On shelf

slapped together from three Octopus Publishing titles done in the early 1980s: AMERICAN FIGHTERS OF WORLD WAR II by David Anderton; BRITISH FIGHTERS OF WORLD WAR II by Bill Gunston; and GERMAN WARPLANES OF WORLD WAR II by Francis K. Mason. All three authors are well-known and respected so no problems with the text. Typically British in nature, it's eminently readable and somewhat dry. Don't expect any first-person reminiscences or 'yank-and-bank' accounts. 500+ color profiles, cutaways, diagrams and photographs. The profiles and three-views done by John Weal, Keith Fretwell and others are drop-dead gorgeous.

This is a mash-up of three separate books, one each on US Fighters, UK Fighters, and German warplanes in general. The illustrations and photographs are useful and accurate. The text, hmmm. Not quite so good. There are errors in layout (captions say one plane, picture is of something quite else), and the writing and design are out of sync; copy about plane X shows up on a page full of illustrations of plane Y; not all that surprising in a combination and re-publishing of separate books, but mildly annoying.

More importantly, if you want an encyclopedia, this isn't one; the planes included are those the authors thought were important (and of course, limited to US, British, and German makes), and the amount of coverage varies from aircraft to aircraft. It covers German planes of all general types (fighters, bombers, and even some transport craft), but only includes US and British fighters. So, for example, you'll find extensive coverage of the Do 17, but no mention of the Wellesley, even though it was a mainstay of the British in the first part of the African fighting; it was a bomber, so no coverage. The B-26 and the Bristol Blenheim show up, but only because they had night fighter roles. The Glouster Gladiator is covered extensively, but if you're interested in its major opponents, no luck. They were Italian planes, and the scope is limited to the three countries. There's an entire page on the Me 163, a bizarre experiment that had no serious effect on the war, but only two-thirds of a page, 3 small pictures, and 2 illustrations of the P-39, which in Russian hands was very successful. The Westland Whirlwind gets as much space as the P-40. You see what I'm getting at. It's a review, essentially, not a technical book.

This book has a lot to offer in the way of brilliantly detailed cutaways, illustrations and photographs. It is a summary of fighter and a few bomber aircraft of World War II. It offers cutaway illustrations that are detailed of some of the more popular aircraft. These are accompanied by brilliant full page color illustrations of these same aircraft. The illustrations have detailed captions with vital statistics of the aircraft. The captions for the photographs are well written. However, the organization of the aircraft seems haphazard and finding a particular plane to read about proved most difficult. Also, there is a marked absence of any United States bombers.
Readers with an interest in aviation and machines in general will find this book interesting. There are also many historical facts to be gathered from the writing and captions. The photographs and illustrations could also be used as teaching aids to demonstrate the dominant culture of the time. Much can be learned from an analysis of the nose art and adornment of the aircraft of this period. ( )

Bargain book with lots of photos and x-ray cutaways of important fighters of WWII. Has some large 3 view color drawings as well as some side view color plates. The problem is that the collection of plates is not complete, and the text is very general and uninformed.

In addition, for a book on fighters and warplanes of World War II, only the American, British and German planes make an appearance. What about the Japanese, Italian, and Soviets? Let alone the French, Dutch, etc. ( )