New for Luftwaffe enthusiasts comes Volume 5 in Mark Proulx's series of photo essays - Wings Of The Black Cross.

The format is unchanged, with the 8.5" X 11" softbound book containing 36 pages. The content is split into 2 sections; the bulk is filled with rarely (if ever) previously published black & white photos drawn from private archives, while the last 4 pages contain high quality colour profiles reconstructing some of the aircraft featured in the photos. Almost as a bonus, the rear cover also features a pair of original WW2 colour photos.

Vol. 5 covers a huge variety of Luftwaffe aircraft - there are Bf 109s, Fw 190s (including 2-seaters), Me 262s, Bf 110s, Me 410s, Ju 87 and Ju 88, Bu 181, He 111, He 177s, Fw 200, Si 204... you get the picture! The book isn't intended as a primary reference on the types - that's not the point - the value lies in the details and the often unexpected breaches of the "rules", such as an Fw 190F-8 camouflaged with what appears to large areas of Light Green on the upper surfaces in a 3-tone scheme, or an overall n/m Me 262 with black national insignia. Tucked in among the photos there are very useful details for anyone tempted to try a puttied finish on an Me 262 or heavily scuffed black paintwork on a Bf 110 nightfighter.

Along with a series of photos of nightfighter ace Martin Drewes with what is, seemingly, his personalised Bf 110G-4 dayfighter, a real star of the show for me is the He 177, with a line-up of abandoned airframes found in a forest at the end of the war, plus a series of airfield scenes that could serve as inspiration for some really impressive models. I don't think we should let Jean-Luc see the latter photos - his family would never forgive us, because in 1/48 scale, the resulting diorama (including Do 217s and Ju 52s in the background) would be simply enormous and risk taking over the house!

As you'd expect, the quality of the photos does vary, but Eagle Editions are to be commended on printing them to the highest standard on fine quality paper. Care has been taken to bring out the tonal values as far as possible and, as usual with Mark Proulx's work, each photo is accompanied by an informative caption which highlights many details which you might otherwise miss.

Conclusion

This is another fine set of photos backed up by meticulously researched captions and artwork. Wings Of The Black Cross is building up into a fascinating series that deserves a place on the bookshelves of all Luftwaffe enthusiasts - modellers and historians alike.

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