The secret development of German experimental aircraft is brought to life in Manfred Griehl’s latest book, Luftwaffe X-Planes. After World War I ended, the Allied authorities insisted on the dissolution of the German aviation industry. Despite the ban, however, numerous former aircraft producers – and a few new ones – pressed ahead with secret designs and models of novel aircraft types. They moved from producing small single-seat fighters to medium and heavy bombers which they disguised as large transport aircraft. The machines were simultaneously tested by the producers themselves and the Luftwaffe at secret evaluation sites. The majority of bases were in Germany, though others were established in Switzerland, Sweden and the USSR. Renowned aviation expert Manfred Griehl has collected a unique and valuable selection of Luftwaffe projects that never made it into battle. They remained on the drawing board or at prototype stage because they were deemed unsuitable or because the developers simply ran out of time and the projects never went into production. The book, which focuses on the wartime period, covers the bewildering range of possibilities considered by the Luftwaffe as well as detailing the innumerable alterations that were made to existing aircraft to equip them for new roles. There are examples of FW190s developed for the delivery of chemical and toxic weapons, the high altitude Junkers EF61 and the very early prototype WNF342 helicopter. Additionally, Griehl presents examples of developmental jet fighters that could very well have been realised had it not been for the effectiveness of the Allied bombing campaign, which restricted the supply of essential materials. Manfred Griehl is a noted expert on the Luftwaffe in World War II and his numerous publications include Airwar over the Atlantic, Fighters over Russia and Night-fighters over the Reich. Back to Greenhill Military Book News No. 126 Table of Contents Back to Greenhill Military Book News List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by Greenhill Books This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com