Gotterdammerung - Luftwaffe Wrecks and Relics Number 1

This unusually named book by the prolific author, Brett Green is in reference to the apocalypse in Norse mythology.  Roughly translated to mean “Twilight of the Gods” and is a fitting name once you see the amazing photos of crashed, crushed and otherwise destroyed Luftwaffe aircraft.

 At first you kind of feel bad for the loss of such fantastic aircraft until you are reminded what they were used for and the cost in lives and treasure to destroy them. The end result was the only conclusion that these machines of war could come to.

I have seen a lot of pictures of World War II aircraft. And I mean A LOT! I have never seen about three quarters of the photos in this book. They are simply amazing! Even though it is a black magic (no pun intended), the conclusion of the Author and Artist seem logical and well researched. Speaking of the Artist, Brett wrangled in Tom Tullis, one of the premier aviation artists in the world, to illustrate the color profiles with an emphasis on unusual markings or new schemes not seen before. Real eye candy for the Luft aficionado out there.

I found myself pouring over the photos in detail, finding something new each time. I was continually amazed at the quality of the photos and information that is placed in the book in chronological order. Reading the text is easy and very interesting. The color photos are fantastic and very well rendered on high quality paper softbound in the Classic Publications format.

At the end of the book you also get some models that are extremely well made and photographed. All of them are inspiring and a real treat for us modelers.

I highly recommend this book for researchers, historians and model builders. The color schemes could keep you busy for years.

There is a tantalizing little tag at the bottom of the book which reads “NUMBER 1” below the author’s name. Is this telling us that there is a series coming in our near future? I hope so. Another little bonus is a catalog of  the excellent Jagdwaffe series on the inside of the front cover with the rest of the series on the inside of the back cover. Now you know what books you are missing from this great publishing company.