Luftwaffe Air & Ground Crew 1939–45

Robert Stedman has been a passionate collector of Great War and Second World War militaria for over 25 years. A regular contributor to international militaria magazines, he enjoys occasional work as a military adviser to TV, film and theatre. As a member of the Association for Military Remembrance, with whom he takes part in museum lectures, he is proud to have paraded at the Cenotaph and the Menin Gate. He currently lives in the south of England, and his hobbies include sleeping in trenches and restoring uniforms.Mike Chappell comes from an Aldershot family with British Army connections stretching back several generations. He enlisted as a teenage private in the Royal Hampshire Regiment in 1952 and retired in 1974, as RSM of the 1st Battalion The Wessex Regiment (Rifle Volunteers), after seeing service in Malaya, Cyprus, Swaziland, Libya, Germany, Ulster and home garrisons. He began painting military subjects in 1968 and since then has gained worldwide popularity as a military illustrator. Mike has also written and illustrated many military books for Osprey.

• Rebirth of the air forceOrganisationSummary of campaignsUniforms: service & parade dress - insignia of rank, branch, trade - extra clothing & effects - summer & winter working dress - tropical uniformsFlying clothing - summer & winter helmets, flight suits, jackets, trousers, boots, glovesFlight equipment: parachutes - seat, back & chest typesLife preservers, kapok & inflatableRafts, flare pistols, dye markers, compasses