE, edited by David Donald, is a survey
of Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II, covering both well-known
and obscure types.

First off, I have to say this book (literally) shines in terms of
its layout and presentation. It is nicely printed on gloss paper,
providing the best possible display of great numbers of photos,
including some color photos; color three-view and side-view
paintings; and nice "cutaway" line drawings of primary Luftwaffe
aircraft. It also includes a nice, close to complete, selection
of aircraft, and provides reasonably detailed technical
descriptions of them.

I emphasize "reasonably" because, as a survey, by definition it
does not get into maximum detail on any one aircraft. For example,
real students of WWII Luftwaffe aircraft might want a much more
detailed accounting of, say, the endless variations of primary
types through factory and field upgrade kits, or more detailed
discussion of prototype development.

However, this is clearly a calculated tradeoff, since if that kind
of detail were required, the book would have to be about 1,000
or more pages long, instead of the 250 or so that it actually is.
I also suspect that readers with "rivet counter" mentalities
might be able zero in on small tweaky errors in the text. The
subject is complicated, German records are of course confused
and incomplete, and there's a lot of opportunity for bugs,
particularly in a book that covers this much ground. However,
all complicated productions have a certain level of bugs, and
in the main this book seems conscientiously put together and
valid in the broad and medium strokes.

This is probably recommended for someone who is interested in
German aircraft and wants to get started on the subject. After
finishing this, the reader can then go on to more specialized works
if more detail is desired. Anyone who already has an extensive set
on the subject might regard it as redundant, but I have to repeat
that it is a pretty piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: Clearly a book made with love....
Review: ... for aviation. The book is really beautifull. It is precise in it's descriptions, although not in-depth for all presented models. The aircraft described in the book all have reached the flying status, so experimentals built but not flown didn't make it in. You might miss some aircraft, I'm not an expert (yet), but it looks very complete. On the down side: The extensive use of pictures (some wartime color pictures too!) sometimes forces the accompanying descriptive texts to be placed in a chaotic manner. I Just can't get past those first pages, so much do I enjoy them. Yes, truly a work right from the heart...

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Refference
Review: I found this book to be the best refference I've come across regarding Luftwaffe aircraft. Very well researched with good photographs,provided appropriate detail and attention to each aircraft. One might be surprised that the Luftwaffe even possessed helicopters, along with some highly advanced rocket and jet aircraft. For example, there was even a prototype for a jet-powered flying wing, very similar to our B-2 stealth bomber! Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Black crossed planes, star crossed designs
Review: I'm no expert but I am familiar with most of the Luftwaffe planes and I can't seem to think of one that's not represented here. Represented is rather a weak term for what this book provides. 250 pages, most of them with at least two or three illustrations of the various types. Photographs, a few of them in color, color drawings including quite a few 'three views' (front-on, top down and profile) of the more important types. There are also about two dozen 'cut-away' diagrams showing the structural and internal components of the planes.

That's just the visual treats the book provides. The written descriptions give the required information - powerplant, dimensions, performance, armament, etc. Where there were prototypes, modifications and variants, details are also given. Of interest to me, and highlighted by the book, is the fact that much of the history of the Luftwaffe is also a story about designs and designers. Experimental designs were almost a rule rather than the exception. The great designers like Willy Messerschmitt, Ernest Heinkel and Claudius Dornier live on through their wonderful planes, even the great 'what might have beens' (Me 262, He 162, Arado 'Blitz' and my personal favorite, the revolutionary Do 335). All are beautifully depicted for us here.