Reviews of books from the world of aviation. If you're an airhead, and are looking for your next read, you will find it here.
Review by Adrian Roberts. The Lafayette Escadrille, the unit of American Volunteers with the French Aviation Militaire prior to the US entry into W.W.I, has become an important part of the US national heritage. This was the beginning of what became the American Century and these young men were motivated by idealism and adventure. This book tells the... Continue Reading →
Review by Stuart Forth. In the spring of 1952, near the village of Elmpt on the German/Dutch border, work began to clear the forest to make way for what was to become RAF Brüggen. Over the next year much hard toil, by RAF airfield construction crews and local German civilians, transformed this patch of woodland... Continue Reading →
Review by Adrian Roberts. Peter Reese has produced a workmanlike and comprehensive history of early aviation in Britain. He has clearly read thoroughly around the subject; there is a lengthy bibliography and copious references, and a decent index. However, most of the references are secondary sources, and this leads to some pitfalls. For instance, he... Continue Reading →
Review by David Fredericks. Many of us know the general gist of the story of QF72—the Qantas Airbus A330 that made an emergency landing at RAAF Learmonth during its scheduled flight between Singapore and Perth on 7 October 2008. We may remember the reports from the press at the time of the incident which involved... Continue Reading →
Review by Adrian Roberts. The Fokker Dr.I is probably the best known aeroplane of W.W.I due to its association with Manfred von Richthofen and to its distinctive appearance. It was built in relatively small numbers, and only served at the Western Front for three or four months, but it was the best German fighter around... Continue Reading →
Review by Sven Atkin. The Mi-24 ‘Hind’ attack helicopter has always been an intriguing machine because of its aggressive looks and how little was known of its development and subsequent service with Russia and former Eastern Bloc countries. Today’s ‘Hind’ variants have come a long way since the very first V-24 prototype took to the... Continue Reading →
Review by Andy Wright. The projection of power by naval aviation is an important asset and requires the retention of a variety of skills and capabilities often too costly for smaller navies, but a source of pride for those that do. Politics, as ever, play their part, not just from governments, but from other services... Continue Reading →
Review by Zac Yates. The actions of Japan against the Australian mainland are essentially general knowledge. The fact Darwin was attacked in a Pearl Harbor-style raid not long after that Day of Infamy is just one of those things most people know. This reviewer – like many, as author Tom Lewis writes – thought the... Continue Reading →
Review by Adrian Roberts. Mark Hillier is an established aviation historian and Stearman pilot who has written The RAF Battle of Britain Pilot’s Kitbag and a companion volume on Luftwaffe pilots’ equipment. These gave an insight into the lives of these men that complemented the accounts of their operations and their aircraft. Now he has... Continue Reading →
Review by Takis Diakoumis. Initially declared neutral, as the only defeated power not to have received some territorial award at the end of the First World War, Bulgaria hoped for some gains as a collaborator with the Third Reich and fully signed member of the Axis. As Nazi Germany began preparations to invade Yugoslavia and... Continue Reading →
