Customer Reviews

Allied Fighter Aces: The Air Combat Tactics and Techniques of World War II

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I read this book after reading Spick's glorious Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. Certainly the Luftwaffe was a much better read. Infact, I believed Mike wrote this book in response to the Luftwaffe Fighter Aces. What"s wrong with the Allied Fighter Aces is that it lack the grace and splendour of the earlier book. I certainly believe that the author thoroughly enjoyed writing on the Luftwaffe aces and his enthusiasm are shown through out.

This is a book about how the Allied Air Forces fought as organizations. It is not an indepth study of the pilot's tactics and techniques.

This is the second book in a series by prolific aviation author Mike Spick. It is written in the same format as the first and covers much the same ground but from the allied perspective. Unfortunately, it doesn't work quite as well. One of the problems faced here is the enormous scale of the subject. This is a much larger topic than the first book and I really think the Pacific conflict is worthy of a separate volume, perhaps covering both sides. I would also like to have seen a "Strike Rate" given for each pilot in the manner of his previous book, "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces", so that direct comparisons may be made. The author's personal writing style is starting to become a little irritating, too. It only happens occasionally but it is inappropriate and distracting. A not-quite-worthy companion to "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces", it is still a good read and will give the reader a good insight into the subject.

This is the follow-on book to Mike Spick's excellent "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces: The Jagdflieger And Their Tactics and Techniques". Just as the first book focused on the German aces, this one focuses on the Allied aces. Each is presented with a brief bio of their military career, flight habits, and favorite maneuvers. The book is illustrated with diagrams showing how each maneuver is performed. If you enjoyed "Luftwaffe Fighter Aces" you'll enjoy this book as well. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in aviation, military history, or PC flight simulators. Its a good prelude to Robert Shaw's "Fighter Tactics and Maneuvers", and is much more interesting to read.

Reading about the WWII airwar in "The Triumph and the Glory" fired an interest in me in the aerial combat history of the war. So I checked around on Amazon and found this book and ordered it right away. Spick has done a great job, his writing appeals to laymen like myself but certainly deals with the topic at a deeper level that experts and enthusiasts must enjoy as well. A fine book, I would encourage anyone with an interest in military aviation or WWII to read it.