Mortons Media Group was established in the 19th century and has been producing book-length publications since the early 2000s. The company established a dedicated books division in 2019 and Mortons Books has already earned a reputation for publishing high-quality titles by authors who are true experts in their field. For the best reads on rail, aviation, nostalgia and history, look no further. This book, part of their imprint Tempest Books, addresses all aspects of aviation history covered in authoritative detail. The aviators and aircraft of the Second World War are profiled by our titles alongside more modern fighters, bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and transports. 'Secret projects' and experimental designs are also an important part of the Tempest Books portfolio.

Ronny Bar was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 11, 1951. Growing up near El Palomar Air Force Base, Ronny Bar was an early fan of aviation drawing and making models of aircraft. He achieved his first flight at the age of 12, in a Beechcraft T-34 Mentor. Despite that early passion, Ronny Bar found success and a career as a bass player and singer in rock and roll bands, recording ten albums and appearing in concerts and TV shows. Ronny still maintained an interest in aviation and would hit aviation museums along the way. He began producing aviation profile color illustrations in 2005 for well known WWI aviation authors along with his illustrations appearing in Windsock Datafiles, Cross & Cockade, Over the Front, WWI Aero, and Luftwaffe in Focus. Since 2006, Ronny Bar was a member of director Sir Peter Jackson’s New Zealand-based Wingnut Wings team where his color profiles found their way into the Wingnut Wings instructions, along with the Wingnut Wings website. This book follows the success of his first collection of his astonishingly detailed First World War aircraft profiles – British Two-Seaters of the Great War in hard cover format. Ronny Bar can be found on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/people/RONNY-BAR-Aircraft-Profiles/10005271121… .

This tome represents Volume One of an expected two volume set on German Fighters of the Great War. This second volume is expected in the Fall of 2023. Although some of these color profiles have been seen before in Windsock Datafiles and Wingnut Wings, the vast majority are new for this book. This landscape hard cover book features a gorgeous cover painting of the Albatros D-II flown by Rittm. Manfred von Richthofen in April 1917 with Jagdstaffel 11 out of Roucourt, France. A color profile of the left side of this aircraft can be found on page 141. I counted 2 black and white photographs, 302 color side profiles and 78 top or bottom profiles.

Ronny Bar presents the important German-built single seat fighters that were operational during World War One. This Volume 1, kicks off with the Fokker Eindekker of 1915 through 1917’s Albatros D-V. Each profile includes a short description and any special notes. The sections include:

• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Fokker E-I
• Fokker E-II
• Fokker E-III
• Fokker E-IV [Page 053]
• Pfalz E-I
• Pfalz E-II
• Pfalz E-IV
• Fokker D-I
• Fokker D-II
• Fokker D-III [Page 081]
• Halberstadt D-II
• Halberstadt D-II (Han) & (Av)
• Halberstadt D-III
• Halberstadt D-V
• Albatros D-I
• Albatros D-II [Page 119]
• Albatros D-II (L.V.G.)
• Albatros D-II (O.A.W.)
• Albatros D-III
• Albatros D-IIII (O.A.W.)
• Roland D-II & D-IIa [Page 186]
• Roland D-II & D-IIa (Pfal)
• Siemens-Schuckert D-I
• Albatros D-V [Page 230]

I have to admit I have been a fan of Ronny Bar’s color profiles for some time. I have a nearly complete collection of Windsock magazine and Windsock Datafiles, along with all of the Wingnut Wings WWI kits. This is a great reference book for WWI German aircraft and is certainly eye candy. If you are interested in German WWI aviation, this is an essential volume for both the aviation historian and the scale modeler. I can’t wait for Volume Two to arrive!

My thanks to Casemate, Mortons Books, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.

Highly recommended!