Innehållsförteckning för Issue 20 från Iron Cross

To colour, or not to colour? That is the question that is so often posed by those engaged in the world of military history, whether their involvement in the subject be as enthusiasts, serious students, or in a professional capacity as authors and publishers – or, in this case, as a magazine editor! It could be said that the subject of colourisation of period photographs is the ultimate ‘Marmite’ question for many, and as the topic has reared its head of late in various online discussions etc., then we thought we’d add our own ‘tuppeny worth to the debate. The colourisation of photographs has been around for many decades, of course, with colour tinting being added to many photographs since at least the 1900s. Now, with modern technology, it is…

The internal bomb load capacity of the Dornier 217 was up to 4,000 kg, but on the night of 7/8 March 1943 it was recorded by RAF intelligence that the subject aircraft was carrying two x 500 kg and eight 50 kg bombs. At the time of the crash, the West Sussex Police reported that bombs associated with the crashed Dornier 217 had been found as follows: “8 March 1943, 01.00 hours: 3 x UXBs, 1 ‘Firepot’*, and 100 incendiary bombs. Reekes Wood, Cartref Farm. 8 March 1943, 01.00 hours: 4 x HE bombs and 200 incendiary bombs. No damage caused. Meadow to the east of and adjoining Amos Copse.” These bombs had all presumably fallen from the stricken Dornier 217 shortly before it had crashed, or else been ejected…

Because of its operational experience in the Spanish Civil War, Luftwaffe aircrew kit was more technologically advanced and better suited to the needs of its fighter and bomber crews than that of its opponents in the Battle of Britain. Indeed, the Luftwaffe possessed distinct types of equipment for different climates, with summer and winter flying suits and helmets. There were even suits for aircrew specifically designed for combat either over land or water. Initially, flying suits were single piece, but in time two-piece suits for introduced for ease of donning the kit. Clothing underwent continuous development led by the needs of the aircrew; ease of use, reliability, functionality, and not least comfort, being the main drivers. The Luftwaffe developed the Fliegerbluse for flying during summertime, a garment that was a…

A GERMAN PERSPECTIVE OF D-DAY On the 80th anniversary of D-Day, we look at the dramatic events of 6 June 1944 through German eyes - a narrative that is usually told from an overwhelmingly Allied perspective. (1) THE STAHLHELM We look at the familiar German steel helmet in all its variants and uses in both the First and Second World War. It was a helmet that was very often referred to as the ‘coal scuttle’ by Allied troops. (2) GREEN ARROW The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles occupied by German forces during the Second World War and we look at details of the Wehrmacht operation to take this part of Britain. (3) BOMB PLOT PHOTO ALBUM General Rudolf Schmundt, Chief Adjutant of the Wehrmacht, died…

Heavy artillery was part of the German military tradition, and the summer of 1940 found Berlin’s high command able to direct an impressive concentration of long-range guns to the newly won Channel coast. While forces required for the proposed amphibious assault on southeast England assembled at French and Belgian ports, the heavy guns were to bombard British shipping and targets on the opposite shore. Domination of the narrow Channel waters would have to be assured before an invasion fleet sailed. Thereafter, the coast artillery’s role would be to provide supporting fire for that assault. The centre of activity for the German gunners was a stretch of coastline between Wimereux and Sangatte. The area was well served by both road and railway links, and the undulating countryside rising sharply behind Cap…

MARK HILLIER Mark is head of operations at Spitfires.com having been involved in aviation as an enthusiast and pilot for 30 years. He has flown many types from the de Havilland Chipmunk to the T6 Texan and Boeing Stearman. He has authored 14 aviation books and is a TV consultant on historic aviation. CHRIS GOSS After a 32-year career in the RAF, retiring as a Wing Commander, Chris is now a full-time aviation author and historian. He is a regular contributor to aviation journals worldwide and author of 31 critically acclaimed books. His speciality lies in Luftwaffe operations across the 1939-45 period. THOMAS ANDERSON Thomas is a military historian living near Hanover. Since childhood, he was interested in WW2 history. Beginning as a modeller, he furthered his knowledge by visiting…

On 20 May 1940, just ten days after Hitler had launched his invasion of France and the Low Countries, Lord Gort reached the inescapable conclusion that unless the British Expeditionary Force immediately withdrew from France it risked being cut off from the coast and destroyed. It was an immensely courageous decision to make after less than two weeks of fighting. Without question, it saved the British army and prevented Germany from achieving the comprehensive victory that would have ended the war in 1940. The BEF withdrew to the Channel ports with the Germans close on its heels, but on 22 May the Panzer divisions halted their advance, and this gave the British and French troops a few days grace to establish a defensive perimeter around Dunkirk. The plan was to…

During the late hours of 7 March 1943, five heavily laden Dornier 217s from 1./KG 2 took off from their base at Gilze-Rijen in the Netherlands and headed for their target: Southampton docks. The gaggle of bombers droned out of their airfield into the darkness at two-minute intervals, although the aeroplane of specific interest in this account was a Dornier 217 E-4, U5 + EH, Werk Nummer 5526, with its crew of four. The pilot was Feldwebel Günter Vestewig. Writing during the late 1970s to Iron Cross contributor and Luftwaffe historian, Chris Goss, Vestewig took up the story: “The attack height was to be 4,000 metres (approx 12,000ft) against what were assumed to be large ships of the English fleet, and against which a steep gliding attack was to be…

When a prisoner of II./ZG 1 (possibly Leutnant Wolfgang Priebe) was interrogated, he revealed a considerable amount of detail regarding the operations of the unit over the Bay of Biscay, including some of the snippets detailed below. The information also allowed RAF intelligence officers to construct a map of the operational zones. “On 5 August the Gruppe was ordered to move to France and 15 remaining aircraft were flown directly to Kerlin-Bastard from Montecorvino near Salerno. The remaining crews were flown by Ju 52 to the airfields at Practica di Mare south of Rome where they found new Bf 110Gs awaiting them; with these they joined the rest of the Gruppe.” “The Gruppe may be said to have two main preoccupations, the more important of which is flying offensive patrols…

EDITOR’S CHOICE HEINKEL HE 115 Developmental and Operational History 1937 – 1952 Kjetil Åkra, Andreas Brekken Bjørn Hafsen, Juan-Carlos Salgado Publisher: Chandos Publications Ltd Web: www.chandospublications.co.uk ISBN: 978-1-99931-6-549 Hardback: 392 pages RRP: £70.00 Every so often, a book lands on the editorial desk that is truly heavyweight, and this is a title that certainly ticks that box in every possible meaning of the word. Not only is it a physically weighty tome, but its content, too, can be regarded as heavyweight in terms of its truly astonishing scope and depth. Without hesitation, this reviewer can say that this will certainly become the definitive work on this rather neglected and overlooked Luftwaffe aircraft type. Quite simply, there is no chance that anyone could ever better it. The combined knowledge, enthusiasm, and…

During the 1920s, British military theorist Basil Liddel-Hart often blamed what he called the bloodthirsty Prussian militarist tradition for starting the First World War, and for the stalemate and slaughter on the Western front. Liddel-Hart also called out the German army’s supposed ideological guru, Carl von Clausewitz, for inspiring the German army’s militaristic dogma. Clausewitz’s famous book, On War, had been published way back in 1832 and over subsequent decades it had become the most influential text in German military circles. Clausewitz had served in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic campaigns, and after 1815 he taught at the Prussian Military Staff Academy. Liddel Hart called Clausewitz’s ideas ‘criminally inspirational’ and accused him of ‘translating Bonaparte’s doctrines into a system that (during the war) brought down three empires.’ German military…

An outline of the history of the Volkssturm has been set out across the preceding pages, but as a volunteer organisation it was clearly necessary to encourage the German public to sign up for this home army once the scheme had been introduced during late 1944. Part of that enlistment campaign involved a widespread distribution of posters across Germany and Wehrsciessen des Deutschen Volkes 1944 was just one such billboard production by the Third Reich’s propaganda ministry. Although the artist is not recorded, the poster was produced by the German publishing company owned by Franz Burda, who then operated the Großdruckerei, Papiergroßhandlung und Papierwarenwerk Akademiestraße Gebrüder Bauer in Mannheim. Today, the Burda conglomerate continues to operate as one of Germany’s biggest publishing houses, Hubert Burda Media, notwithstanding its somewhat uncomfortable…

When war broke out in September 1939, the Nazi regime had already established its propaganda apparatus. This included the Reichsfilmkammer (RKK), the state film department under control of Dr Joseph Goebbels, although the RKK itself was headed up by Fritz Hippler, an ardent Nazi party member who had already produced and directed propaganda films. The most noteworthy of Hippler’s films was the abhorrently antisemitic film Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew). However, with the declaration of war, Hippler widened his scope away from a focus on politics and ‘the Jewish problem’ and concentrated on military matters. Again, the attack on Poland allowed him to trot out the Nazi narrative and portray the Poles as aggressors while painting ethnic Germans living in Poland as an oppressed minority. The film, Feldzug in…