The Ultimate Piston Fighters of The Luftwaffe

by

Justo Miranda

 The Ultimate Piston Fighters of The Luftwaffe is not the book I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be a book about the possible 1946 air war, and all of the (some outlandish) propeller planes that Germany might have flown. Instead, it is an encyclopedia of all the different propeller fighters that were on the drawing board for pretty much the entire war. 

 The introduction discusses the effects of  'compressibility buffering' and how advanced the Germans were in understanding it. Then it goes on to list all of their major aeronautic testing sites, especially the wind tunnels that were state of the art, for the time. It also examines the effect that the blockade had on German industry, and their attempts to come up with ersatz solutions for the missing pieces, such as high octane fuel, oil, and rubber. One of the things the Germans could do nothing about was the lack of metals like chromium and molybdenum that were used in hardening steel. Without these, their jet engines would always be prone to breakdowns, meltdowns, and have a generally short life. The Jumo 004 jet engines sometimes had a span of only thirty hours between overhauls.

 The German airplane industry worked hard to develop the best piston engine fighters they possibly could. The book is not a compendium of crackpot last minute war winning schemes. It is a treasure trove of actual designs for the continued development of in use aircraft (BF 109, FW 190 etc.), and some advanced aircraft and weapons that we were lucky to not have to face. 

 The book has more than a few plans for for dual contra-rotating  propeller planes. This then segues into the development of the ejector seat, these being needed to escape instant and horrible pilot death by the pusher props.

 The book continues with plans for large caliber weapons, and then goes on to show the many rocket projectile plans. There are also some plans based on the 'Schrage Musik' weapons. These were weapons that were pointed at an angle coming out of the top of the airplane, to allow night fighters to fire into the bombers' bellies from below. There are also some designs that were based on the photo sensitive rocket/shells that were actually used on some ME 163s. The shadow of the bomber going over the aircraft would set them off. At least one Allied bomber was lost to this weapon.

  Each plane and weapon is accompanied by scale drawings of them. The planes have listed their weapons, speed, and ceiling based upon wind tunnel experiments, etc. The descriptions are filled with the aircrafts' uses, and what specifications from the Luftwaffe they were meant to fill. 

 The book is the ultimate for German prop plane junkies. Hopefully Mr. Miranda is working on more books about the other Axis and Allied countries' designs.

Robert 


Book: The Ultimate Piston Fighters of The Luftwaffe
Author: Justo Miranda
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Distributor: Casemate Publishers

A big announcement from Slitherine/Matrix Games today! They are working on Panzer Corps 2, and expect it to be released some time next year. The game will use Unreal Engine 4 and feature full 3D graphics. We look forward to seeing what other changes and improvements will be included in the sequel. I reviewed the original Panzer Corps and gave it high marks. This will certainly be one to watch!

See below for the announcement trailer and official press release:

Panzer Corps 2 is in the making

A sequel to genre-defining game will hit the stores next year

The Panzer Corps series has built an impressive following over recent years and allowed many players, old and new, to experience a type of wargame that was equally approachable and challenging. It managed to reinvent a format while keeping it true to its origins.

The release of Panzer Corps also marked the return of a long-neglected gaming formula, which still had a large and loyal following. Its spectacular success brought an almost forgotten genre back into fashion, it inspired multiple clones and literally gave new life to an entire market.

After over five years of expansions, mods, challenges and tournaments, a brand-new instalment of the franchise is ready to take the strategy gaming segment by storm again. This time, with even bigger ambitions.

Panzer Corps 2 is currently in development using Unreal Engine 4, to allow an impressive leap forward in both technological capabilities and visual impact. Hundreds of World War 2 units will be shown with a level of quality and detail never seen before in a wargame.

The move to a fully 3D engine is a natural evolution of the game, but the core gameplay will always remain true to its roots: pay tribute to the classic gameplay of a distant golden age of strategy gaming, refine it, perfect it and use the most recent technologies to enhance these experiences and bring them to a new generation of gamers. In other words, strike the perfect balance between tradition and innovation, both in visuals and gameplay.

Players can follow development on the [official forum] and on the [Flashback Games site] and they are welcome to give ideas and suggestions towards what their dream Panzer Corps sequel would look and play like.

- Joe Beard

 

Beyond all expectations!

 

 

 A huge thank you to all of you for following this website and reading our out pouring's over the last eleven months. A week or so back we actually broke the 200,000 view mark which has taken us by surprise and makes us even more enthusiastic about AWNT and the future. Never did we think we'd manage to get anywhere near 200,000 views within our first year. Again it's all because of you readers who obviously keep coming back for more:) I hope this is a sign we are doing things right and moving in the right direction.

 

 So onwards and upwards. We have lots of reviews lined up for you all so I hope you stick with us for the long run:)

 

Again huge thanks!

 

The AWNT Team!

V-COMMANDOS

front

and back

This is, as the heading suggests, an advance notice of my next review from a new company, Triton Noir - love that name!  This is a tactical game of stealth operations in WWII involving one to five single man counters.

This looks an intriguing game and, as an appetiser, the company are running a competition at v-commandos.com/pages/contest