New items for the aviation enthusiast: Germany's colors of war

Air Classics, May 2003 by Hulett, George

GERMANY'S COLORS OF WAR

Covering the complex paint schemes of the Luftwaffe

During the spring and early summer of 1940,

Hitler - although preoccupied with his offensives in Western Europe - was already making plans for an attack on Russia. He was therefore anxious to avoid becoming involved in any other conflict which might delay his offensive into Russia, but in September 1940, Germany's unpredictable ally Mussolini staged an unsuccessful attack from the Italian colony of Libya against British-occupied Egypt and, moreover, had already spoken to Hitter about an attack by Italy against Greece. By trying every means to maintain a balance in the Mediterranean, Hitler succeeded for a while in restraining Mussolini from opening this front while he tried to trans form the Balkans into a satellite region by peaceful diplomacy.

The Balkans interested Hitler greatly. The reason, quite apart from the planned attack on Russia, was Germany's great dependence upon Rumania for oil. At that time, the Rumanian oil fields were safely beyond the range of the nearest RAF aircraft, the closest being stationed in Palestine and Egypt, but if British forces moved into Greece, ostensibly to assist the Greeks in any war against Italy, that would place the oil fields within range of the RAF's bombers.

Jagdwaffe Vol. 3, Section 1: Strike in the Balkans April-May 1941 by Eric Mombeek, Jean-Louis Roba, and Martin Pegg (Specialty Press, $24.95) is a very detailed look at Luftwaffe fighter activity in the Balkans during the spring of 1941 when German forces got embroiled in a conflict which seriously, some say fatally, delayed the start of Barbarossa.

The book is part of an extensive series on the complex subject of Luftwaffe camouflage and markings and, by picking such a brief and specific time period, is able to pack in a lot of detail with 250 black and white photographs and 30 color paintings and maps. The book, nicely reproduced, is certainly recommended for any World War Two aviation buff and can be ordered from Specialty at (800) 895-4585.