Strike in the Balkans

April-May 1941
Jagdwaffe Volume 3, Section 1
By Eric Mombeek, Jean-Louis Roba, and Martin Pegg
Ian Allan Publishing, 2002
ISBN 1 903223 20 2
96 Pages, Softbound
$24.95 from Specialty Press

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

This latest volume in the Jagdwaffe series continues the impressive series covering the German fighter force during World War 2. This book looks at the Balkan campaign, covering Operation Marita, the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece, and Operation Merkur, the invasion of Crete. Like the other titles in this series, the content of this one can be broken into three areas: the text, the photos, and the color profiles. The text is broken up into a chronological history of events, starting with the initial plans of Marita and progressing through to the disastrous Crete invasion. Interspersed throughout the book are personal anecdotes from pilots, providing a personal glimpse to the operations.

Complementing the well-written text are the photos, and there are plenty of those. Roughly 250 black and white photos and seven color photos provide lots of great reference for modelers. The main fighter used by the Luftwaffe during the Balkan campaign was the Messerschmitt Bf 109, so the vast majority of these photos are of this plane. For those out there who are interested in small air forces, there are several photos of Rumanian Bf 109s as well as some Greek aircraft.

Finally, we have the color artwork, which is probably the best part for most people. The profiles are all based off of photos included in the book, and great care has been taken to make sure the illustrations match up in every detail. A total of 27 profiles are included, all of Bf 109s, and tossed in with many are larger drawings of unit and personal insignia. These illustrations show to great effect the widely varied camouflage patterns worn by the Bf 109s in the Balkan campaign, as well as the various theater markings that were applied

If you are not familiar with the Jagdwaffe series, this title would be a great one to start out with. While the content is somewhat repetitive, as only Bf 109s were used, it is a very interesting history of a period of the Second World War that is little covered. That, coupled with the excellent photos and quality artwork make this a nice start to the third volume of the Jagdwaffe series.

This book, and the rest of the Jagdwaffe series, is available from Specialty Press.