Wings Of The Luftwaffe: Flying the Captured German Aircraft of World War II (Consign)

Given the author's illustrious history perhaps my expectations were set rather high, even more so by the reviews of the original issue so for me it fell a wee bit short in some respects as I was expecting it to cover more of the types that he flew.This is probably down to me and not the author and it is still a highly valuable addition to my aviation archive and immensely interesting as it explodes some myths about just how good or bad some Luftwaffe aircraft actually were. That said this is an Allied view so perhaps there is a pinch of salt in there somewhere, even if only a smidgen given the authors undoubted utter professionalism, hands on experience and expertise.Overall the book is very, very good and insightful and still a must but if you want a more comprehensive view of captured Luftwaffe aircraft during WW2 then also look at 'The Captive Luftwaffe' by Kenneth. S. West. Not flawless but gives a more detailed inventory of types that fell into our hands and were evaluated at some point.

Great book but written for aviators. Some of it was over my head.

For nearly 30 years the original publications of Brown's "Wings of the Lufwaffe" and "Wings of the Navy" have been among my favourite and most-read aircraft books. I did not expect to find an improvement on these excellent books. However, I have just seen and immediately bought the latest editions of both.The new WOTL is a magnificent book. It exudes quality in its excellent photos, cutaway and line drawings, its superb quality paper and print quality and its excellent layout.The contents have been expanded to include pen portraits or tests of many odd and/or interesting aircraft which had not been covered in the original book.I had a friend who flew Bf 109s for the whole of WW2 and when he read my copy of the original book he said that Brown's description of the aircraft could not be bettered and that he recognised every aspect, good and bad, of the 109 from the book. He also said that it was almost like stepping back in time and into the cockpit of a 109.Brown's credentials as a test and operational pilot are unrivalled, as is his unbelievably comprehensive experience and his personal background.I am not a pilot, but I found this new edition to be as near perfection in writing, informing and reading as any aviation book I have ever read.This new edition is a joy to read, to hold, to look at and to own.If you are an aviation buff, you will not find a better book.

Unlike the majority of authors and experts Eric 'Winkle' Brown - British WWII test pilot extraordinaire - actually tested captured German aircraft during and immediately after the war. Thus his opinions of an aircraft's capabilities and flying characteristics are second to none. This is an important point, because aircraft historians - naturally enough never having flown any of these types (least of all because many of the types discussed here have no airworthy examples left) - have to rely on facts and figures and the opinions of the pilots who flew them in service... and as everyone knows fighter pilots are naturally biased towards their own aircraft at the expense of all others. Brown flew so many types in test conditions that he's able to compare the aircraft against one another like for like - after all that was his job. This means that, for instance, in the case of an aircraft such as the Heinkle HE 219 night fighter, he's able to take to task it's post war reputation as probably the best night fighter of WWII. So far as Brown's concerned it was actually underpowered, rendering it a capable night fighter but inferior in performance to the British Mosquito... an aircraft many books claim it was superior to.All this means that for anyone interested in WWII aviation both this expanded reprint of Wings of the Luftwaffe book and it's companion Wings of the Navy (if you can find it!) are invaluable. If you REALLY want to know how good any of these aircraft were, this is your bible.

I knew about the ME262 but wasn't aware that it was but one of a dozen jet/rocket variants at various stages under the Luftwaffe . The big insight for me is that I'm now less sure that giving Frank Whittle's engine and the Miles M2 airframe to the Americans was as calamitous to the UK's commercial jet aircraft interests in the 50's and later. The German kit was up there too and of course the Americans had full access to it and the key engineers - not just von Brown, who was pivotal in the space race. The Yanks also had the money to develop the technology when we certainly did not.

A really interesting and insightful read about the handling characteristics of many of the captured Luftwaffe aircraft, quite a number of which were brought back to Farnborough, by probably the best pilot who ever lived. The scandal is that so many of these rare types were eventually just scrapped; just imagine if they had been preserved and were available on today's flying warbird scene... FW Ta152, Arado 232,234 and 240, B&V 138, 141222etc. It brings tears to my eyes.

This is a beautiful book, well illustrated with both photographs and excellent cut-away drawings of the aircraft. But the most interesting part of it are the fascinating descriptions of what these aircraft, (some very well known, and some rarer or almost unknown models), were like to fly. Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown obviously has courage in very large measure, as some of the aircraft listed in this fascinating book were known to be difficult to fly, while one or two had even more worrying traits to cope with, (like the ME163 Komet, a rocket powered interceptor, that used fuels capable of dissolving human flesh, and a tendency to explode on landing, if the rocket motor or its fuel pipes were damaged as it bumped back to earth on its single belly skid). This book, (like its author), is a real treasure, and I urge anyone with an interest in the warplanes of the Third Reich to buy this book while it is still available

The worlds greatest ever test pilot brilliantly test flies germanys most advanced, interesting and dangerous aircraft . A fascinating book a joy to read . Worth every penny .