Blohm & Voss BV 155

Dan Sharp, Secret Projects Of The Luftwaffe 2, Tempest Books/Mortons Books Ltd., Horncastle, UK, 2019, ISBN 978 1 911658 32 0. Illustrated, softcover, published in English.

Cover image © by Tempest Books/Mortons Books Ltd., 2019.

The recent past has seen a number of highly competent publications in the field of historic German aviation. Landmark studies such as Martin Pegg's thoroughly revised Henschel Hs 129 Panzerjäger (Chandos Publications Ltd.) or Brett Gooden's stunningly comprehensive masterpiece Natter - Manned Missile Of The Third Reich (self-published) come to mind, for example. And although significantly smaller, physically, than the aforementioned books, Dan Sharp's Blohm & Voss BV 155 should probably be included in this list; as it is equally a landmark effort.

At 114 pages and in the 25 x 18 cm format, this little gem of a book is likely the most complete history of this deeply intriguing aircraft we will ever see in our lifetimes, given that only three prototypes of the aircraft were built (of which only one was fully completed and actually flown). Previous reliable published material regarding the BV 155 has been accordingly sparse, with Thomas H. Hitchcock's slim Blohm & Voss 155 (Monogram Close-Up 20, Monogram Aviation Publications, 1990) being the only serious contender. It is not surprising, unfortunately, that Horst Lommel's subsequent Blohm & Voss Bv 155 & Me 263 softcover (Lautec Software und Medien GmbH) reflects that author's usual standard of reliability (i.e., lack thereof) and should thus be avoided.

Dan Sharp is mainly known within our field of interest for a series of "bookazine" softcover publications on the subject of German aviation projects of the World War II period. While this choice of topic alone will likely provoke some sentiments of derision with a number of serious students of the former German Luftwaffe, Sharp's publications have actually been incredibly well researched, professional, and comprehensive, and the author has frequently managed to provide the reader with previously unknown information or period drawings/images, in spite of the exhaustive coverage of this very subject matter during the past few decades.

It was thus with quite some positive anticipation that I awaited the release of Sharp's Blohm & Voss BV 155. And the book indeed does not disappoint. Endowed with a striking cover illustration and printed on beautiful semi-gloss paper (essential to facilitate a crisp and detailed reproduction of the book's many illustrations) Blohm & Voss BV 155 provides a true in-depth study of the aircraft, from the original idea and requirement to concept, gestation, stages of development, technical details, prototype manufacturing, evolving design decisions, flight tests, and the disposition of the aircraft after the war's conclusion. All of this is lavishly illustrated by means of countless period drawings, photos, and colour profiles. And to complete such ample content, the book's final appendix provides the detailed description and photos of the BV 155 V2 as originally featured in the Royal Aircraft Establishment's general examination report of 1946.

Sharp thus provides the most meticulous (and fascinating) documentation yet published of the astonishing growth of the BV 155 concept from a pure Messerschmitt Bf 109 high-altitude fighter offshoot to a more distinctly derived aircraft and on towards an almost completely new and very different design. This even includes a number of "what if" colour profiles of the various unrealized incarnations of the concept, these being – although of course not strictly necessary – quite interesting and certainly entertaining. And while it is often nearly impossible to competently assert the full accuracy of such a book's historical and technical content without having spent as much research as the author himself, Sharp's list of sources and documents consulted during the creation of this publication is essential, impressive, and deeply reassuring.

If Dan Sharp's Blohm & Voss BV 155 is any indication, one may look forward with justified excitement to further instalments of this Secret Projects Of The Luftwaffe series. Highly recommended.