Search results for ""author heinz mankau""

For the first time, this richly illustrated book offers a comprehensive, detailed examination of the legendary Messerschmitt Bf 110, Me 210, and Me 410 series. By 1935 the Bf 109 had made Messerschmitt the leading manufacturer of fighter aircraft in Germany. The twin-engined Bf 110 followed on its heels in 1936, a type the Luftwaffe took on in large numbers as a long-range fighter, heavy-fighter, fighter-bomber, night-fighter and reconnaissance platform. As its successor, Messerschmitt developed the better performing Me 210, which flew for the first time in 1939. But this airframe soon began manifesting serious design flaws, and accidents with the Me 210 quickly started piling up due to the type’s questionable flight handling characteristics. The Luftwaffe refused to accept any more aircraft as a result, and at a stroke the type’s overzealous full scale production ground to a halt. More powerful engines and a number of design changes saw this aircraft produced from 1943 to 1944 under the designation of Me 410, and as such the type gave an excellent accounting of itself in service with the Luftwaffe.

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Gliders formed a special category of aircraft within the Luftwaffe. While other aircraft types were used for many years, as a rule gliders were conceived for short service lives, in some cases just a single mission. The purpose of the glider, most of which were built using the simplest materials, was to deposit soldiers and materiel behind enemy lines undetected. In this book the various types used by the Luftwaffe in World War II, and their development are described in detail – from military gliders for a few soldiers to large-capacity gliders capable of transporting tanks.

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