Market research - 'Most Wanted' Luftwaffe books

[Nick Beale]

Originally Posted by Jukka Juutinen

Years ago a Finnish researcher told me that for German aircraft, the key archive is at the Deutsches Museum, not BA-MA.

Thanks, it does look promising from a quick check. Whether any of it is digitised, I haven't yet established.

[AMC]

Originally Posted by richdlc

Hi guys,

I have been reading some interesting comments in recent days about the kinds of books people would like to see, which got me thinking. How about a list of such titles? What do you think has been overlooked in the past, perhaps a definitive guide to the Bf 109 in the Classic Publications style? I am asking in my capacity as a publisher (Chandos Publications) so please, feel free to comment. Tell me what you'd like and why, what it must include, what has been covered ad nauseum before (ie what to avoid). I'm all ears!

After rambling through this thread I think the selling maxim
“Never ask the customer what he would like” comes to mind….

[richdlc]

Originally Posted by Nick Beale

Thanks, it does look promising from a quick check. Whether any of it is digitised, I haven't yet established.

I know Eddie Creek donated much of his collection to it recently Nick

[Steve Coates]

Eddie's donation went to the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin rather than the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

As far as I am aware, none of the German aviation holdings at the Deutsches Museum have been digitised but I'd be happy to be proven wrong as they do have some wonderful material. Pleasingly, they do at least now allow the use of digital cameras as long as they are not too high spec.

The archive at the Deutsches Technikmuseum is searchable: https://www.technikmuseum.findbuch.n...php?ar_id=3750

[richdlc]

Originally Posted by Steve Coates

Eddie's donation went to the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin rather than the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

As far as I am aware, none of the German aviation holdings at the Deutsches Museum have been digitised but I'd be happy to be proven wrong as they do have some wonderful material. Pleasingly, they do at least now allow the use of digital cameras as long as they are not too high spec.

The archive at the Deutsches Technikmuseum is searchable: https://www.technikmuseum.findbuch.n...php?ar_id=3750

ah my mistake, thank you

[edwest2]

Originally Posted by AMC

After rambling through this thread I think the selling maxim
“Never ask the customer what he would like” comes to mind….

After decades working in publishing, I know that is not true. At a recent meeting, my employer reiterated to a newly hired person that (I'm paraphrasing): "You should give the customer what he wants." That is based on finding out what he does what. Since we publish mostly fiction, we also need to know what our competitors are doing.

The arcane term "Market Research" involves exactly this. The same is true of industrial/product design. Manufacturers need to know what customers want. They can't guess. A person can publish whatever they want without doing market research but run the very real risk of printing/publishing something few will buy.

[Larry deZeng]

edwest2 wrote in part:

A person can publish whatever they want without doing market research but run the very real risk of printing/publishing something few will buy.

You mean like a couple of hundred more books on the Bf 109?

I began my interest in the Luftwaffe and buying books and magazines about it in 1964 as a result of a bad accident in Freiburg that put my Oldsmobile F-85 out of commission for nearly a year. No more nightly runs to the Gasthäuser. Since then (58 years ago), I would conservatively guess some 250 books and major articles have appeared on the beloved Bf 109. How many more will have to be published before the few buyers that are left finally say, "Okay, I've got everything I need now, you can stop the presses!"

L.

[richdlc]

On the contrary AMC, this thread has been most illuminating. It's vital I try and publish books people want, not least for the sake of my bank balance

[edwest2]

Originally Posted by Larry deZeng

edwest2 wrote in part:

You mean like a couple of hundred more books on the Bf 109?

I began my interest in the Luftwaffe and buying books and magazines about it in 1964 as a result of a bad accident in Freiburg that put my Oldsmobile F-85 out of commission for nearly a year. No more nightly runs to the Gasthäuser. Since then (58 years ago), I would conservatively guess some 250 books and major articles have appeared on the beloved Bf 109. How many more will have to be published before the few buyers that are left finally say, "Okay, I've got everything I need now, you can stop the presses!"

L.

Well, Larry. Let's take care of that.

Volume One: Photo and technical identification guide. I'm talking about as many good, clean photos of all the production versions and variations, all the field conversion kits and other add-on equipment, with arrows if need be and copious references to original documents like service manuals.

Volume Two: Engines and internal cockpit equipment, with details about gun-sights and radios.

Volume Three: Airframe internal details, test document references and performance data against any Allied fighters.

[Jukka Juutinen]

Ed's suggested Bf 109 books would be welcomed here too. As far as I know, despite Larry deZeng's reference to some 250 books on the topic, the hard truth is, I think, that vast majority of those in English are woefully outdated and are not based on deep archival research. For example, the handling and performance issues are treated in a very fragmented and unanalytical way in most English books. For, I have never come across expert discussion on the effect of tge slats opening asymmetrically. E.g. Eric Brown mentions that while not a single Finnish pilot account mentions that. And not in a single English reference I have seen analytical discussion of 109's spinning characteristics.

Another aspect completely lacking is the German mechanics' view of 109's technical characteristics. How did it compare to the Fw 190 as far as ease of field maintenance etc. go. Again, there very probably ample material on that in the archives, but they have ignored by authors more interested in heroic ace pilot personal combat stories. After all, the more technical aspects require understanding of the technicalities discussed. And the best qualified persons to have that knowledge are aircraft designers and engineers, not journalists or others coming from humanistic disciplines.