Luftwaffe Emergency Fighters: Blohm & Voss Bv P.212, Heinkel P.1087c, Junkers Ef 128, Messerschmitt P.1101, Focke-Wulf Ta 183 and Henschel HS P.135

By Robert Forsyth

As Allied bombers pounded Germany's cities and factories in late 1944, an increasingly desperate German Air Ministry organised an Emergency Fighter 'competition'. The specification went out to all of the leading aircraft manufacturers with the hope that salvation might be found through a new generation of technically superior, but quick-to-build jet fighters. Thus was born a cutting-edge set of designs including the futuristic and elegant Focke-Wulf Ta 183, the extraordinary Blohm & Voss P.212, and the swing-wing Messerschmitt P.1101 series. Armed with heavy cannon, air-to-air rockets and wire-guided missiles, these would have been the world's first second-generation jet fighters, pioneering technology that would take years for others to surpass. With a stunning new colour three-view of each prototype, along with battlescene and armament artwork and a previously unpublished photo of a Ta 183 mock-up, Luftwaffe expert Robert Forsyth traces the history of these extraordinary aircraft, and explains their influence on the post-war generation of US, European, and Soviet fighters. Throughout the last century, one-off experimental aircraft and cutting-edge military prototypes have pushed the boundaries of what is possible. Authoritative and accessible, X-Planes is the series that explains the technology behind the world's most important prototype and research aircraft, their often dangerous flight-test careers, and how their successes and failures influenced frontline aircraft development. Each Book Contains: The best archive photography, Meticulously detailed original artwork, Expert history and analysis Book jacket.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1472819942
• ISBN13: 9781472819949
• Release Date: June 2017
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
• Length: 88 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.2" x 9.7"