A comprehensive history of the colors, finishes and markings of WW2 German combat aircraft for the period 1943-1945.

Much has been written about the Luftwaffe, but no aspect has been more controversial than the question of camouflage and markings of the aircraft. Here, author Michael Ullmann follows the development and use of many colors and establishes the links betwen the then-standard RAL colors and those adopted by the German Air Ministry. He reveals how and why these finishes were developed and applied to both military and Lufthansa aircraft. Supplemented by more than 300 photographs, drawings, detailed color aircraft profiles, and a highly accurate chart of real paint chips, Luftwaffe Colours 1935-1945 presents a remarkable insight into the art of World War II German camouflage markings.

The study of the Luftwaffe during World War II is still of enormous interest to aviation enthusiasts and modellers. This is a definitive study of the Luftwaffe's colours and markings.

Nearly four hundred photos documenting the last years of the Luftwaffe: “If you’re interested in unit history then this book is a must have” (Britmodeller.com). A companion to the first volume of Luftwaffe in Colour, which covered the victory years from 1939 to Spring 1942, this book contains even more fascinating material on the machines of the Luftwaffe and the men who flew them as their fate took an increasingly grim path. Initially, the Luftwaffe ruled the skies, but eventually, they fought an increasingly futile war of attrition that, when combined with vital strategic mistakes in aircraft production, was its death knell. Despite this, the Luftwaffe produced the most successful air aces of all time. Among many remarkable images, we see one of the last Junkers 87 B-2 operational on the Eastern Front during the winter of 1942-1943; the huge BV 222 V-5 of Lufttransportstaffel in the port of Heraklion in late 1942; pilots in Tunisia in 1943; the aces Hans Philipp, Wolfgang Späte, and Heinz Schnaufer; and a vivid demonstration of the reversal in fortunes in 1944 as Allied bombers destroy 106 sites, engulfing them in fire at Schwäbisch Hall on German soil. In this painstakingly curated collection, the full detail behind the propaganda is once more revealed in rare color photographs.

Examines the development of ground-attack tactics and aircraft from the years prior to World War II to the final defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945.

Volume Two concludes this exhaustive work of reference with in-depth studies of the colors and markings of the Luftwaffe's bomber (Dornier, Heinkel and Junkers), and divebomber and ground-attack (Ju 87 and Fw 190), night fighter (Messerschmitt, Junkers and Dornier), various maritime and anti-shipping aircraft, military transport (Ju 52, Ju 290), and commercial aircraft reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters as well as training, liaison and light aircraft. Detailed appendices cover factory-applied schemes, camouflage patterns and fieldmodified schemes, paint compositions and revised standards. As with Volume One, the text is supported by a wealth of rare and previously unpublished photographs. Both volumes are supplied with color paint chip charts made from paint mixed to the original formulas specified by RLM in the Nazi era.