Alan Ranger is a former British Royal Engineer, collector of World War II militaria and original period photographs, and prolific author. Alan started his publishing days with Model Art of Japan, this is his 29th book in the Camera On series (he already has another three in production), typically focusing on weapon systems and vehicles. The beauty of this book is the photos were taken by German soldiers during their wartime service, not typically posed and polished propaganda shots.

Camera On Number 29 focuses on the World War II German 2cm Flak (short for Flugzeugabwehrkanone) Flak 38 and Flakvierling 38. The Flak 38 20mm anti-aircraft (AA) gun was an improvement on the Flak 28 and 30 (Camera On28 review) with the rate of fire increased from 120 rounds per minute (RPM) to 220 RPM, and weight lowered to 405kg, saving about 45kg. This was the AA gun used in Saving Private Ryan during one of the final battle scenes. The Flakvierling 38 is the quadruple mounting of this AA gun.

The Flak 38 was accepted by the Wehrmacht in 1939, and this book shows the Flak 38 in use wherever German soldiers deployed and fought. They saw service from the invasion of Poland to the final surrender in Berlin. While effective early on, they became less so as enemy aircraft flew faster and higher. This book reflects both staged and casual crew poses, along with detailed shots that will aid modelers.

There is a lot in these 80 pages of photographs on a crucial WWII German weapon system. While the combat vehicles typically get the majority of focus in books, history, and the limelight, it is the often-unsung support roles that set conditions on the battlefield. These guns continued to serve other countries after World War II, some into the 1970s. Author Alan Ranger does an amazing job bringing these 20mm anti-aircraft guns into the spotlight they so richly deserve. The book is broken down into a Foreword (brief history, specifications, and ammunition types), 20mm Flak 38, and Flakvierling 38 sections.

Alan Ranger sums up the book eloquently in Foreword,

“In this series of books, I have no intention of trying to add to what is already a well-documented history of Germany’s anti-aircraft weapons, their crews and associated equipment, as it has been thoroughly covered by previous worthy publications. Here I hope to give an impression through original photographs, taken both during and before war, of the 20mm Flak 38 in its single gun mount form as well as well as in its four-gun mounted form (the 20mm Flakvierling 38) and their crews in all the various theaters of operation they found themselves serving in.”

This is the third Camera On series I have reviewed, and I really like the format. Mr Ranger really delivers for modelers and historians looking for photographic inspiration of the Flak 38 and Flakvierling 38 and are bound to find it in this book. Page after page screams for vignettes and dioramas ready to be replicated and created.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS-USA for providing the review sample.