Windsock Datafile 131

Junkers Monoplanes at War

by Harry Woodman

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

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Early Junkers monoplanes have always fascinated aircraft enthusiasts.

In the aviation industry of the time, all metal construction was regarded with a certain degree of skepticism. Professor Hugo Junkers went against the trend and started producing a series of monoplanes from this material rather than the traditional wood, and fabric biplane.

This book is about those revolutionary machines.

Harry Woodman is well credentialed to write on aviation subjects and the present topic is certainly no stranger to him. Nearly 25 years ago, he wrote an article that appeared in the May 1983 edition of Airfix magazine which was titled “The tin donkeys of Dessau”. So when this popular topic was due for an update he was the obvious choice.

This publication covers the whole family from the 1915 Junkers J.1 to the post-war F.13.

It is done with over 32 pages which include sketches, general arrangement drawings, and photographs. Of the latter, there are nearly 70 images and this includes colour shots from the worlds only surviving D.I. The standard of reproduction is very good and the A4 format is perfect for this style of book.

One of the highlights of the Datafile series is the general arrangement drawings. These are drawn and traced by Martin Digmayer and come in both 1:72 and 1:48 scales. The two aircraft represented are the Junkers D.I (J.9/1) and Junkers CL.I. The former is illustrated in both long and short fuselage versions.

Sadly there was a mistake when assembling these as there is no underside view for the 1:48 scale D.I. Instead we have a repeat of the topside. No doubt this will be remedied in the next print run.

Not to be forgotten are the author’s own scale plans which include such types as the Junkers J.1 and J.2.

The Directorate of Research of the Air Ministry made a detailed study of the D.I in 1919. They produced a report that contained numerous sketches of the airframe and some of these tidbits are reproduced here.

Complimenting all this are three colour profiles from Jerry Boucher. They are superb and cover both types of Junkers D.I and as well as the CL.I. An alternate scheme for the latter can also be found on the cover where the artist’s skill again comes to the fore.

There is quite a bit of information for the writer to cover and the topic is not a simple one. If not careful, the text can overwhelm the reader but the author does a good job of making the narrative easy to follow.

A colours and markings section round out the publication and an accompanying list details the specifications of the J.I, J.2 E.252/16, J.9/D.I short fuselage, J.9/D.I long fuselage, J10/CI.I, and J.11/C3MG.

This is a Datafile that has been requested by many modellers and enthusiasts for a long time.

The release of Roden’s series of Junkers products have no doubt contributed to this. With this updated edition it’s all “grist for the mill” with plenty of data packed between the soft card covers.

It will help you gain a better understanding of your subject and the information contained therein will no doubt generate plenty of debate around the WWI aviation water cooler.

Thanks to Albatros Productions for the review sample

Review Copyright © 2008 by Rob Baumgartner
This Page Created on 27 November, 2008
Last updated 27 November, 2008

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