Books - War in the Air
- Second World War
Air Aces
 Air Aces of WWII, Robert Jackson. Despite its relatively small size, this is an impressively wide-ranging book, covering 104 air aces, with examples from every major combatant and many minor ones. Jackson covers most of the highest scoring aces as well as looking at some less well known figures, such as the Finn Ilmari Juutilainen or Martin la Meslée, a French ace of the phoney war period. He also includes a number of pilots who were significant not for their own personal scores, but for the ideas they developed [see more] |
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 Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943, Keith Lowe. Quite possibly the best book yet written on the Allied bombing campaign against Germany, Lowe examines the week-long attack on Hamburg in July 1943 from the point of view of the bomber pilots, the German night fighter pilots and the citizens of Hamburg. A brilliantly researched and written account of one of the more somber periods in European History. [see more] |
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Boeing B-29 Superfortress
 B-29 Superfortress Units of World War 2, Robert F Dorr. Despite the title, this book actually looks at the development and service career of the B-29 Superfortress, from the pre-war call for a heavy bomber to its heyday in 1945 when fleets of the massive silver bomber devastated the cities of Japan. [see more] |
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Consolidated PBY Catalina
 US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Pacific War, Louis B Dorny Osprey Combat Aircraft 62. This entry in the Combat Aircraft series looks at the varied uses of the Catalina in the Pacific theatre, where it served as successfully as a long range reconnaissance aircraft, a night bomber (the "Black Cat") and on air-sea rescue, or Dumbo duties. The text is well supported with first hand accounts, contemporary photographs and full colour illustrations. [see more] |
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Douglas DC-3/ C-47/ R4D/ Dakota
 C-47/R4D Skytrain Units of the ETO and MTO, David Isby. The C-47 was used in every major Allied attack from Operation Torch to the crossing of the Rhine, and played a crucial part in the final Allied victory in Europe. This book focuses on those major offensives, from the often flawed planning to the courageous implementation. For many of the crews involved these huge aerial attacks were their first combat mission and the plans required almost impossible levels of precision, but despite this most of these attacks ended in success. Here we discover why. [see more] |
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 C-47/R4D Skytrain Units of the Pacific and CBI, David Isby. Although the war in the Pacific is often seen as predominantly a naval war, very few of the Allied offensives would have been possible without the C-47/R4D (known as the Dakota in RAF service). Isby packs a great deal into this book, looking at the role the C-47 played in every part of the war against Japan, from the frozen Aleutians to the jungles of Burma. Often operating in areas within range of Japanese fighters, the Air Force's C-47s and Navy's R4Ds flew supplies into forward bases, dropped paratroopers and flew troops directly into newly captured or built airfields and flew casualties away from the front line. [see more] |
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Grumman F4F Wildcat
Wildcat Aces of World War 2, Barrett Tillman. Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 3. A well balanced look at the combat service of the Grumman F4F Wildcat, the most important Allied naval fighter for most of the Second World War, looking at its service with the US Navy from Pearl Harbor to the end of the war, and its role with the Fleet Air Arm. [see more] |
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 Halifax Squadrons of World War II , Jon Lake. This is a very good book on the combat record of the Handley Page Halifax. It covers much more than just its role as a front line bomber, with chapters on the Halifax with Coastal Command, the Pathfinders and SOE, amongst others. [see more] |
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Hawker Tempest and Typhoon
 Typhoon and Tempest Aces of World War War 2, Chris Thomas. This book tells the tale of the troubled Hawker Typhoon, concentrating on its use as a fighter rather than its more successful career as a ground attack aircraft, and its transformation into the excellent Tempest, one of the best fighters of the later years of the Second World War [see more] |
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Heinkel He 112
| Heinkel HE 112 in Action, Dénes Bernád. This is an interesting book dedicated to one of the more obscure aircraft produced in Germany before the Second World War. [see more] |
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 Il-2 Shturmovik Guards Units of World War 2, Oleg Rastrenin Osprey Combat Aircraft 71. This is a very valuable look at the relatively unfamiliar career of a famous aircraft, written by a Russian aviation historian, and based very heavily on Soviet era archives. Produced in greater numbers than any other Second World War aircraft, the Il-2 was the backbone of the Soviet air force, while the Guards Units were its elite. [see more] |
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 Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader of North Africa and the Mediterranean, John Weal Osprey Combat Aircraft 6. This book looks at the second phase of the Stuka's career, fighting around the Mediterranean. Having met its match in the skies above southern England, the Stuka groups moved south, first to attack Malta and take part in the campaign in the Balkans, and then to fight in North Africa. This second successful period ended once the Allies were able to build up their fighter strength in the desert, but the Stuka remained in limited use to the end of the war in Italy, eventually reducing to night nuisance raids and anti-partisan work. Weal also looks at the relatively small number of Ju 87s that served with the Italian Air Force, concentrating on the brief period at the start of the war when they were operating independently of the Germans. [see more] |
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Lockheed Hudson
 Lockheed Hudson Aircraft in WWII, Andrew Hendrie, Crowood Press. A look at the development of the Hudson, and its career with the RAF, USAAF, RNZAF and RAAF. Covers the anti-submarine and anti-shipping uses of the Hudson, as well at its role in Air-Sea Rescue and special operations. The text is supported by a good collection of first hand accounts. |
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Messerschmitt Bf 109
| Messerschmitt Bf 109: Pt. 1, John R. Beaman, Jr. This work provides a good technical history of the 109, tracing the development of the fighter from the early prototypes up to the 109E, the model used during the Battle of Britain. [see more] |
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 Messerschmitt Bf 109: Pt. 2 , John R. Beaman, Jr. This second volume continues on from part one, beginning with the Bf 109F, probably the best version of the fighter, and taking the story to the end of the war and beyond. [see more] |
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Messerschmitt Bf 110
 Messerschmitt Bf 110 Zerstorer Aces of World War 2 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces), John Weal. This book concentrates on the career of the Bf 110 as a daylight fighter. At the start of the war the aircraft had an impressive reputation, which survived to the end of the French campaign but faded once the aircraft had to face modern fighters. Weal traces the story of the Bf 110 through to the final disastrous attempts to use it against American heavy bombers. |
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North American B-25 Mitchell
France
 French Fighters of World War II, Alain Pelletier. This book tells the story of the French fighter aircraft that attempted to stand up the Luftwaffe in 1940. It covers seven main aircraft and a larger number of minor variants. Each aircraft is taken from development and prototypes through the battle of France and into the period after the armistice. [see more] |
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Naval Aviation
RAF Coastal Command in Action, 1939-45, Roy C. Nesbit. This is an excellent photographic history of Coastal Command during the Second World War. The book is split into six chapters, one for each year of the war. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction to the events of the year, and the aircraft that equipped the command before moving on to the photos. Each chapter contains a mix of pictures of the aircraft used by the command and pictures taken by the command. [see more]
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Battlefields in the Air: Canadians in the Allied Bomber Command, Dan McCaffery. A look at Bomber Command's controversial campaign against Germany, and the role played in it by the Canadian pilots of No.6 Group. McCaffery's well researched text is supported by eye witness accounts from both the Canadian air crew and the German targets of the bombing campaign. 
Halifax Squadron: The Wartime Operations of No 640 Squadron, Leconfield, Bill Norman, 2005. A complete operational history of the squadron from its formation in January 1944 to the end of the war. Packed with interviews with members of the squadron, this book gives an invaluable insight into the life of a Bomber Command squadron in the last two years of the Second World War. [see more] 
PBJ Mitchell Units of the Pacific War, Jerry Scuts Osprey Combat Aircraft 40. This entry in the Combat Aircraft series looks at the seven Marine Corps squadrons to operate the Mitchell in the Pacific theatre, starting in March 1944. The small number of units involved means that this book looks at each of their wartime careers in some detail. [see more] 
The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-45, David Wragg. This is an excellent book on the Fleet Air Arm, combining a well written history of British Naval Aviation during the Second World War with a detailed reference section on the squadrons and ships of the Fleet Air Arm [see more]
