Two new books are available from Osprey this month. The first covers the 19,000 German ‘volunteers’ who formed an aviation group called the Legion Condor. The second title is Kamikaze: Japanese Special Attack Weapons 1944–45.

Aces of the Legion Condor

Aircraft of the Aces 99
Author - Robert Forsyth
Illustrator - Jim Laurier

About this book
For Germany, the Spanish Civil War proved a perfect testing ground for new technologies and tactics. During the war, some 19,000 German ‘volunteers’ formed an aviation group called the Legion Condor in support of the fascists. Originally flying He-51s, they were soon upgraded to 109s. These fighters proved dominant in the Spanish skies, and many members of the legion scored five or more kills during the fighting.

Contents
Chapter One – Magic Fire
Chapter Two – Early Battles
Chapter Three – The Bf 109 arrives Mölders’ men
Chapter Four – To the North!
Chapter Five – Fighting on all Fronts
Appendices

Paperback
June 2011
112 pages
ISBN - 9781849083478

Kamikaze: Japanese Special Attack Weapons 1944–45

New Vanguard 180
Author - Steven J Zaloga
Illustrator - Ian Palmer

About this book
The destruction of much of the remainder of the Japanese fleet and its air arm in the later half of 1944 left the Japanese Home Islands vulnerable to attack by US naval and air forces. In desperation, the Imperial Japanese Navy proposed using “special attack” formations, or suicide attacks. These initially consisted of crude improvisations of conventional aircraft fitted with high-explosive bombs that could be crashed into US warships. Called “Divine Wind” (Kamikaze), the special attack formations first saw action in 1944, and became the scourge of the US fleet in the battles for Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 1945. In view of the success of these attacks, the Japanese armed forces began to develop an entire range of new special attack weapons. This book will begin by examining the initial kamikaze aircraft attacks, but the focus of the book will be on the dedicated special attack weapons developed in 1944. It also covers specialized suicide attack weapons such as anti-tank lunge mines.

Paperback
June 2011
48 pages
ISBN - 9781849083539

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