Military Model Scene

Title: Vergeltungswaffen The Third Reich's V-Missiles Then and Now
Author: Jean Paul Pallud
Publisher: After the Battle
ISBN: 978-1-03610-138-1

Another new title in the After the Battle series, a 288-page hard-cover book. This one combines 4 features originally published in various issues of the old After the Battle magazines, but combining associated subjects with an additional 200 photos, and all put together by one of their regular authors.
Starting with the key story of Peenemunde, the main development site for the V-weapons, and famous for the RAF reconnaissance photos which first showed the allies of the the German development of both the V-1 and V-2 missiles. This leads into a more detailed story of the V-1, the sites built for them and their operational use. That in turn is followed by an equally detailed story of the V-2, before moving on to the V-3, the Hochdruckpumpe with the underground bunker at Mimoyeques and other test and operational sites. Then we get to the V-4, the less well known Rheinbote, a 4-stage rocket, with a smaller warhead than the others. That's by no means the end though, as the additional chapters go on to tell us what happened as the Third Reich came to an end with the allied victory, and those allies grabbing the technology of these early cruise missiles and rockets that led directly to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of the Cold War, as well as the rockets that took man into space. There is an assessment of the damage caused by the V-weapons, and their victims. Of particular interest I thought is the detail of the British 'Operation Backfire' after the war, test firing V-2 missiles using German launch crews. Throughout the book there are a host of archive photos, alongside the modern comparisons we expect in this series, maps and diagrams. The final section has a lot of modern colour photos showing the various V-weapon sites and museum exhibits which can be seen today. All the photos throughout the book have detailed and informative captions.
Author Jean Paul Pallud has done a number of books for After the Battle, and they remain among my favourites. This latest one is every bit as good, and as someone who has long been interested in the subject of the German V-weapons during WW2, this one has jumped straight in to be one of my favourite references on the subject. Some diagrams and the archive photos give detail on the V-2 units that will be especially attractive to modellers I think. For anyone interested in the V-weapons story, and in visiting the various sites in Northern France which are now museums to visit, I'd suggest this really should be on your bookshelf.
Thanks to Pen & Sword books for the review copy.

Robin