This reworked hardback detailing Messerschmitt’s rare Bf 109T is available again on a strictly limited basis.
Out of Messerschmitt’s many Bf 109 sub-types, the Bf 109T designed for aircraft carrier use is arguably one of the most interesting. Due to a general lack of documentation, though, it has been one of the hardest to research and cover in print. However, author Francis L Marshall made huge inroads on the subject with his 1994 book Sea Eagles, which provided a wealth of information on the ‘Toni’, as it was known in Luftwaffe parlance.
Last year the book was redesigned and provided with a new title – Graf Zeppelin’s Eagles – and sold out quickly. Chandos Publications has now made it available again for a limited period, and if you plan to build one or more models of the Bf 109T, it’s a superb reference tool.
Marshall’s study seems to explore every possible avenue of the subject as he charts the course of this interesting machine, from the travails of its planned host, the aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin, to the ‘109T’s service late in the war. Die-hard fans of the ‘109 may know that the ‘T’ variant was based on the E-7, but sported longer wings and ailerons, extended leading-edge slats, and gained upper-wing spoilers (although these were later deactivated). It’s other telling trait was an arrester hook but this too was removed. Just 70 Bf 109Ts were produced for carrier and land-based operations. Yet none flew operationally in the former role because the construction of Graf Zeppelin was never completed.
If you enjoy building Luftwaffe aircraft, check out Chandos' also reissued Arado Ar 234 book Blitz Bombers, here
Instead, the Toni was relegated solely to land employment with I Gruppe of JG 77 from 1941, but it found new focus in the spring of 1943 when earmarked for the so-called Wilde Sau programme invented by distinguished bomber pilot ‘Hajo’ Herrmann. This involved single-engined night-fighters working in concert with searchlights to pinpoint Allied aircraft.
The entire story is thoroughly absorbing, and will give Luftwaffe fans plenty of build ideas. Besides the myriad photos, maps and tables, personal accounts from Toni pilots are included. These, along with images of said aircrew provide a welcome human element. There’s plenty to engage modellers in the photos, in terms of structural nuances, and the ten-plus colour artworks give a decent appreciation of the varying paint schemes. One of the aircraft depicted is Herbert Christmann’s now well-known Bf 109T with red flash along the forward fuselage. If you enjoy descriptions of operations, there’s a large amount of background to engage and inform… and fuel your modelling creativity. And if you want to attempt various builds on this theme, there are appropriate Bf 109T kits from Hasegawa, MPM, Academy and A&A Models (among others) to be found – along with conversions for other makers’ standard Bf 109Es – which can still be obtained via retailers and auction sites. Also included in the book is a list of airframe histories, and black-and-white line drawings.
It's always pleasing to have great reference on lesser-known aircraft types, and this sumptuous work ticks all the boxes regarding quality and usefulness. It costs £70, but this is reflected in its thoroughly researched content and production values. The weighty, 362-page tome is currently available on a limited basis from Chandos Publications but can be discounted if part of a multiple purchase.
Graf Zeppelin’s Eagles: An Operational History of the Messerschmitt Bf 109T
By: Francis L Marshall
Format: 305 x 217mm
ISBN: 978-1-9993-1653-2
