THE DAMBUSTER RAID:
A GERMAN VIEW
Book
Written by: Helmuth Euler
Price: £25.00
There have been many books about the Dams Raid
but this is the rst I’ve read that gives the German
perspective. In 1984, the author published a German language
account of the raid, including much new information and contacts
with participants and survivors. This eventually prompted him to write
a follow-up in 2007, which has now been translated into English.
He describes how as early as 1937 the British Air Ministry
considered the drastic effect the destruction of the Ruhr Dams would
have on the German arms industry. The problem was there was
neither a bomb heavy enough, nor a suitable aircraft to carry it, yet in
service. The advent of the Lancaster and Barnes Wallis’ development
of the bouncing bomb is described in some detail.
The book includes a large number of photographs of the raid’s
immediate aftermath, followed by the clearing up operations and
repair of the damage, and there are harrowing accounts of what befell
villagers and foreign forced-labourers in the path of the walls of water.
Amazingly, the huge breach in the Moehne Dam was repaired in only
79 days – photos and diagrams showing how it was done.
My only criticism is that the text would have bene ted from more
careful editing to eliminate repeated translation errors such as
‘aircrafts’ and ‘617th squadron’. But fortunately this detracts very little
from what I consider a very interesting book.
Published by Pen and Sword Aviation (ISBN 9781473828025),
it is available from http://www.pen-and-sword.co.ukWINGS OF EMPIRE: THE FORGOTTEN
WARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE,
1919-1939
Book
Written by: Barry Renfrew
Price: £25
Amid the mounting air offensive against Daesh in
the Middle East, the fact that the RAF began similar actions almost a
century ago is almost forgotten. This absorbing book describes how
a number of visionaries, including Winston Churchill, believed that air
power would save the British Empire. This strategy of controlling vast
tracts of territory from the sky was known as Air Control.
Between 1919 and 1939, the RAF conducted major bombing
campaigns, often lasting years, against insurgents in Iraq, Afghanistan,
Somalia, Yemen and Sudan. Using relatively primitive biplanes,
a considerable tonnage of bombs was dropped to sometimes
devastating effect.
The book also describes the struggle to stop the RAF being
disbanded by the government to save money, urged on by the army
and navy which wanted to regain control of air power. Had the RAF not
proved its worth, Britain might have been overwhelmed in 1940.
In the author’s words: “Air Control was also crucial in blooding a
generation of RAF leaders – it is remarkable how so many of the men
who gure in the campaigns in Iraq, India and elsewhere as young
pilots and squadron commanders rose to the highest ranks in the
Second World War.”
They included Sir Hugh Dowding, head of Fighter Command during
the Battle of Britain; Sir Charles Portal, Chief of the Air Staff from 1940;
and Sir Arthur Harris, who was to head Bomber Command.
Illustrated with 53 contemporary photos, this is an excellent detailed
account of a neglected period of RAF history.
Published by The History Press (ISBN 9780750965071),
it is available from http://www.thehistorypress.co.ukSR-71 BLACKBIRD
Book
Written by: Paul F Crickmore
Price: £6.99
The author is well known for his extensive
knowledge on this incredible aircraft, having already written several
authoritative accounts of its development and operational history. With
this new release he has achieved the enviable feat of squeezing a great
deal of information into 160 pages of a relatively small-format book.
In his acknowledgements he notes the book is an accumulation of
interviews and declassi ed documentation spanning more than 30 years.
It begins with the original A-12 design and describes the problems of
manufacture of a Mach 3 aircraft, especially the peculiar properties of the
titanium which accounted for 85% of the structural weight.
Special fuel had to be developed to remain stable in a high-
temperature environment. The various systems are analysed in some
detail, including electronic countermeasures, the incredibly high-
resolution cameras and crew survival.
Its initial operation by the CIA over Vietnam is described. Then
comes its adoption by the USAF as the SR-71 and coverage of its
use in Southeast Asia and later monitoring ights over the Middle
East, Libya and North Korea.
Photos of the 30 surviving aircraft and their histories are rounded
off by appendices covering speci cations, a Blackshield mission log
for North Vietnam, losses and world speed and altitude records.
Judging by its low price, SR-71 Blackbird is possibly aimed chie y
at the pocket-money end of the market, but no concessions are made
to simplifying the data. This is a book that will appeal to a wide range
of enthusiasts.
Published by Osprey Publishing Ltd (ISBN 9781472813152),
it is available from http://www.ospreypublishing.comJET WARS IN THE NUCLEAR AGE:
1972 TO THE PRESENT DAY
Book
Written by: Martin W Bowman
Price: £25.00
As with many of his other books, this proli c author
relies heavily on rst-hand personal accounts and
has a knack of nding particularly interesting and dramatic anecdotes.
Some are skilfully edited into a narrative, others quoted verbatim.
Almost 230 black and white photographs are supported by a section at
the end of the book with 23 colour shots.
The author describes how ghters, bombers and tactics have
evolved with experience from 1972, covering all the most signi cant
military con icts of recent times including the 11-day Christmas
bombing campaign over North Vietnam in 1972, the Falklands War,
both Gulf Wars and the current offensive against Daesh.
How B-52s pressed on in the face of a barrage of SAMs during the
Linebacker II bombing campaign against Hanoi is vividly described.
Moving on, the hard-fought air battles over the Falklands are described
in much detail, including the Vulcan Black Buck sorties. To balance
the account, the author has sourced many photos showing aircraft and
pilots from the Argentine side of the con ict.
A ‘Buffs in the Gulf War 1990-1991’ chapter tells the story of the big
bombers’ campaign in 1991 while Tornado and Buccaneer strikes have
their own chapter from this campaign.
Published by Pen and Sword Aviation (ISBN 9781473837720),
the book is available from http://www.pen-and-sword.co.ukYANK BOMBER BOYS IN NORFOLK –
A PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF THE
USAAF IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR
Book
Written by: Peter W Bodle FRAeS
Price: £25.00Compiled from the photographic collections
of individual troops and station photographic
sections, this unusual book gives a view of
US Army Air Force operations in Norfolk. The
primary aviation fare is the Consolidated B-24
Liberator, but a scattering of other types,
US and RAF, appears, including a Bristol
Beau ghter, captioned on page 218 as a
“British medium bomber”. It is regrettable that some photographs
appear to have suffered in quality from being reproduced beyond
their scanned dimensions, rather than from being more than seven
decades old.
The captions are generally weak, but sufficient to identify
locations and the units depicted, although most readers will simply
be absorbed in the photographs. There are scenes of domesticity
and regular air eld life, as well as more harrowing images of crashed
and, in some cases, burning bombers. Those fortunate enough to
live in or around Norfolk will enjoy the possibility of spotting a familiar
air eld, pub or other location. This is a book to be dipped into at
leisure, rather than read cover to cover.
Published by Fonthill Media; ISBN9781781553565, available from
http://www.fonthillmedia.comA CENTURY OF AIR WARFARE WITH NINE (IX)
SQUADRON RAF – STILL GOING STRONG
Book
Written by: Gordon Thorburn
Price: £25.00Given IX Squadron’s century of service – it formed
as a Royal Flying Corps unit in December 1914 –
author Gordon Thorburn begins his history with a
look at the origins of bombing and airborne radio.
The unit was a pioneer in both elds.
The excellent narrative describes the
squadron’s early and inter-war history in
considerable detail, before the author embarks into an unusual
presentation of its World War Two campaign. A run through of aircraft
types and operations might be expected – IX Squadron Lancasters
may or may not have been responsible for causing Tirpitz to capsize
in an attack own alongside 617 Sqn, for example (opinions on which
unit dropped the vital Tallboy depend on which squadron personnel
one is talking to) – but instead the story is presented through the eyes
of different aircrew and groundcrew. The result is as engaging as it is
informative.
Through the Cold War, IX Squadron operated the Avro Lincoln and
English Electric Canberra, before returning to Avro with the Vulcan. The
latter gave way to the Panavia Tornado as the unit once again took on
a pioneering role, introducing the swing-wing strike aircraft into RAF
service. There are hair-raising accounts from crews involved in the
Tornado’s rst combat operations over Iraq in 1991 and coverage of
subsequent action over the Balkans, Afghanistan and Libya.
All of the many photographs are reproduced in black and white,
which is a pity given the many colour images of IX Squadron’s
operations from more recent times. Readers will notice that the Bristol
Scout shown on page 18 is a Bristol Fighter and might puzzle at Litening
being described as a radar defence pod rather than a targeting pod, but
given the extent of the book’s coverage, these are minor criticisms.
Published by Pen & Sword Aviation; ISBN1783036346, available
from http://www.pen-and-sword.co.ukFROM SPITFIRE TO METEOR
Book
Written by: Albert Horton
Price: £9.75 plus postage
Given the quality of reproduction of its black
and white photographs and inconsistent
typography, the self-published origins of this
book are immediately apparent, but neither
detracts from the excellence of its content,
which essentially comprises the memoirs of
Royal Air Force ghter pilot Albert Horton.
Horton graduated onto the Supermarine Spit re in June 1949,
after training on the de Havilland Tiger Moth and North American
Harvard. Moving on from the Merlin-engined Mk 16, he accumulated
the majority of his Spit re hours on the PR.Mk 19 and FR.Mk 18,
both of them Griffon engined. Photographic reconnaissance became
his speciality and Horton was posted to the Middle East with 208
Squadron.
His was a fascinating time, for the RAF was transitioning to jets
and he made the change from piston power to the Gloster Meteor
FR.Mk 9, gleefully noting that he ew faster in a Spit re than he was
permitted to in the Meteor. Horton gives engaging recollections of
ying in the relative freedom of the immediate post-war world and the
excitement of service life.
This is a book written by someone who was there, and his
passion for ying and the Spit re in particular, shines through.
Although it repeats a couple of photographs and would bene t from
tighter editing in places, this modest book is recommended as an
engaging, illuminating and entertaining read.
Published by Robert Davies; ISBN9781291969085, available from
http://www.lulu.comOSPREY AIRCRAFT OF THE ACES
- SPITFIRE ACES OF NORTHWEST
EUROPE 1944-45
Book
Written by: Andrew Thomas
Price: £13.99
This new title from Osprey is number 122 in its
acclaimed Aircraft of the Aces series and the
fact that it is written by RAF authority Andrew Thomas, with cover
artwork by Mark Postlethwaite and colour pro les by Chris Thomas,
all under the careful editorial guidance of Tony Holmes, will add up to
recommendation enough for many readers.
For those not familiar with Aircraft of the Aces, this would be an
excellent rst volume. Dealing with the Supermarine Spit re in its
last year of service over Northwest Europe, it abounds with artwork,
photographs and rst-hand accounts set into Andrew Thomas’s
authoritatively researched narrative. The beautifully rendered pro les - 36 altogether – illustrate Mks VB, VII, IX and XVI, and are complete
with extensive captions. An appendix detailing individual pilot scores,
a bibliography and comprehensive index round off another superb
package from Osprey.
Published by Osprey Publishing Ltd; ISBN9781782003380,
available from http://www.ospreypublishing.com
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