Rocket and Jet Aircraft of the Third Reich, by Terry C. Treadwell

[Richard T. Eger]

I saw this book advertised in a recent aviation book supplier flyer, so I did a bit of checking on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Jet-Air...8343337&sr=1-1

Apparently, the book has a bit of a different slant, bringing into play the efforts of the SS to destroy Germany's advanced aircraft before they were captured by the Allies. Alas, there is no review yet of the book.

However, Terry C. Treadwell wrote another very fascinating book back in 1999:

Strike from Beneath the Sea: A History of Aircraft-carrying Submarines, Tempus Publishing Ltd, The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2QG and Tempus Publishing Inc., 2A Cumberland Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Tempus books are also available in France, Germany, and Belgium.

My first introduction to submarine-borne aircraft was in a presentation at the Air Force Museum in the mid-1960's. I don't recall who gave the presentation, but the wealth of photos that the presenter had makes me wonder if Treadwell was the presenter. If so, he waited a very long time before going to press. That said, however, the 1999 book is a re-write of another book by Treadwell published in 1985: Submarines with Wings, so maybe the wait, if Treadwell was indeed the presenter, was not so great.

If the rocket and jet aircraft book is anywhere near as good as his submarine-borne aircraft book, then it would be well worth the purchase.

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

It is clear that the SS, along with those who worked with advanced aircraft types, did sabotage, and perhaps, even destroyed a few examples, along with other equipment.

As we know, small explosive charges were placed in the midsections of some aircraft to prevent them from falling intact into Allied hands.

Thank you, Richard.



Ed

[edwest]

No reviews at amazon.co.uk but you do get a chance to look inside. I was a bit disappointed.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rocket-Jet-A.../dp/0752461095




Best,
Ed

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Ed,

It's a bit tough to assess the book, even with a look inside. One early picture purported to show Galland with von Braun and other Luftwaffe officers, but it sure didn't look like von Braun to me - but then it wasn't the greatest magnification to see. On the other hand, the index looked fairly ample. Being a short book, it won't be as thorough as others, so perhaps the big unknown is how Treadwell treated the material.

I'll be ordering it when the bank account replenishes a bit.

Regards,
Richard

[John Beaman]

I second your comment Ed. Any book that claims to cover this amount of material in 200+- pages is ridiculous. It is obviously a quick overview aimed for the casual reader who might have an interest and make some "quickie" money. Frankly, I would not waste my money.

[Richard T. Eger]

Dear Ed and John,

Obviously, the book is too short for a comprehensive overview. And, it may be as you say, just a quickie. Were it not for the aircraft-carrying sub books, I probably would agree with your presumptions.

The point I was making was that Treadwell may have written with a different perspective in mind. Also, besides the usual suspects, I note that Treadwell devotes a short chapter to the Hs 132, an aircraft virtually never covered in a book this brief.

We can, of course, banter back and forth about the merits of a book none of us have seen. I'll do a write-up once I have my copy in hand.

Regards,
Richard

[Richard T. Eger]

I promised I would write a review of this book once I had received a copy. In a nutshell, the book is a huge disappointment. One of the first things I look for are the resource notes, chapter notes, bibliography, and acknowledgements. There were none. It was immediately clear that the captions to the photos were pretty useless, some being no better than "pretty picture", while others were simply erroneous. I went to the 3 major reference works to see if I could identify the source of the material: (1) Me 262, by Smith & Creek, (2) Jet Planes of the Third Reich, by Smith & Creek, and (3) Warplanes of the Third Reich, by William Green. It appears that Treadwell used the Green book for much of his information.

As if this weren't enough, the book is full of technical errors, indicating a huge lack of familiarity with the details of the subject aircraft - or even worse - not giving a damn to get things right.

I had hopes for better, a lot better, but the naysayers above turned out to be correct.

Regards,
Richard

[edwest]

Well, Richard, I did not mean to be a naysayer but the clues, for me, were no reviews, and the look inside provided by amazon.co.uk.

Thank you for the heads up. I'm always on the lookout for late-war aviation and weapons development books.



Best regards,
Ed West