Aircraft of World War II [Import] [Hardcover]

Mike Sharpe (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Grange Books Ltd (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184013366X
• ISBN-13: 978-1840133660
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not all-inclusive, February 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II (Paperback)

As a student of WWII aircraft, I found the information in the book to be very interesting. The format, alphabetical by manufacturer and country, makes it easy to look up a particular aircraft, with the caveat that not all aircraft are included. It is disappointing that no US dive bombers or torpedo bombers are in the book, even though there is a picture of a Grumman Avenger (in British insignia!)on the back cover.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GOOD REFERENCE WORK !, November 23, 1999

By 

M. Fonseca "carmarthen" (Thunder) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II (Paperback)

This is a good book for brief reference about WW II aircraft, including numbers produced, fronts in which the aircraft flew, nations that utilized the plane. About pilots, nothing. It's an extremely technical book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars UNBALANCED, INCOMPLETE, October 3, 2003

By 

ViktorViktor "V V" (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Illustrated Directory of Fighting Aircraft of World War II (Paperback)

This is a book with an appealing cover and is of the 'pocket' book variety. However, I find 3 serious flaws with it: 1) This book is divided into sections by aircraft type and nationality. There is, for instance, a section on British fighters. But there is no section on single engine bombers/attack aircraft for allied nations. This means you won't find the Fairey Swordfish, Ilyushin IL-2 Sturmovik, Douglas Dauntless, Curtiss Helldiver, or Grumman Avenger mentioned in the book !! (There is a picture of an Avenger on the back cover, though !!) On the other hand, there is a section on Axis light attack aircraft, so planes like the Stuka and the Judy are covered. 2) The shape of the book is rather vertical in nature, and since this is a small book, the majority of the pictures are cut in half by the bookbinding! I find this ruins the esthetic lines of the plane which is pictured. It just doesn't make sense to make a vertical book about a subject (airplanes) which lies horizontally when photographed. Nice pictures but bad format, say I. 3) Finally, the book has no index or overall table of contents. Instead, each section (about 10) has its own mini- table of contents. This means that you end up spending time thumbing through the book to find the right section and then the right plane you're looking for. (Unprofessional, but it helps hide the fact that some planes are missing.)

The author does a fine job, however, covering obscure British and German warplanes. Here are some of these planes: Westland Whirlwind, Blackburn Skua, Bachem Ba-349,Blohm und voss BV40, BV155, FW-187, HE-100, HE-112,HE-280, HS-123, HS-129, HS-132, JU-388, ME-263, ME-328. I don't recommend this book for serious aviation enthusiasts (unless they like obscure German aircraft), but it's fine for those with a casual interest. Those interested in the Pacific Air War should steer clear of this book!

I haven't been able to find the PBY Catalina yet. I would appreciate if another reviewer could let me know if it's actually in the book.