Luftwaffe Im Focus No.29

Start-Verlag

Reviewed by David Couche

Luftwaffe Im Focus #26 is available online from Squadron.com

Luftfahrtverlag-Start has released another edition of Luftwaffe In Focus with Edition No.29 based around 1944/45 information. This 54 page, A4 portrait, softcover book has nice glossy pages and contains plenty of factual and interesting information and stories of late war Luftwaffe in both English and German text. It contains 55 photos - 20 in colour, 3 colour profiles, 1 colour emblem, 1 colour document and 6 colour cards.

Each Edition starts with the author, Axel Urbanke, having a short editorial with what this edition is about and his thoughts on further editions to come. That is paired with a Readers Forum where readers can submit photographs and matching information. In this case some great photos of Luftwaffe personnel from several different units.

The contents then cover a range of different topics with them being;

• Fighters: When the Fw 190 D-9 came to the Front

• Background: Operations on the Ta-152 by the Geschwaderstab and the III.Gruppe of JG 301- Facts and Fiction

• Fates: Shot down during a mission over Silesia - The fate of a pilot of 10./JG 77 in March 1945

• Close-Support Aircraft: 10.(Pz)/SG 9 –Anti-tank operations until the Final Hour

• Reconnaissance Aircraft: Necessity is the Mother of Invention - Bf 109 G-12 in Frontline Service with NAGr.3.

• Color photos: New - Old colour photos of Mistel Aircraft

• Scenery: The end of the Lockheed F-5E of the "Circus Rosarius"

• Nightfighters: Crash on the way to the Frontline Unit

• Portrait: Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Wilke, 2./NAGr. 4

• Documents: A hitherto unknown fighter pilot with 600 combat sorties

• Fighters: Rare photos of the 7./JG 3 taken in April 1945

• Unusual: The paper drop tanks carried by American fighters

These sections are generally short consisting of 2 to 5 pages with the exception of the Background section which is 16 pages on the operations of the Ta-152 units of JG 301.

A number of these sections contain colour aircraft profiles and are backed up by great photographs of that aircraft and of course, historical information. As a modeller, presentations such as these are a real boon as research references to build accurately with.

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The other really interesting sections is the one on the Mistels, with some truly awesome colour photos of the machines themselves, including an inflight landing occurring, as well as one warhead being attached in a series of photos. These are something you rarely see. Further to that are ones involving American aircraft, firstly a captured F-5E and the story of how this aircraft ended up in German hands and secondly an article on the use of paper dropt tanks and how they changed the war outcomes.

This is a very interesting edition that covers numerous aspects of the late war Luftwaffe, using photographs to drive the various sections. This book is good value for Luftwaffe modellers, as well as those interested in the historical aspects. Well recommended.

Thanks to Start Verlag for the sample

Luftwaffe Im Focus is available online from the Start website

Review Copyright © 2018 by David Couche
This Page Created on 30 March, 2020
Last updated 31 March, 2020

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