Somewhat unique amongst WWII combatants, the Luftwaffe was into unit emblems a lot more than any other nation. While it was not unusual for other nations' squadrons to have a squadron emblem, the Luftwaffe often took it one step farther. Not only was there a geschwader emblem, but often the staffels had their own.

Even towards the end of the war when planes were lost with but a few hours on the airframe, often as not there was a unit emblem on it. This produced a profusion of heraldry that has both delighted modelers and enthusiasts as well as provided a certain level of confusion.

Thanks to Flight Recorder Publications and Barry Ketley along with Mark Rolfe, we now have a easy to understand guide to Luftwaffe emblems.

First of all, there is a brief introduction and a glossary of terms as some of these can be confusing to those not well initiated into unit names. This introduction also includes some of the fictitious unit markings that were used on the 'He-113'. Then we get into the rundown of what is what. We start with fighter units, then bomber, then recce, and training as well as other miscellaneous units. Each unit is broken down into sub-units and alongside each small unit info section is a superb illustration of that unit's emblem. Even those emblems for which there are records, but no known tie in with a unit are shown. What I particularly like is that all the emblems are on a white background, so those of us who are so inclined can use this book as a source for making our own unit decals if none are commercially available.

Adding to this are some superb period photographs, some of which are in color, that show aircraft using some of the emblems shown in the book's illustrations.

It makes for a fascinating read on its own and those who have an interest in Luftwaffe Emblems will at last have all that information in one place. Not only that, but the format makes it very easy to use. I found it a great read and it is a book that I can highly recommend to you.

May 2012

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