Military Model Scene

Luftwaffe in Colour vol.2...

...From Glory to Defeat 1942-1945, from Casemate

Title: Luftwaffe in Colour, Vol.2

Author: Christophe Cony and Jean-Louis Roba

Publisher: Casemate Publications

ISBN: 978-1-61200-455-6

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This is the second volume of wartime colour photos, and follows on from the earlier book, which covers the Victory Years, 1939-1942.  There are nearly 400 colour images in this one, some which have been seen in wartime German propaganda plus many I had not seen before.  This volume is divided into 5 sections.  The first is Face to Face with the Soviet Steamroller, and this is followed by The Mediterranean Front, then The West: From One Landing to the Next, then Second Line and Training Units, and finally, The Eagle Falls.

So, what sort of things do we get to see in the large number of colour pictures?  Well the simple answer is 'lots'.  The aircraft are shown in flight, on the ground, undergoing maintenance, wrecked and abandoned on airfields, shot down or in the final stages, simply flown in to Allied units and surrendered.  Then there are some of the aircrew, Aces in some cases, and the ground crew working on engines or re-armament.  On some airfields there were even some elaborate 'disguises' to hangers, and one in particular illustrated is disguised as a farmhouse, one that I am sure is likely to inspire modellers to have a go at it in a diorama.

The aircraft types do feature the ones we'd expect, with Me Bf109's and Fw 190's of various types, then there are Stukas, Junkers 52, Fiesler Storch, He III and various Ju 88.  In addition to these though there are rarer types which will attract even more interest, especially for being seen in colour.  Luftwaffe operated Italian Savoia 82, the big 6-engined Bv222 seaplane, Caudron C.445, Dornier Do335, Me 261, Me 163, Me 410, Henschel Hs 129 and even Mistel combinations.  Another advantage of the colour images there are some super shots of various types of radar equipped nightfighters seen when they were captured on airfields in Germany.  There are a mix of  Ju88 variants along with Me110 along with their distinctive nose mounted radar aerials.  Some are also pictured dispersed in woods, alongside road sections and away from airfields, where they were often found by advancing Allied forces.  All in all there is just so much in here that I think anyone with an interest in the wartime Luftwaffe, historian and modeller, there will be lots to like in this one.

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Thanks to Casemate UK for my example.

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Robin