 On
Special Missions
The Luftwaffe's Research and Experimental Squadrons 1923-1945
By J. Richard Smith, Eddie J. Creek, and Peter Petrick
Classic Publications, ©2003
ISBN 1-903223-33-4
Hardbound, 128 Pages
Available from Specialty
Press for $32.95
The Treaty of Versailles ending the First World War had many long-reaching
implications, one of which was the separation of Germany from East Prussia.
This resulted in clandestine reconnaissance flights by Germany to determine
potential threats, and with these early flights began a long history of
secretive aerial spy operations conducted by Germany up through the Second
World War. This latest title from the great folks at Classic Publications
takes a look inside this rarely-covered part of Luftwaffe history, starting
in the 1920s and continuing through to the end of the Second World War.
The text is well written and does a great job of pulling the reader in.
Throughout the early years, the focus is on high-altitude reconnaissance.
Aircraft such as the Junkers W34 give way to Ju 86Ps, all of which are
amply illustrated in photographs. Once the Second World War began, the
focus of these units shifted to become trials and research oriented. This
resulted in a wide variety of aircraft being flown, many being prototypes
like the Blohm und Voss Ha 142. If you are looking for coverage on the
Arado Ar 240, this book has plenty, as well as Mistel conversions.
A good portion of the book is given up to the Wanderzirkus Rosarius,
the evaluations of captured Allied aircraft. These pages have many new
photos of these aircraft, including a couple of color photos. Unfortunately
this only covers British and American aircraft, so if you are looking
for photos of Russian aircraft in German markings, you'll have to look
elsewhere. Still, this is probably the best single collection of photos
on these interesting aircraft.
This latest book from Classic Publications continues their solid research
style and provides many new insights to the Versuchsverband that operated
in Germany after World War One and through World War Two. The text and
photos combined make for an interesting history, and the modeler will
find plenty of great subjects here.
My thanks to Specialty
Press for the review sample.
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