Book recommendations
 

Hello-

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and recommendations on WWII aviation books, one general, one specific, as well as a specific question on the Bf 109K.

1. I have the Ballatine paperback edition of Donald Caldwell's "JG 26: Top Guns of the Luftwaffe". I understand a hardback edition preceded this, but I have not been able to see it personally. For those who own or have read this edition, does it offer anything over the Ballatine paperback edition, i.e., more photos or more text?

2. For the Messerschmitt Bf 109 aficionados, do you have recommendations for factually reliable books, especially replete with "great' and/or rare photos, on this venerable warplane? I have several books, including Prien and Rodeike's Messerschmitt Bf 109 F, G, and K Series: An Illustrated Study, Green's "Augsburg Eagle", and--please be gentle here :)--the Weal series on the pilots who flew various incarnations of the Bf 109. I'm just wondering if there were more recent Bf 109 books worth considering. I'm interested in all WWII versions of the Bf 109, but am also particularly interested in the Bf 109K, especially photos that show the retractable tailwheel and outer mainwheel doors.

3. Related to #2, can anyone point me in the proverbial right direction to find accurate accounts or descriptions of the flight qualities of the late mark Bf 109G (G-10 onwards) and Bf 109K-4? The performance parameters of these Bf 109 versions are readily available in many books, periodicals, and online sources, but I haven't seen much about what they were really like to fly from a pilot's standpoint. I have seen only one online gaming site describe the Bf 109K as "all engine" and one pilot's brief recollections flying the Bf 109K-4 at high altitude in Donald Caldwell's "Top Guns" and "JG 26 War Diary Vol 2" books. I also found the latter suspect as the version was described as carrying 20 mm guns in underwing gondolas. I thought the underwing 20mm cannon gondolas were common in the Bf 109G series, but not in the Bf 109K series. I could easily be wrong and stand humbly corrected if this is so.

I hope my post wasn't overly long and greatly appreciate any responses.

Thanks much,
Kenneth

Re: Book recommendations
 

Kenneth,You're off to a good start with the Prien and Rodeike book. Here are some other publications that provide detailed drawings and photos of various aspects of the 109 across variants:

• "The Messerschmitt Bf 109, part 2: F to K Variants" by Lynn Ritger, SAM Publications, 2007, ISBN 0-9551858-1-5, 224 pages.
  Oriented towards the modeller, but also an excellent all-around resource. Part 1 covers the early variants and is just as useful.

• "Aero Journal Hors-Serie No. 1: Messerschmitt Bf 109 G & K" by Jean-Claude Mermet, Jul 2008, 102 pages.
  Definitive recognition guide for late 109 variants. Published as a special issue of the French magazine, Aero Journal, in its latest incarnation. An earlier version of this material was available in English, self-published by the author.

• "Aircraft Monograph #18: Messerschmitt Bf 109 pt. 3" by Robert Michulec, AJ-Press, 2002, ISBN 83-7237-110-5, 116 pages.
  Last half of the book contains 40 pages of detailed drawings and photos comparing different variants.

• "Messerschmitt Bf 109K" by Janda and Poruba, JaPo, 1997, 92 pages.
  Excellent drawings and photos. Polish text, with an English translation at the back of the book.

• "Model Art #290: Messerschmitt Bf 109G/K, Augsburg Eagle" by Model Art Co., 1987, 178 pages.
  All in Japanese, but has good quality photos and drawings.

Regards,
Leon Venter

Re: Book recommendations
 

Hi Leon-

Thanks for your thoughtful and detailed response. I'll try to locate the references you mention. In fact, I've found a few copies of Lynn Ritger's book online and will purchase it soon.

Best,
Kenneth

Re: Book recommendations
 

The books Leon mentioned are all good, but if you really want new and rare photos you need to look to authors such as Eric Mombeek, Bernd Barbas or the Prien, Rodieke, Stemmer and Bock group - unfortunately these also come at price, not to mention that all are in German or French which can be a problem for some people. Japo has also published some nice titles of 109s in the Czech republic. The new Lw in Focus (and the past issues) are all worth getting as well.

Re: Book recommendations
 

Hello,

another good book on the 109 is "Messerschmitt Bf 109 Recognition Manual" by Marco Fernandez-Sommerau, Classic Publications (UK) 2004, ISBN 1-903223-27-X, 224 pages. The book has been underrated by a number of people, but I think this was due to its somewhat misleading title. Besides listing the 109 subtypes and containing many photos, the book gives a better account of the engines, armament, and other equipment of the 109 than you find in most other books.
Another very recommendable JaPo book is "Messerschmitt Bf 109K camouflage & marking" by Tomas Poruba and Kees Mol, JaPo (CZ) 2000, 131 pages.
Two more very good JaPo books of 2004 with excellent illustrations by Ales Janda and Tomas Poruba on more particular aircraft are "Messerschmitt Bf 109s of JG 52 in Deutsch Brod", 56 pages, and "Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10/U4 Production and Operational Service", 80 pages.

Regards,
klemchen

Re: Book recommendations
 

Jim-

Thanks for your thoughts also. I've heard really good things on the JaPo Bf 109 volumes, especially the BF 109K. Unfortunately those are sold out and I have not been able to find them on eBay, abebooks, or the used booksellers on Amazon. I've sent an email to the JaPo publisher point person to see if JaPo would consider re-publishing the Bf 109K series, but I'm not holding my proverbial breath. I'll look into the authors you mention above; for photograph-oriented books, my lack of German or French comprehension would not be prohibitive.

Thanks again,
Kenneth

Re: Book recommendations
 

Klemchen-

Thanks also for your thoughts. I'm one of those who overlooked the "Messerschmitt Bf 109 Recognition Manual" because of the title. I'll see if I can find it new or used. With regards to the JaPo Bf 109K volumes, see my response to JimP above. I think the Bf 109 JG 52 and the Bf 109G10 are still available, I'll look into them.

Thanks again,
Kenneth

Re: Book recommendations
 

Kenneth,
you can try to contact "Aviolibri" bookshop in Rome: I have seen some copies of "Messerschmitt Bf 109K camouflage & marking" published by Japo 2000 in July 2008.

They send worldwide.

I consider this book at very high level and a "must" for 109' fan.

Good Luck

Francesco Maria

Re: Book recommendations
 

Francesco-

Thanks much for the Aviolibri bookseller suggestion as well as your strong recommendation of the JaPo Bf 109K Camouflage and Marking book. I found the website of Aviolibri with an email address, so I'll write them shortly. Hopefully some of the staff can read English, as I have no knowledge of Italian. I also found a site about Rome that touted Aviolibri as the best bookstore for aviation enthusiasts. If anyone's interested the website is http://www.aviolibri.it/.

Kenneth

Re: Book recommendations
 

There is no difference between the Paperback and Hardcover edition of Top Guns, I have both.