Focke Wulf Fw 190: Volume Two 1943-1944 Book Review

By David L. Veres

Review

Let's cut to the chase: no other English-language work illumines Kurt Tank's legendary Würger in such dazzling detail.

J. Richard Smith and Eddie J. Creek continue their definitive study of their spellbinding subject with Focke-Wulf Fw 190: Volume Two 1943-1944 from CLASSIC – an imprint of Ian Allan Publishing.

Hundreds of B&W and color photos with biographies, charts, drawings, diagrams, tech manual excerpts, annotations, appendices and glossary lace this absorbing account.  Modelers and markings enthusiasts will especially appreciate Janusz Swiation's superb color profiles – all with handy reference shots.

Contents literally start where Volume 1 ends.  Pagination, chapters and appendices continue in sequence.  Identical war-zone coverage returns: Russia, France, England, Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, Germany.  And subject matter resumes: BMW-powered fighters, attackers and trainers.  But while the first brilliant book spans 5 years, this terrific tome covers 2.

Dozens of fresh insights and firsthand reports pepper pages.  And the level of detail remains astounding.  Tracking the Werknummer of that 1:48 TAMIYA kit subject?  Appendix 5 lists all BMW variants by sub-type, manufacturer, call sign, total built and date.  Alone, the summary of Fw 190A-8 Umbau and Rüstsatz conversions consumes 11 pages!

CLASSIC has clearly achieved the standard for Würger histories.  And this superlative study will have you licking eyebrows for volume 3.  I just wish the authors included an index!

Robustly recommended.

With thanks to Ian Allan for the review copy.