La Luftwaffe en couleurs, Tome I: 1939-1942
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Book Review
This series of magazine-style specials has been around for a while now and LeLa Presse certainly offer excellent narrative and photographic coverage of specific events in WWII and beyond. This latest title is a collection of period colour photos of Luftwaffe operations from 1939 through to 1942. The format is A4, portrait, Perfect bound with 112 pages and 300+ photos. The text is in French throughout, but most is in the form of the extensive photo captions, so modern translation software should help you there. The coverage actually starts prior to WWII, with a selection of images of pre-war gliding in Germany. All the images throughout this title are large, with only two or three per page. The early section also includes images of types such as the He 51, Ju 87A, Bf 108 and Hs 126 as well as the Do 17 and Bf 109. The Phoney War (Sitzkrieg) period is next with 10 pages of images of such things as the Ju 87B, Do 17, Bf 109, He 111, Bf 110, Do 26, He 115 and Ju 52. May to June 1940 is the next section with more images of the same types already covered, then it moves on to the Battle of Britain and Blitz period with excellent images of the captured Spitfire N3277 (ex-234 Sqn) before and after Luftwaffe markings were applied and ex-605 Squadron Hurricane Mk IIa (Z2329) after capture. This section also includes a nice set of images of Bf 109E-4 'White 13' of 7./JG26 in what looks to be the early use of two greys on the upper surfaces (pre RLM 74/75). Operations in the Balkans are next with numerous images of the various types all with the yellow markings of the theatre. Then the coverage moves to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, with a great selection of images of fighters, bombers, reconnaissance and support aircraft types. This section includes the captured DH.89 (YL-ABC or ABD) used by JG54. Next is North Africa and the Mediterranean before the coverage takes a tentative look at the turning tide against Nazi Germany in 1943. The last section in the title looks at second-line aircraft, with superb in-flight shots of Bf 109s used by the fighter training schools and unique types such as the He 100, Fw 187 plus a captured Avia B-71B with a Bloch MB.152 in the background.
A number of these images will be well known, as they were propaganda shots used in such titles as Adler and Signal magazines of the era, but there are also a lot of images that most will not have seen before. These are all produced nice and big, with excellent clarity and although the colours may not be 100% accurate after all these years (I would doubt that they can be, plus printing is not a sure-fire way of reproducing accurate colours), they still impart a lot of information.
Conclusion
Really this title is a much for all Luftwaffe modellers, as it holds so much information about colour and markings, as well as being really useful for weathering etc.
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 series of magazine-style specials has been around for a while now and LeLa Presse certainly offer excellent narrative and photographic coverage of specific events in WWII and beyond. This latest title is a collection of period colour photos of Luftwaffe operations from 1939 through to 1942. The format is A4, portrait, Perfect bound with 112 pages and 300+ photos. The text is in French throughout, but most is in the form of the extensive photo captions, so modern translation software should help you there. The coverage actually starts prior to WWII, with a selection of images of pre-war gliding in Germany. All the images throughout this title are large, with only two or three per page. The early section also includes images of types such as the He 51, Ju 87A, Bf 108 and Hs 126 as well as the Do 17 and Bf 109. The Phoney War (Sitzkrieg) period is next with 10 pages of images of such things as the Ju 87B, Do 17, Bf 109, He 111, Bf 110, Do 26, He 115 and Ju 52. May to June 1940 is the next section with more images of the same types already covered, then it moves on to the Battle of Britain and Blitz period with excellent images of the captured Spitfire N3277 (ex-234 Sqn) before and after Luftwaffe markings were applied and ex-605 Squadron Hurricane Mk IIa (Z2329) after capture. This section also includes a nice set of images of Bf 109E-4 'White 13' of 7./JG26 in what looks to be the early use of two greys on the upper surfaces (pre RLM 74/75). Operations in the Balkans are next with numerous images of the various types all with the yellow markings of the theatre. Then the coverage moves to Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of Russia, with a great selection of images of fighters, bombers, reconnaissance and support aircraft types. This section includes the captured DH.89 (YL-ABC or ABD) used by JG54. Next is North Africa and the Mediterranean before the coverage takes a tentative look at the turning tide against Nazi Germany in 1943. The last section in the title looks at second-line aircraft, with superb in-flight shots of Bf 109s used by the fighter training schools and unique types such as the He 100, Fw 187 plus a captured Avia B-71B with a Bloch MB.152 in the background.
A number of these images will be well known, as they were propaganda shots used in such titles as Adler and Signal magazines of the era, but there are also a lot of images that most will not have seen before. These are all produced nice and big, with excellent clarity and although the colours may not be 100% accurate after all these years (I would doubt that they can be, plus printing is not a sure-fire way of reproducing accurate colours), they still impart a lot of information.
Conclusion
Really this title is a much for all Luftwaffe modellers, as it holds so much information about colour and markings, as well as being really useful for weathering etc.
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
