Great Aircraft of World War II

by Alfred Price and Mike Spick

Book Overview

Five aircraft - the Spitfire, Lancaster, Messerschmitt, Mustang and Flying Fortress - emerged from World War II as the truly outstanding designs of that period. This book examines the course of these... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0785806695
• ISBN13: 9780785806691
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Booksales
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 9.1" x 11.7"

Customer Reviews

Grab-bag of Classic World War II Warbirds!

Two noted Btitish aviation historians - Alfred Price and Mike Spick - examine "the six truly outstanding combat aircrfat of World War II' in this 1977 release from Chartwell Books. Classic warbird fans should enjoy this well-illustrated grab-bag tribute to the Spitfire, P-51, Bf 109, Me 262, B-17 and Lancaster. Price and Spick split the writing duties - Price doing the chapters on the Spit, Bf 109 and Me 262 while Spick handled the sections on the Lanc, P-51 and B-17. The book runs to 328 pages, each chapter running to 64 pages plus or minus. The authors relate the aircraft's development, combat history and post-war career if any. Emphasis is on combat ops rather than nuts-and-bolts. Various air combats are described with some first-person reminiscences included. The book also features some interesting sidebars on related topics. GREAT AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II is a perfectly serviceable guide to some classic warbirds. I gave the book four stars for two reasons. I question the inclusion of the Me 262. Though it was an astounding technical achievement, it had little effect on the air war and no effect on the outcome of the war. A better candidate might have been the B-29 or even the Mitsubishi Zero. Secondly, the authors didn't include an index. Lovers of classic warbirds and air combat buffs will want to track down this long-out-of print volume. Recommended.