Morethan 200 uniqueand expertlydrawncolourprofiles GERMANWW2 DESIGNS BYCLAESS DETAILEDAIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONSAND MILITARYHISTORIES COLOURS AND MARKINGS FROM1939 TO1945 ISBN: 97 8-1911276258 £7.99 INCLUDESTHE TOPLUFTWAFFEACES’AIRCRAFT
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AtthebeginningoftheSecond WorldWar,the Luftwaffedominatedtheskiesover Western Europe –itshighlytrainedpilots flyingsome ofthemostadvancedfighteraircraftyetbuilt.
ItwasinstrumentalinachievingsomeoftheNazis’ greatestvictoriesduringtheearlymonthsoftheconflict yetitmetitsmatchwhenfacedwiththeoutstanding courageandtenacityofBritishandCommonwealth pilotsduringtheBattleofBritain.
Asthewarprogressed,theLuftwaffefounditself fightingabovethefrozenwastesoftheSovietUnionin winterandabovetheblisteringdesertsofNorthAfrica insummer.Itwasprovidedwithevermoreadvanced aircraftyetitsmightwassteadilywornawayby ceaseless fightingonmultiplefronts.
WhenwavesofRAFbombersbegan acampaignof nightraidsoveroccupiedEuropeandGermanyitself, yetanotherfrontopenedup.TheLuftwaffe’snight fightershuntedtheirtargetsinthedarkandthebomber crewssoughttoevadethem. Adesperatestrugglefor supremacyinradarandelectronictechnologytook
placeascasualtiesmountedonbothsides.
Towardstheendofthewar,advancesinjetand rockettechnologygavetheLuftwaffe anewedgebut bythenitsfatewassealed.
Todayit remainsdifficultto reconciletheskilland courageoftheLuftwaffe’spilotsincombatwiththe poisonousideologyofthe regimeforwhichtheyfought, yetthestatisticstelltheirownstory.
Germandayandnight fighterpilotsclaimedaround 70,000aerialvictoriesduringthewar,25,000British orAmericanaircraftand45,000Russian.Therewere 103Germanfighterpilotswhoshotdownmorethan 100Alliedaircrafteachandsome2500German fighter pilotswho reached‘ace’statusbyshootingdownat leastfiveaircraft.Combatlosses,however,totalled 40,000,including21,452 fighters.
LuftwaffeFightersexaminesthefighteraircraftflown bytheGermanairforceduringthattimeandpresents detailedillustrationsofnotableindividualmachines.
DanSharp
ABOUT CLAESSUNDIN
IllustratorandauthorClaeswasbornin 1957andlivesinthesouthernpartof Sweden.Sincefinishingfouryearsof studiesattheUniversityofUppsala,hehas beenactiveas ateacher,marketer,photographerand artdirector,amongotheroccupations.
Sincechildhood,Claeshashad astronginterest ineverythingconcerningthecombataircraftofthe Second WorldWarandlater.Thisintereststemsfrom thetimewhenhe,as aboyofseven,startedbuilding andcollectingplasticscalemodels.Simultaneously, hehasbeen akeendraftsmanforaslongashecan remember,aswellasanaccomplishedCGIartistin morerecentyears.Atpresent,Claesisproducing books,writingarticlesandlecturing.Uptonowhe hasproducedmorethan2000CGIprofiles,mostlyof aircraft,butalsoofSecond WorldWararmour.
Hispreviouslypublishedbooksinclude: LuftwaffeFighterAircraftinProfile(1997),Deutsche Jagdflugzeuge(1998),MoreLuftwaffeFighterAircraft inProfile(2002),LuftwaffeFighterAircraft,Limited Edition(2011),LuftwaffeFighterAircraft,ProfileBook No 1(2013),AlliedFighterAircraft,ProfileBookNo
2(2013),TigerandPanther Tanks(2014),Luftwaffe FighterAircraft,ProfileBookNo 3(2014),and LuftwaffeAttackAircraft,ProfileBookNo 4(2015)and ProfilesofGerman Tanks(2015).Inaddition,hehas providedaircraftandtankprofiles,photo refinement, andartworkformanyotherbooksandpapers.
Claessays:“As alongtimeprofileartist, Iam wellawarethat afewoftheprofilesincludedinthis publicationwillbethesubjectofsomecriticism. The readerhowever, mustacknowledgethatallthe profilesincludedarebasedonsolidphotographic documentation. Iwillalwaysuseatleastone referencephoto,moreifavailable,ofthesubject.I seekthebestphotosavailableforthe relatedcloseupdetailsaswell.
“However,misinterpretationscouldnaturallyoccur, especially regardingthecoloursI’vechosenforthe differentprofiles.Onehastoappreciatethedifficulty ofinterpretingthecoloursfromdatedblackandwhite photographs.Butknowthat Ihave,togetherwithmy colleagues,madetheutmostefforttodeterminethe actualappearanceandcolouringoftheindividual aircraftprofilespresentedhere.”
INTRODUCTION
LUFTWAFFEFIGHTERS 003
MESSERSCHMITT BF109
Itisdifficulttoexaggerate theimportanceofthe legendaryMesserschmitt Bf109totheLuftwaffe duringtheSecond World War. Small,lightweightand fast,thesingle-seaterwas continuallyupgradedand remainedatthecutting edgeofpiston-engined fightertechnologyrightup tothebitterend.Flownby alloftheLuftwaffe’smost prolificaces,ithasbecome aniconicsymbolofGerman aerialprowess. Todayit remainsoneoftheworld’s most recognisableaircraft. 1935-1945
ThestoryoftheBf109 beganwiththefounding of anewaircraft companyinAugsburgin 1926 –BayerischeFlugzeugwerke AG.Thisfirmwasforgedfromthe remnantsofanothercompany,Udet Flugzeugbau,whichhadcollapsed onlymonthsearlier.Youngaircraft designerWillyMesserschmitt wasappointedasthefirm’schief designerin1927and astringof successfullightweightsportsand commercialaircraftfollowed.
InJuly1933,Bayerische Flugzeugwerkewasinvited
totenderfor anewRLM requirement.Thiscalledfora single-seatdayfighterarmed withtwofixedforward-firing machineguns,radiogear enablingair-to-airandgroundto-aircommunicationsandpilot equipmentincluding aharness, oxygensystemandheating with roomfor aparachute.The fighterwouldhavetomaintain aspeedof400kphforupto 20minutesat6000m, remain aloftforanhour,reachthat altitudein17minutesandhave aserviceceilingof10,000m.
t y 006 LUFTWAFFEFIGHTERS
Italsohadtobesuitablefor pilotsofaverageability,easy to recoverfroma spin,capable offlyinginfogandcloud,be smallenoughtotransportby rail,haveprotectionagainst leakageoffuelandbeableto landonanairfieldof400mby 400mwith a400mapproach.
Rangewasnotmentioned, norwasanyfurther requirement foradditionalarmamentorload carryingability.Thewinningdesign wouldbetheaircraftthat replaced Germany’sthen-standardArado Ar64andHeinkelHe51 fighters
Messerschmittsettowork onanaircraftthatwouldmeet theseconditionsbutthen,in September1933,Bayerische Flugzeugwerkewascontracted tobuild anewfour-seaterallmetalaircrafttoparticipate in the 4thChallenge International de Tourismecompetitionin 1934
Messerschmitt’s M 23 design had already won it twice, in 1929 and1930, and Bayerische Flugzeugwerke naturally took the job Messerschmitt applied some of the ideas he had been working on for the fighter project
BF109 E-1
JG186,basedat Wangeroogein Germany,wasflyingBrown13onMay
OberfeldwebelKurtUbbenof6.(J)/ asflyingBrown13onMay 10,1940,whenheshotdown aDutch FokkerD.XXIfighteroverHolland.
tothedesignand the result wasthevery modern-looking M 37 low-wing monoplane
Even before this made its first flight, the firm submitted its fighter design to the RLM and received a development contract for it in February 1934. Even as the M 37 made its first flight, detail design work was already commencing on the new fighter
Powered by a 247hp Hirth HM 8U inverted V engine and now
LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS 007
under theofficial designation Bf108,thesportsaircraftwas flownbyfourofthe13German participantsin afieldof34 competitorsduringlateAugust andearlySeptember1934 –the others flyingFieselerFi97sand KlemmKl36s.Defeatedoverallby Polishteamsflying RWD9s,the Bf108neverthelesstookthetop threeplacesinboththemaximum speedandfuelconsumptiontrials.
Thedesignwas asuccess andordersbeganto roll in.But whiletheBf108wasenjoying verypublicsuccess,Bayerische Flugzeugwerke’snew fighterwas takingshapebehindcloseddoors. Amock-upwasinspectedin January1935andthetype received theRLMdesignationBf109.
ItscompetitorswereArado’s Ar80,theHeinkelHe112and latterlytheFocke-WulfFw159.
BF109E-1
Black 4wasflownbyOberfeldwebel Anton‘Toni’Hacklof5./JG77,based atKristiansand-Kjevik,Norway,during lateJune1940.OnJune15,heshot downtwoRAFLockheedHudsons, thenhedestroyed aHandleyPage HerefordonJune21andthenanother HudsononJune27.
TheAr80sufferedfromanoverly complexlandinggear retraction system, resultinginitsgear eventuallybeingfixedinplace. Italsohadanopencockpitand performedpoorly.Similarly,the Fw159hadgearproblemsandits parasolwingarrangementmade itlookfragileandoldfashioned.
TheHe112,however,wasthe Bf109’srealcompetition.Ithad asturdywide-track retractable undercarriage,low-setgullwings andanenclosedcockpit.Withthe Ar80andFw159eliminatedearly on,theHe112wenthead-to-head withtheBf109andwasinitially thefavouriteofthetwotowin.
Itcouldout-turntheBf109due toitslargerwingsbuttheBf109 wasfasteratanyaltitude,more
BF109E-4
Oberleutnant WernerMacholdof9./ JG2,basedatLeHavre-Octeville, flewBrown 5andshotdownnineRAF aircraftduringSeptember1940.On June9,1941,heforce-landednear Swanage,Dorset,andbecame aPoW forthe restofthewar.
LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS MESSERSCHMITT BF109 ERSCHMITT BF 109 008 LUFTWAFFEFIGHTERS
BF109D-1
ThefirstRAFBomberCommandaircrafttobe shotdownduringtheSecond World Warwas a49SquadronHandleyPageHampdenonthe nightofApril26/27.Thefighter responsible wasBlackN+7,flownbyOberfeldwebel HermannFörsterof11.(N)/JG2,basedat Oslo-Fornebu,Norway.
agile andabletoperformaerobatic manoeuvresmuchmoreeasily. Thecontesthadbegunon February8,1936,andlessthan amonthlater,onMarch2,the Bf109V2andHe112V2wereto performspintests.TheBf109V2 wasabletospinand recoverwith ease –buttheHe112V2wasnot, andcrashed.Thefollowingmonth, after repairs,thelatterwasflown againbutcrashedagainandthis timewasdamagedbeyond repair.
OnMarch12,theRLM produced apolicydocument indicatingthattheBf109wasthe preferreddesignbutnevertheless aseriesof10pre-production aircraftwereorderedfromeach company.FourHe112sindifferent configurationshadbeentested bytheendofSeptember1936
BF109E-4
Before his promotion to high command, Adolf Galland was a front line fighter pilot He was flying this aircraft, Chevron Bar, with Stab/JG 26, from Audembert, France, on September 24, 1940, when he shot down a Hawker Hurricane – possibly P3878 flown by HAC Bird-Wilson of 17 Squadron.
THEBF109 WA SF ASTER ANDMOREAGILETHANITS COMPETITORTHEHE112 A STER H ANITS H E1 12 LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS 009
butnoneofthemhadprovento be amatchfortheBf109s.
Ultimately,theHe112was letdownbyitsheavierandless aerodynamicdesignandthe Bf109wentontobecomethe Luftwaffe’sstandardfighter.It was amistakethatHeinkelwas determinetoundo –prompting him tocommissiontheHe100which wouldbrieflyholdtheworldair speed record in1939.Thesearch for atrulycleanaerodynamic layoutwouldcontinuetoinform Heinkel’sdesignsthroughout theSecond WorldWar.
BF109A-EANDT
TheBf109V1,poweredbya Rolls-RoyceKestrelVI,wasused forthedesigncompetition,as weretheV2andV3,eachfitted withJumo210 Aengine.The lattertwoweresenttoSpainfor operationalevaluationduring November1936butneithersaw anyactionandneitherdidthe sevenpre-productionBf109As thatwerebuiltshortlythereafter.
Theywereusedtotesta varietyofconfigurationsincluding
differentengines,variouscockpit andgunventilationaperturesand numerousoilcooleralterations. Eachwasarmedwithjust apair ofenginecowling-mountedMG 177.92mmmachineguns.
ThefirstBf109 Bwasthe firstversiontoseeaction–beingsenttoservewiththe CondorLegionduringthe
LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS MESSERSCHMITT E BF109 010 LUFTWAFFEFIGHTERS
BF109E-4
HauptmannHelmutWickofStabI.JG2,basedat MardyckinBelgium,wasflyingthisaircraftonOctober 5,1940,whenheshotdownthreeHurricanesover Bournemouth,thentwoSpitfiresovertheIsleofWight.
BF109E-4
DoubleChevronflownbyHauptmannRolf PingelofStabI./JG26,basedatStOmerClaimairais,France,duringDecember1940. Pingelhad23victoriesbythispoint.
BF109F-1
Oberstleutnant WernerMöldersofStab./ JG51,basedatMardyck,France,shotdown aSpitfireonMay8,1941,whileflyingthis aircraft –his82ndvictoryofthewar.
LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS 011
BF109F-2
TheaircraftflownbyStabII./JG53’s HauptmannHeinzBretnützduring May1941,whiletheunitwasstill basedatStOmer-ArquesinFrance. BretnützledII./JG53duringthe invasionofRussiabutwasbadly injuredonJune22anddiedafter havinghislegamputated.
BF109F-2
SomeofOberleutnantEgonMayer’s earliestaerialvictorieswerewonin June1941whileflyingWhite 1with7./ JG 2fromThèvilleinFrance.
BF109E-4/B
Yellow Fof6.(Schl.)/LG2,at Praschnitz,Poland,onJune22,1941.
LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS MESSERSCHMITT E BF109 012 LUFTWAFFEFIGHTERS
