Fighters of the Iron Cross: Men and Machines of the Jagdwaffe
Written by Jerry Crandall, Illustrated by James Bently and Thomas A. Tullis
Hardcover in dustjacket, 360 pages, bibliography, and index
Published by Eagle Editions Ltd, 2021
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0-9761034-7-8
ISBN-13: 978-0-9761034-7-9
Dimensions: 9.3 x 12.3 x1.2 inches
Jerry Crandal is well known to scale modelers and aviation enthusiasts as the publisher of Eagle Editions books and EagleCals decals. This book contains much material which will be familiar to anyone who has purchased his Jagdwaffe decals, as the pilots profiled here also flew many of the subject aircraft. This is no coincidence, as the author has fostered personal relationships with many Jagdwaffe pilots over the years. He has conducted extensive interviews and preserved documents and photographs, several of which have not been published previously.
This is collection of the stories of twelve Luftwaffe pilots, much of them told in their own words. Included in each are copies or transcripts of original documents, along with several photographs from the personal collections of the Experten. These are reproduced clearly on glossy paper, making them especially valuable for modelers. The real prizes of this work are the full-color aircraft side profiles which accompany each chapter and the detailed notes which explain them.
The binding is in a large format, and is well-printed on glossy paper. The layout and quality of the artwork will be familiar to anyone who has purchased Crandall’s previous publications. While not cheap, this is a substantial book and a top-quality work all around, so you get what you pay for. If you are a Jagdwaffe enthusiast you will be delighted by this book, highly recommended.
Pilots profiled:
Hauptmann Karl Leonhard
Major Diethelm von Eichel-Streiber
Feldwebel Horst Petzschler
Oberleutnant Manfred Dieterle
Leutnant Herbert Schlüter
Leutnant Karl Albert Helm
Major Rolf-Günther Hermichen
Oberleutnant Gerhard Thyben
Leutnant Elias Paul Kühlein
Feldwebel Hans Langer
Feldwebel Oskar Bösch
Leutnant Willi Unger
Major Wilhelm Moritz
Major Georg-Peder Eder
Regrettably, Jerry Crandall passed away on 12JUN22.
Inch High Guy 
Oh no! So sorry to hear of his passing, but when I noticed your blog post my first thought was “Is he still writing?” I wonder what’s going to happen to Eagle Editions and EagleCals now. I may have to look for this book, but the idea of building/painting Luftwaffe a/c does intimidate me.
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I’ve got all his hardback books, he was responsible for preserving a lot of history!
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