Book excerpt: This is a lavishly illustrated and highly detailed account of one of the most elegant and deadly aircraft to see service during World War 2. Designed and built in the late 1930s, originally as a civilian airliner to compete with the American DC-2 and DC-3, the Fw 200 grabbed the international stage when it broke the record for flying non-stop from Berlin to New York in August 1938. However, it is for its role as a maritime strike aircraft in World War 2 that the Fw 200 gained its reputation as the 'Scourge of the Atlantic'. The heavily armed Condor was equipped with a formidable array of bombs, 1000 kg air mines, Hs 293 guided missiles, as well as the latest radio equipment and search radars. It inflicted a massive toll on Allied convoys and merchant shipping over the North Atlantic between 1940 and 1943. As the war progressed and despite the fact that the Allies devised methods to increase convoy defence, the Condor soldiered on, latterly operating supply missions from bases in Norway in October 1944. The author, a renowned aviation specialist, has uncovered unique and unpublished material on this most revered aircraft of the Luftwaffe that will appeal to modellers and historians alike. The book will also feature the lesser-known use of the Fw 200 by the Spanish, as well as Focke-Wulf Condors in Soviet and South American colours. This is the most thorough and dedicated history of the only four-engined, long-range aircraft in service with the Luftwaffe during World War 2.