FLIGHTPATH | 27Personal Effects
take on another quality – that of
deeply moving tribute to the
memory of these men.
Well-illustrated and with the
author’s insistence on rounding
out an airman’s story (as op-
posed to just a passing refer-
ence), this is the perfect finish
to the trilogy and will be one of
the best new aircrew books of
- (reviewer: Andy Wright)
Max Lambert, Harper
Collins, $28.95 plus p&p,
http://www.harpercollins.com.au
The Bomber
Command War
Diaries
The release of this epic work in
1985 suddenly made research
into Bomber Command’s opera-
tions so much easier. Here was
every single raid complete with
details of the target, aircraft dis-
patched, losses, a surprising
amount of notable personnel an-
ecdotes and even reports from
German sources as to damage
and loss of life on the ground.
Having all of this information
in one book is a godsend in the
great scheme of things. This
would have been particularly so
in the days before the internet.
The original edition has been
copied verbatim and placed on
several websites (which was not
really legal.) Why, then, bother
with a new print edition?
Handling this 800+ page book
is surprisingly easy and, despite
the online content, it remains a
valuable resource. This new pa-
perback edition from Pen &
Sword includes a section cor-
recting errors from the first
book. Every operation is laid
out in chronological order and
grouped together in campaigns
i.e. “The Phoney War”, “The
Thousand Raids” etc. enumer-
ating 21 campaigns in all. Each
of these sections concludes with
a summary of the statistics for
the period covered. These
make for interesting compari-
sons as the war progresses.
Part Two accumulates these
statistics as they apply to air
and ground crew, escapers and
evaders, and aircraft types.
Part Three looks at the num-
bers from a group, squadron
and OTU point of view. It is as
comprehensive as it can get and
is guaranteed to be one of the
more well-thumbed books in
any Bomber Command collec-
tion. (reviewer: Andy Wright)
Martin Middlebrook and
Chris Everitt, Pen & Sword
Books, $38.50 plus p&p,
http://www.pen-and-sword.co.ukA Wooden
Wonder
Restored –
de Havilland
DH.98
Mosquito FB.26
From New Zealand comes this
DVD (also available as a Blu-
Ray) disc of film featuring the
recently restored Mosquito
KA114. Unlike most other avia-
tion DVDs, this includes over
two hours of video footage, in-
cluding airshow displays, air-
to-air and onboard footage, and
dual-audio tracks. Interviewswith the pilots are an added ex-
tra. Rather than being a film,
this series from Alex Mitchell
and Allan Udy’s Historical Avia-
tion Film Unit (HAFU) is, as
they say, a “scrapbook collec-
tion of short film clips between
two and fifteen minutes long,
which provide the sights and
sounds of the aircraft in action”
which are rarely made available
for the enthusiast and not nor-
mally included in broadcast me-
dia. While there is a narration
by Glenn Kirby, this can be se-
lected ‘off’ so the ambient sound
of the flights (predominantly
the two Merlin engines!) can be
enjoyed. This is one for those
who have not had a chance to
see this aircraft in action in
New Zealand (or now in North
America) or for those who have
seen it, and want to keep a ver-
sion of the experience at home!
(Reviewer James Kightly.)
Historical Aviation Film
Unit, Blu-Ray: NZ$49.95,
DVD: NZ$34.95, plus
NZ$5.00 P&P,
http://www.aviationfilm.comObservers
and Navigator
And other non-pilot
aircrew in the RFC,
RNAS and RAF
This updated and expanded
work, is a detailed examination
of the often glossed over ‘ancil-
lary’ aircrew in British military
aviation. Comprehensively re-
searched, associated with high
quality photographic reproduc-
tion of the plethora of images,this work is an essential study
tool in gaining an overall view
of military flying operations.
The role of the little under-
stood observers, aerial gunners/
gunlayers and kite balloon ob-
servers who flew with the RFC,
RNAS and later the RAF be-
tween 1914 and 1919 opens the
work and sets the scene for the
following chapters. These go on
to examine the proliferation of
non-pilot aircrew categories un-
til in 1942 when the observer
was supplanted by the air
bomber and a variety of special-
ised types of navigator. First
published in 2001 this edition is
fifty percent larger and ex-
pands the Great War and W.W.II
eras and the often overlooked
less evocative inter war and
post war periods. It continues,
reflecting on the RAF’s ill-con-
ceived policy of the ‘1946 Air-
crew Scheme’ which had to be
abandoned in 1950 in favour of
an all-officer policy for pilots
and navigators. The author ex-
amines the way in which this
egalitarian program has actual-
ly been implemented while con-
tinuing to trace the rises and
falls in the fortunes of all non-
pilot aircrew categories and the
evolution of post-war aircrew
training until the last naviga-
tors graduated in 2011. This is
undeniably an essential refer-
ence guide for all those inter-
ested in military aviation.
Wing Commander C.G.
‘Jeff’ Jefford, MBE, BA,
RAF (retired) £40 + P&P
http://www.grubstreet.co.uk,
via Capricorn Link,
http://www.capricornlink.com.au