Seems that Midland has taken over the Classic Colors series on the Luftwaffe and this latest edition is on Schlachtflieger, or as we generally know it, ground attack aircraft and units. This is not to be confused with dive bombing, which is a different thing, though it can be said that there is an intermixing of the two.

During WWI, the Germans built some specific aircraft just for strafing trenches and columns, probably the most famous of those aircraft being the Junkers J.I. Of course, the British got into it as well, but not to the level of the Germans. These aircraft required additional armor on the underside to protect the crew from ground fire.

When the new Luftwaffe came into being during 1933, the idea of a specialized ground attack plane came into being and the result was the less than sterling Heinkel He-50. The next generation of ground attack planes was the Hs-123 and though it looked outdated, it was very effective and rugged, being used primarily on the Russian front. Other types were used for ground attack. During the Spanish Civil War, when it was realized that the He-51 was hopelessly out performed by Soviet types, it was relegated to ground attack missions, where it was quite successful as long as the Germans had local command of the air, a situation that was similar in Russia a few years later.

During the Battle of Britain time frame, Bf-109s were modified to carry a bomb and with JG.2 leading the way, 'tip and run' missions against British shipping and other sites in southern England got underway. So successful were they, that JG.26 was also tasked with providing a staffel or two for the same sorts of missions. JG.26s pilots were not as enthusiastic as those of JG.2 and the number of missions flown by them was only a fraction of JG.2s totals. However, these sorts of missions were quite successful as they were rarely intercepted and kept a goodly number of British units on standby to try to intercept them. These events went on until early 1943 when they suddenly ceased.

Of course, there is much more in this book than the above. The book continues into Russian operations with Hs-123s and Hs-129s; Bf-109E-7s and Fw-190As. There is a section on the night attack units that used Ar-66 and He-46 biplanes. A chapter on operations in North Africa and in Finland. Use of Me-262s and other aircraft late in the war. Probably the most interesting of these is the use of the Bu.181 trainer, armed with Panzerfaust rockets above and below the wings as shown on the cover.

In all, probably one of the more interesting editions in what is now a very large series. If you have even an inkling of interest in the Luftwaffe, then this is a book for you.

October 2007

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