Product Description

This is a lavishly illustrated and highly detailed account of one of the most elegant and deadly aircraft to see service during World War 2. Designed and built in the late 1930s, originally as a civilian airliner to compete with the American DC-2 and DC-3, the Fw 200 grabbed the international stage when it broke the record for flying non-stop from Berlin to New York in August 1938. However, it is for its role as a maritime strike aircraft in World War 2 that the Fw 200 gained its reputation as the 'Scourge of the Atlantic'. The heavily armed Condor was equipped with a formidable array of bombs, 1000 kg air mines, Hs 293 guided missiles, as well as the latest radio equipment and search radars. It inflicted a massive toll on Allied convoys and merchant shipping over the North Atlantic between 1940 and 1943.As the war progressed and despite the fact that the Allies devised methods to increase convoy defence, the Condor soldiered on, latterly operating supply missions from bases in Norway in October 1944. The author, a renowned aviation specialist, has uncovered unique and unpublished material on this most revered aircraft of the Luftwaffe that will appeal to modellers and historians alike. The book will also feature the lesser-known use of the Fw 200 by the Spanish, as well as Focke-Wulf Condors in Soviet and South American colours. This is the most thorough and dedicated history of the only four-engined, long-range aircraft in service with the Luftwaffe during World War 2.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #117921 in Books
• Published on: 2009-04-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 128 pages

Customer Reviews

An exceptionally well illustrated introduction to the Condor
The Fw 200 Condor was probably used over a wider area than any other German military aircraft - from Alexandra Land in the far north to the Gulf of Suez in the south, and from deep into the Atlantic in the west to Stalingrad in the east. It earned a fearsome reputation with its attacks on merchant shipping, but it was plagued by structural weakness and unreliability and forced to soldier on well past the time it should have been withdrawn from combat. This book is a well illustrated introduction to the type but sometimes it serves only to whet the appetite rather than give full details of its very varied career.

The book is split into four chapters. The first describes the origins of the aircraft as an airliner and compare it with rivals such as the Boeing 307, Armstrong Whitworth Ensign and He 116. Famous long-distance journeys to New York and Tokyo are described as well as the few foreign sales they helped attract.

Chapter two describes the Condor's introduction into military service. Civilian Condors were quickly taken over as transports and the type's great range compared with other German aircraft meant that within two weeks of the start of the war it was declared suitable as an 'auxiliary bomber on the war on shipping'. Fully militarised Condors soon began entering service. The Condor is famous for its raids on merchant ships far out into the Atlantic but it also served as a transport, reconnaissance aircraft, mine layer and night bomber. Salgado gives several examples of anti-shipping raids, often quoting accounts by merchant seamen on vessels attacked, but there is little detail of other operations.

Chapter three covers latter half of the war. Condors continued to fly anti-shipping sorties but increasing Allied defences started to take their toll. Anti-aircraft artillery forced attacks to be made from higher altitude and growing numbers of Allied aircraft, from fighters catapulted off converted merchantmen to long range patrol aircraft such as the Sunderland and Liberator, made the Condor's life more difficult. Other missions included the supply of Stalingrad and the bombing of Casablanca.

The final chapter looks at the very end of the war and the use of a few Condors in their original role as airliners up to 1950.

The first two of five appendices give details of various different model's dimensions, performance, armament and other equipment. These are very useful as, despite less than 280 Condors being built, 25 variants of the military B and C series alone were produced. The remaining three appendices list Condor units, losses and ships sunk by them.

The volume is very well illustrated with numerous interesting, clearly reproduced and informatively captioned photographs as well as colour profiles of selected Condors, both civil and military.

The only other recent book I have read on the Condor is Marek J. Murawski's monograph published by Kagero. Though that book is slightly shorter at 100 pages it contains a similar amount of text but is less well illustrated. There are surprisingly few common photographs as Murawski's book focuses more on close-ups of individual assemblies whereas Salgado's pictures are usually of the whole aircraft.

Juan-Carlos Salgado has produced a readable and exceptionally well illustrated account of the Condor. However, the text is considerably briefer than in other Classic books in this series and often left me wanting to know more. I would have preferred more text even at the cost of a larger and more expensive book, but this is of course a matter of personal preference. I think that the definitive history of the aircraft is yet to be written but until then this book serves very well.

Acceptable offering but cold have been better.
Very well illustrated, nicely put together and well printed. However, lacking depth in the narrative, no plans, no schematics and NO index. Without an index the book is as good as useless as a reference tool. When will publishers return to putting extensive index pages to what could be excellent refenence books. Classic Publications take note for future publications!!

To sum up: an excellent chance to produce THE book on the Condor has been missed. While the book is worth buying, do not expect the definitive articale, and not up to the excellent standard of former titles in the Classic series by Ian Allan.