Luftwaffe Secret Projects

Volume 3: Ground Attack & Special Purpose Aircraft

By Dieter Herwig and Heinz Rode
Midland Publishing, 2003
ISBN 1-85780-150-4
272 pages, softbound
Available from Specialty Press for $54.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

When you hit the third volume in a series you must be doing something right, and that's the case with this series. With the first volume covering fighter aircraft and the second handling strategic bombers, this third volume fills the interesting niche of ground attack aircraft. Roughly 140 different aircraft types are covered in these pages, with something from just about every German aviation manufacturer during the war. While much of the book references paper projects that never saw the light of day, there are other interesting tidbits spread throughout the pages that at least were built and tested, providing an excellent glimpse into the mindset of the German aircraft designer.

The book is organized into sections consisting of ground attack aircraft, twin-engined heavy fighters, fast bomber projects, special purpose aircraft, air-launched vehicles, Mistel composites, and airborne weaponry. Several of these sections are further broken down by years. For those who are interested by the PM Model 1/72 Me 328 that I reviewed this month, this book has the only photos that I've seen of the actual aircraft. Other interesting items include the Bachem 'Natter', the Messerschmitt Me 263, and the GERO FmW-51 flame-thrower. The latter was to be mounted in the tails of bombers and used as a defensive weapon against closing fighters.

Coupled with the well-written text are hundreds of scale drawings that provide an excellent glimpse of what the aircraft was supposed to look like. In addition to these scale drawings, many of the aircraft are rendered in color illustrations, showing what the plane would look like in squadron service and in action. These paintings are a great addition to this book and really help put the aircraft in perspective.

If you are interested in Luftwaffe project aircraft, this is a book you will not want to pass up. If the subject interests you, I would recommend getting the first two volumes as well, to provide as complete a picture as possible. My thanks to Specialty Press for the review sample. Check their website for this volume as well as the earlier two.