Casemate German Fighter Aircraft in World War 1.

[Viking]

German Fighter Aircraft in World War 1. - Mark C. Wilkins

Casemate Illustrated Special.

 

 

As aviation enthusiasts we tend to be drawn to particular areas of interest, be that modern jets, naval aircraft, airliners etc. For me one of the most fascinating areas is early aviation, and in particular the First World War. So many new ideas were being tried out, that a wide variety of different aircraft types emerged. This 21 x 26 cm hardback book from Casemate looks at the major German manufacturers and the designs they produced. Separate chapters are devoted to:

1. The Taube
2. Aviatik
3. Halberstadt Flugzeugzelte
4. Fokker Flugzeugwerke
5. Junkers Flugzeugwerke
6. Albatros Flugzeugwerke
7. LFG Roland and Pfalz Flugzeugwerke
8. Production Methodology
9. Siemens-Schuckert Werke
10. Armaments and Engines

 

Each chapter looks in detail at the successful aircraft these manufacturers produced. For example the Fokker chapter covers the E.1 to E.IV Eindekkers, the D series, The Dr.1 Triplane, The D.VII and the D.VIII. Not only is the aircraft type and history described, but worked into several of the sections is a series of photographs and descriptions of accurate replicas under construction. These have built using the original drawings, production techniques, and engines. Many of the modern colour photographs are paired with original black & white photos showing the same stage being undertaken over 100 years ago. The Fokker sections features replicas from Achim Engels E.III Eindekker, Fokker Team Schorndorf's Dr.1 Triplane, Achim Engels D.VII, and Fokker Team Schorndorf's D.VII. All of them have been built as close as possible to the original machines, as if they were an extended part of the production run.

The Albatros chapter features Craftlabs beautiful D.III's, with their varnished plywood fuselages, and reveals many useful details for model makers.

 

The picture of the Craftlabs D.III in flight, looking up at the sunlight showing the wing construction the fabric covering, is one of many stunning photos.

 

As well as containing a wealth of period and modern photographs, there are beautiful profile drawings by Ronny Bar of several aircraft, and numerous original drawings.

 

The final chapter looks at the Engines and Armaments with particular emphasis on the widely used Daimler Mercedes D.III and LMG 08/15 Spandau. Colour photos provide many useful details of the D.III and Austro-Daimler 6 engines.

 

 

Conclusion.

I absolutely love this book, and have been totally absorbed in it. The author seems to have found a unique approach to describing these aircraft by blending a little bit of history with some understanding of the production techniques and materials used to create them. I'm not aware that anyone else has ever done this before, and it is a winning formula. As a modeller of 1:32 First World war aircraft, it has really advanced my understanding of how these aircraft were built. I can see how struts were fitted to wing spars, and how turnbuckles are hardly noticeable on rigging wires, it's brilliant and wins my personal 'Book of the year' award!

- All I want now is another couple of these books covering British and French aircraft in the same way.

 

Very Highly Recommended

 

 

Review sample courtesy of