Customer Reviews

Bristol Beaufighter in Action - Aircraft No. 153

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I disagree with other reviewers who think too much time was devoted to the Beaufort (only 2 pages of the 48 in the book). It is important to see how the Beaufighter came about and I think the amount of coverage on the lineage is just right. Same goes for the last post war versions the Brigand - it was uglier than the Beaufighter, but faster and more effective as a torpedo bomber.

This book is great. It traces the development of the Beaufighter a twin engine figher bomber designed in 1939 and went into production a year later. It served well as a torpedo bomber, light bomber, ground support and night fighter. The US Air Force used 100 of them in night figher role.

Plenty of clear black and white photos, color plates to show paint schemes, line drawings to help distinguish what features changed from version to version. I am obviously a fan of the In Action Series and this book as well. Perfect for modelers and those who want a quick and easy read on a very successful British WW2 aircraft.

Typical Squad/Sig profile on an aircraft that is less well known in the US. Lots of pictures with minimal text at a reasonable price. This series was never meant as the final word as some reviews seem to want it to be. However, it is a good starting point.

This book falls short of the high standard of most Squadron-Signal "in action" books. There is too much about Blenheim, Beaufort, Brigand, not enough about Beaufighter.

And there is a serious error: the wingspan is listed as 75 feet 10 inches instead of the correct 57 feet 10 inches.

Despite these shortfalls, it is still a valuable resource for modelers and aero history buffs.

The general text and photos are valuable, but some typing errors occured in the legends. The chapter about the Brigand could have been shorter, in order, for example, to leave some place for a three views drawing of the Mk X. I find it a good idea to describe shortly the Beaufort, since that plane has been obscured by the Beaufighter. I was astonished to notice that : 1. all the three views drawings are more or less filled with errors, some of which as big as the Hercules engines which have been... inversed ! 2. part of the summaries of the specifications (performances) are identical either for Mk I, Mk II and Mk 21

This book is meant to be centreed on the Beaufighter. And in many ways it is. But there is a fair amount of information on other aircraft. It is almost like the author didn't feel comfortable about discussing the Beaufighter without showing us where it came from. I didn't mind this so much as I had very little information on the other aircraft described. It is filled with excellent pictures and drawings and the center pages of the different schemes is always good. This isn't the best Beaufighter book out there, but it isn't too bad.