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Books - War in the Air
- Second World War
 An Airline at War, Robert L. Willet. A history of the China National Aviation Corporation, a joint venture between Pan Am and the Chinese Government. The airline struggled against Japanese aggression, poor facilities, the Communists and the terrain, but managed to survive for 20 years, playing a massive part in the development of the 'Hump' - the air route across the Himalayas that was the only way to get supplies into China for much of the Second World War. [read full review]
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The Battle of Britain, John Frayn Turner. A account of the battle of Britain centred around a day-by-day account of the fighting, and with a bias towards Leigh Mallory, Douglas Bader and the 'Big Wing'. A refreshing change from some of the drier recent works on the battle, although presenting one particular view of events. [read full review]
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Luftwaffe - General
 Fw 200 Condor vs Atlantic Convoy 1941-43, Robert Forczyk. A well structured examination of the attacks made on Allied convoys by the Fw 200 Condor, described by Churchill as the 'scourge of the Atlantic', and Allied efforts to provide an effective defence against it, which after a slow start saw convoys protected by ever more anti-aircraft guns, fighter aircraft from escort carriers and long range land-based aircraft. [read full review]
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Air Aces
 Fighter Aces - The Constable Maxwell Brothers, Alex Revell. An unusual double biography, looking at two brothers who served as fighter pilots, one in the First World War and one in the Second. As a result we get a clear picture of the vast increase in the complexity of aerial warfare in the two decades between the wars, from the standing fighter patrols of the first war to the radar guided interceptions of the Battle of Britain or the complexities of the night fighters, both on defensive and offensive duties. [read full review] |
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 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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 The Mighty Eighth at War, Martin W. Bowman. Looks at the evolving battle between the Luftwaffe and the Eighth Air Force, as seen by the US airmen themselves. The book is dominated by first-hand accounts of the fighting, which make up at least half of the text. Bowman provides a framework that links these accounts, as well as some detailed footnotes expanding on the airmen's experiences. [read full review]
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 Bombs Away, Martin W. Bowman. A very varied selection of stories from the RAF's bomber war, covering the main bomber offensive as well as a section of other topics that include day-time attacks on France, raids into Italy across the Alps, the Dam Busters raid, Coastal Command bombing operations and the bombers of Malta, each told in the words of the air-crews themselves. [read full review]
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6 Group Bomber Command: An Operation Record, Chris Ward. This is a very detailed reference book that looks at the wartime service of the Canadian group in RAF Bomber Command. A detailed narrative history of the group is followed by a series of chapters on each squadron, with a brief history, list of stations, commanding officers and types of aircraft, and most impressively a list of every individual aircraft to serve with each squadron and its fate [read full review]
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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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 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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Chance Vought Corsair
 The Vought F4U Corsair, Rafe Morrissey and Joe Hegedus. A modeller's guide to the Vought Corsair, providing a detailed account of the aircraft's physical development, lavishly supported with photographs and detailed plans as well as a section of reviews of models at various scales. Aimed at someone who already knows how to model, and who wants to know the precise details of each variant of the aircraft. [read full review] |
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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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Henschel Hs129
 Hs 129 Panzerjäger!, Martin Pegg. The definitive history of the Henschel Hs 129, with good a good section on its development and early history, and an impressive level of detail on its front line career. Supported by some useful appendices, including one with a complete list of Hs 129 loses, with their date, aircraft number, pilot and cause of loss when known. |
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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
The Cinderella Service: RAF Coastal Command 1939-1945, Andrew Hendrie. A complete history of RAF Coastal Command during the Second World War, based on the author's PhD and thus backed by some very impressive original research. Covers the Command's aircraft and weapons as well as the anti-submarine, anti-shipping (both military and merchant) campaigns, and Coastal Command's own 'Cinderella' functions of air-sea rescue, photo-reconnaissance and the meteorological flights [read full review]
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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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Operation 'Overlord' June-September 1944: Volume 2: USAAF Eight and Ninth Air Forces, Neil Robinson and Peter Scott. A detailed pictorial study of the paint schemes and markings of the aircraft of the 8th and 9th Air Forces during the period of the D-Day landings and the battle of Normandy, complete with a background history of the two air force and their orders of battle in 1944. [read full review] 
Operation 'Overlord' June-September 1944: Volume 1 RAF & Commonwealth Air Force plus Luftflotte 3, Neil Robinson & Jon Freeman. A guide to the colour schemes and markings used by the aircraft of 2nd Tactical Air Force, Air Defence of Great Britain and Luftflotte 3 during Operation Overlord. A useful introduction is followed by a huge number of illustrations showing each type of aircraft and each squadron, each with an explanation of what we are seeing. [read full review] 
Air War over Kursk - Turning Point in the East, Dmitriy B. Khazanov. A detailed examination of the epic clash between the Luftwaffe and the Soviet Air Force in the skies of Kursk, with a slight emphasis on the Soviet experience and some good attempts to reconcile the often contradictory evidence about the battle [read full review]
The Right of the Line: The Role of the RAF in World War Two, John Terraine. This is the classic account of the RAF's role in the Second World War, a massive piece of work that focuses on the main threads of the air war, from pre-war preparations to the final victory in Europe, through the Battles of Britain and the Atlantic and the long and costly strategic bombing campaign. An essential read on an crucial part of the war [read full review]
One Pilot's War - The Battle of Britain and Beyond, W.A. Wilkinson. The very readable autobiography of a pre-war RAF volunteer, tracing his progress from the workshops at Cranwell to the cockpit of a Hurricane during the battle of France and the battle of Britain, long patrols over the Irish Sea and finally a career as an instructor. [read full review] 
Devotion to a Calling: Far-east flying and survival with 62 Squadron, RAF, Group Captain Harley Boxall and Joe Bamford. A mix of autobiography and biography tracing the career of Group Captain Harley Boxall from his pre-war training, to the Far East in 1939, through the chaotic events of the Japanese invasion of Malaya and on to his later career in the RAF [read full review]
Foreign Planes in the Service of the Luftwaffe, Jean-Louis Roba. A lavishly illustrated look at the fate of the thousands of foreign military aircraft captured by the Germans during the Second World War (including particularly large numbers of Czech, French and Italian types), many of which went on to play important roles within the Luftwaffe. [read full review]
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]
