KG100 Wiking: La Kampgeschwader 100, L'Ecadre au Drakkar (1938-1944) by Jean-Louis Roba
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Book Review
This is the first title in a new series entitled 'Les Unités de Bombardement Allemanders' (German Bomber Units) and it deals with the operation history of KG 100 from early days of the Luftwaffe through to the units last operations in late 1944. The book is in a 224-page A4 format with a laminated card cover.
As usual, the best way to show what this title offers, is to list all the individual chapters, in the order they appear.
• Les Débuts
This looks at the beginning of the bomber force within Germany, right from WWI with the Zeppelin and Gothas through to the clandestine bomber training by the Luftwaffe with the Ju 52 and He 111 and final emerging of the Luftwaffe in 1938.
• Premiers combats: Prologne - mer du Nord
This section deals with the first operations in WWII by the unit, over Poland and the North Sea. This section mainly covers the use by the unit of the He 111, but you also have mention of the Do 17Z
• Sur la Norvege: avril-mai 1940, 'Weserübung'
Here you have operations in Norway from April through May 1940 and this section also includes colour photos of the KG100 He 111 being lifted from the sea in Norway on the 5th September 2004
• Sur l'Angleterre: août 1940 - mi-Juillet 1941, le Blitz
This section deals with operations over England in the August 1940 to mid-July 1941 period, what we all know as the 'Blitz'.
• Barbarossa: juillet 1941 - décembre 1941. du Kampfgruppe a la Kampfgeschwader
This section deals with Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union from July through to December 1941, a period that covers the formal formation of the Group and its associated squadrons at Chartres on the 29th November.
The next twelve sections all look at the operational history of a specific element of the group during a specific period as follows
• Le I./KG100 a l'est: 1942
• Le II./KG100 en 1942
• Le III./KG100 en 1942
• Le IV./KG100 en 1941-1942
• Le I./KG100 en 1943
• Le II./KG100 au deebut de 1943
• Le KG100 en Grece jusqu'a la mi-1943
• Le IV./KG100 en 1943 - By this stage the Gruppe is starting to use the Do 217 and operate with the Fritz X and Hs 293
• Les II et III./KG100 en fin 1943
• Le I./KG100 en 1944 - Here you see the adoption of the He 177 by the Gruppe and although most of the images are well know, there are a few that aren;t and a couple that are in colour.
• Les II et III./KG100 en 1944
• Le IV./KG100 en 1944
• Conclusions générales
This is just a general summing-up of KG100 and its operational potential during WWI.
The appendices include all the various major changes in the organisation and structure of KG100 throoughout the war, with the bulk being a massive list of all losses and finally, a list of all the various commanding officers etc.
Throughout the title you have a mass of period images plus a very good section of colour side profiles for all the various types the unit flew and these are produced vertically on the page, so that they are nice and big.
Conclusion
A superb book, full of information on the unit as well as a source of some excellent images and colour profiles. The text is in French throughout, which is no great problem nowadays with online translation programmes, so this title is most highly recommended to all Luftwaffe fans and modellers.
Our thanks to Lela Presse for the review sample, this should be available from specialist outlets in the UK, but if you have any problems visit their website www.avions-bateaux.com or email contact@avions-bateaux.com.
This is the first title in a new series entitled 'Les Unités de Bombardement Allemanders' (German Bomber Units) and it deals with the operation history of KG 100 from early days of the Luftwaffe through to the units last operations in late 1944. The book is in a 224-page A4 format with a laminated card cover.
As usual, the best way to show what this title offers, is to list all the individual chapters, in the order they appear.
• Les Débuts
This looks at the beginning of the bomber force within Germany, right from WWI with the Zeppelin and Gothas through to the clandestine bomber training by the Luftwaffe with the Ju 52 and He 111 and final emerging of the Luftwaffe in 1938.
• Premiers combats: Prologne - mer du Nord
This section deals with the first operations in WWII by the unit, over Poland and the North Sea. This section mainly covers the use by the unit of the He 111, but you also have mention of the Do 17Z
• Sur la Norvege: avril-mai 1940, 'Weserübung'
Here you have operations in Norway from April through May 1940 and this section also includes colour photos of the KG100 He 111 being lifted from the sea in Norway on the 5th September 2004
• Sur l'Angleterre: août 1940 - mi-Juillet 1941, le Blitz
This section deals with operations over England in the August 1940 to mid-July 1941 period, what we all know as the 'Blitz'.
• Barbarossa: juillet 1941 - décembre 1941. du Kampfgruppe a la Kampfgeschwader
This section deals with Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union from July through to December 1941, a period that covers the formal formation of the Group and its associated squadrons at Chartres on the 29th November.
The next twelve sections all look at the operational history of a specific element of the group during a specific period as follows
• Le I./KG100 a l'est: 1942
• Le II./KG100 en 1942
• Le III./KG100 en 1942
• Le IV./KG100 en 1941-1942
• Le I./KG100 en 1943
• Le II./KG100 au deebut de 1943
• Le KG100 en Grece jusqu'a la mi-1943
• Le IV./KG100 en 1943 - By this stage the Gruppe is starting to use the Do 217 and operate with the Fritz X and Hs 293
• Les II et III./KG100 en fin 1943
• Le I./KG100 en 1944 - Here you see the adoption of the He 177 by the Gruppe and although most of the images are well know, there are a few that aren;t and a couple that are in colour.
• Les II et III./KG100 en 1944
• Le IV./KG100 en 1944
• Conclusions générales
This is just a general summing-up of KG100 and its operational potential during WWI.
The appendices include all the various major changes in the organisation and structure of KG100 throoughout the war, with the bulk being a massive list of all losses and finally, a list of all the various commanding officers etc.
Throughout the title you have a mass of period images plus a very good section of colour side profiles for all the various types the unit flew and these are produced vertically on the page, so that they are nice and big.
Conclusion
A superb book, full of information on the unit as well as a source of some excellent images and colour profiles. The text is in French throughout, which is no great problem nowadays with online translation programmes, so this title is most highly recommended to all Luftwaffe fans and modellers.
Our thanks to Lela Presse for the review sample, this should be available from specialist outlets in the UK, but if you have any problems visit their website www.avions-bateaux.com or email contact@avions-bateaux.com.
