Classic books has earned a reputation for not only producing books on interesting subjects, but also for their superb research. It used to be that books were published based on what had been done before. Well, we have learned over the years that a lot of incorrect information was passed down and what we knew to be factual was not always the case.

The author Brett Gooden has put in a great deal of time and effort to bring us the complete story on what has to be one of the most interesting chapters in late war German aviation: the Bachem 'Natter'.

This was one of those weapons which was designed to shoot up to altitude, release its barrage weapon at a single bomber and then break away into sections, allowing the pilot and the airframe and the engine to come safely floating down to earth. Sounds very much like manned anti-aircraft artillery, and that is precisely what it was.

Getting the Natter project going wasn't easy as the Luftwaffe was rather cool to the projects. However, the SS wasn't and thought it was a great idea. Thanks to the political power of the SS, Bachem was able to get his design into the testing stage.

What few people realize is that the Natter, as a 'disposable weapon' was built almost entirely of wood. Very little metal was in the airframe, and most of that was with the rocket packs and engine as well as the wiring and the nose mounted weapon. The weapon was not the R4M rockets that we've all thought were carried but a system of smaller 55 or 73 mm rockets based on a ground fired AA system for low flying aircraft.

The author has gone to great lengths to obtain every shred of information available on the Natter and that includes conversations with some of the people that were involved with the project. Its post war history is also included as this is nearly as interesting as the development of the Natter itself. The result is the finest reference on the type yet published. It is a book that you will find both informative and engrossing reading. Most highly recommended.

June 2006

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