Overview

This is a revised and reworked edition of the author's long out of print 2001 study of the origins, development and operations of Germany's composite aircraft during the Second World War. Known as the 'Mistel' concept, the designs were originally intended for use in peacetime as a means of extending the range of aircraft, but in 1942 a small team of pilots and engineers adapted the idea for military usage. Comprising Bf 109 or Fw 190 fighters as upper components mounted on top of 'war-weary' Ju 88 airframes fitted with massive hollow-charge warheads replacing their cockpit sections, these extraordinary machines were deployed for the first time off Normandy in July 1944. They were later used in sporadic missions over the Western Front before the Luftwaffe used them in numbers in a last-ditch attempt to try to halt the Soviet advances across the Oder, Warthe and Neisse rivers during the last weeks of the war. The Mistel's size and hazardous nature meant that only experienced pilots could fly it, but despite its complexity, it handled well and its control systems were remarkably sophisticated and responsive. This fascinating and exhaustive study is accompanied by hundreds of rare photographs as well as maps, colour artwork and detailed technical drawings.

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9781910809815

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Reviews

[This book] is easily the best work on the subject and the motherlode in terms of information, offering useful period photos, colour artwork, line drawings and a fascinating narrative...it has been updated with fresh text and previously unseen images. Armed with this stunning book, you can ensure accuracy not just on full composites available in kit form, but it also shows Mistels that can be formed from separate aircraft kits. And there are more than you might imagine. -- Chris Clifford * Key Model World *

Author Information

Robert Forsyth has studied the 1939-1945 air war - particularly the history and operations of the Luftwaffe - since his schooldays. He works full-time in aviation publishing.

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