X-PLANES GERMAN LUFTWAFFE PROTOTYPES 1930-1945 by Manfred Griehl Released in Hardcover

The development of civil and military aircraft in Germany between 1930 and 1945 was an impressive portent of things to come in the world of aviation. The introduction and use of ever more highly advanced technology both by German aircraft industry and government research establishments led to huge strides forward in production and design.

X-Planes, written by aviation expert, is a unique and comprehensive collection of information and photographs on the Luftwaffe's experimental aircraft. It’s an informative account of aeronautical research under the Weimar Republic and the Third Reach. Most photographs come from the development sites and testing grounds of the major manufacturers of Nazi Germany: companies such as Dornier, Junkers, Focke-Wulf and Heinkel all received funding from the government to develop bigger and faster aircraft.

A huge amount of private testing went on with major organisations such as Daimler-Benz, BMW and Siemens investing huge amounts in new engine systems and other advances such as radar. This book explains everything from early biplane fighters that were designed and flown in the Soviet Union when Germany was still forbidden to posses military aircraft to rocket powered and jet aircraft that came too late to turn the tide of the Allied bombing campaign in 1945. Some of the work detailed in this book went on to have a significant influence on the development of post-war military aviation.

Not only does this book list all the aircraft but it includes detailed accounts of how they were developed and tested.

Manfred Griehl is a renowned aviation expert and the author of more than forty books including Luftwaffe Over America: The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II, Last Days of the Luftwaffe: German Luftwaffe Combat Units 1944-1945 and Luftwaffe at War: Air War over the Atlantic.