Aircraft Aces 3

by

Marek J. Murawski 

&

Peter Neuwerth

Kagero

Reviewed by Steven "Modeldad" Eisenman

Kagero's Aircraft Aces 3 is available online from Squadron.com
 

This is the third in Kagero’s Aces series. In this slim volume the exploits of Heinz Ewald, Walter Wolfrum and Werner Hohenberg are covered.

Ewald survived the war with combat record of 84 aircraft destroyed. 82 of these were Soviet aircraft, which he met in combat while serving with JG 52 on the Eastern Front. Because of his luck in combat early on, he was given the nickname “Esau” or “Lucky Pig”.

Another JG 52 ace we meet in this book is Walter Woflrum, who finished the war with a combat record of 137 aircraft shot down. There is an interesting piece of information in his biographic sketch. It is that Luftwaffe pilots appear to have been forbidden to use red marking on their aircraft, so as to avoid confusion with Soviet aircraft. But Wolfrum took captured Russian red paint to paint his spinner red, to which he applied a white spiral.

Our final JG 52 (also JG 2) ace is Werner Hohenberg. Hohenberg had the interesting distinction of being the wingman to a number of other aces, including, among others, Hermann Graf and Günter Rall.

As in previous editions of Aircraft Aces, each pilot is introduced with a brief and dramatic story, told in the first person, of the pilot’s most significant adventure. This is followed with a thumbnail biography. The heart of this volume is a mere quick acquaintance with each pilot. If you are looking for more historical detail, than anecdotes, then you will need to look elsewhere.

What make this volume valuable to modelers is the inclusion of a sheet of decals in three scales, 1/72/ 14/8 and 1/32, for five aircraft flown by the three pilots. Except for the special light gray swastika and crosses for Hohenberg’s aircraft, there are no national markings or swastikas. The markings for each ace are as follows:

Ewald:

• Bf 109G-6, Black < + - , Stab II. / JG52. RLM 74 / 75 / 75 with yellow fuselage band, underside of cowling and underside of wing tips. The aircraft is marked with pink pig and the letter “E”. Grammatikovo airfield, Crimea, 1 April 1944.

• Bf 109G-6/R6, yellow 11 + -, 6 / JG 52, RLM 74 / 75 / 76 with yellow fuselage band and underside of wing tips. This aircraft also has the pink pig with the letter “E”. Husi airfield, Rumania, June 1944.

• Bf 109G-10 Erla build (labeled in the book as a G-10/AS), white 3 + -, 6 / JG 52, RLM 82 / 83 / 76 with a yellow fuselage band. The aircraft carries the recognition yellow “V” under the left wing. This time the pig is but a mere outline with the letter “E”. Veszprem airfield, Hungary, February 1945. Note: I believe that the colors called for are not correct, and it is more likely that the aircraft was painted 81 / 83.

Wolfrum:

Bf 109G-6, black 15, 5 / JG 52, RLM 74 / 75 / 76 with yellow fuselage band, underside of cowling and underside of wing tips. The aircraft has the name “Quex” under the cockpit (Wolfrum’s girlfriend’s nickname). Grammatikovo airfield, Crimea, April 1944.

Hohenberg:

Fw 190D-9, black < II, Stab I / JG .2, RLM 75 / 83 / 76 with a yelloe-white-yellow defense band, the number 41 in white is on the rudder. Dorff at Stolberg, Germany, 1 January 1945.

The Kagero Aircraft Aces series adopts a very interesting style to the subject. I would call it the "cocktail party to meet the aces” approach. You get an introduction, and a number of anecdotes, but you never learn about them in depth. I recommend this to those who enjoy such brief encounters.

As I noted previously, I’m sure that the books in this series will be snapped up not only for the included decals, but also merely for the pleasure of collecting the entire series.

Recommended.

Thanks to Squadron for the review sample

Review Copyright © 2004 by Steven "Modeldad" Eisenman
This Page Created on 11 September, 2004
Last updated 10 March, 2005

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