Duels in the Sky: World War II Naval Aircraft in Combat [Hardcover]

Eric M. Brown (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This has been done before but never by so qualified an examiner. Brown, the Royal Navy's chief test pilot during World War II, test-flew most of the planes used by the Allies and Axis. He describes their construction, flight characteristics, and tactical strengths and weaknesses, assessing their chances against each other in aerial combat, and finally summarizing the best in various categories. Along the way, he also gives a readable, competent history of the air war from the British Navy's view. This book is full of information for flying buffs, and though Brown's "From the Cockpit" series (in the British magazine Air Enthusiast/Air International in the 1970s) carried very similar material, it is so thoroughly reworked that this should command a wide aviation audience.Mel D. Lane, Sacramento, Cal.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 222 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr; 1St Edition edition (December 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870210637
• ISBN-13: 978-0870210631
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,420,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As Usual, Eric "Winkle" Brown does not Disappoint..., January 28, 2001

By 

Mark Robinson "plane crazy" (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Duels in the Sky: World War II Naval Aircraft in Combat (Hardcover)

I bought this book based on the reputation of Eric Brown and the other titles by this author that I own. I'm mostly satisfied with my purchase.

It came at a discounted price and I feel I got my money's worth: The paper quality is good, it's well bound and the pictures (though none in color) are of high quality. There are a few misquotes (aircraft misidentified, etc.) that can easily be overlooked by most aviation enthusiasts. The color jacket illustration is spurious, by-the-way. It would have been possible for an FW-190 to have intercepted RN Corsairs in Norwegian waters but apparently this never happened.

What's really different about "Duels in the Sky" is it's presentation of hypothetical air combat between aircraft that did not meet each other due to timing or being operated in different theatres of WWII. Mr. Brown rates the outcome of these mock battles in a most informative way.

Also, the comparisons are set in the context of the actual events (air and naval campaigns) of WWII - with ununal clarity and brevity. For example, Japanese and Allied aircraft are compared during the Battle of the Phillipine Sea (Marianas Turkey Shoot) on a day-by-day basis. In just a few paragraphs you find out the numbers of aircraft engaged, the order of battle and finally, the tactical outcome. No having to consult several sources to get the complete picture!

Finally, Mr. Brown's rankings of combat aircraft by type (bomber/fighter) and country of manufacture make this book especially worthy of your shelf. A final tally compares the best of the best, regardless of origin.

Pick up a copy before it goes out of print..like most good titles seem to do very quickly, these days.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great World War II Navy Aircraft Comparsion, September 8, 2000

By 

"cobrachen" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duels in the Sky: World War II Naval Aircraft in Combat (Hardcover)

Eric Brown is a very experience pilot back in WW2. He has a lot of personal experience on flight testing aircrafts from both side of the war. This is not his first book, but the one with comperhensive information.

This book categoried by years and campaign of both ocean. He first introduced the backgeound of each battle, then the aircraft involved. Then the comparsion of them.

At the end of this book, he also grouped those aircrafts showed up in the final stage of the war and give some more details.

This is a great book to know the history of the battles and aircrafts involved and also how did they fight through the war. With personal experience, readers can find more than just list of numbers but the real performance of them.

Highly recommend this book to everyone who wants to read about WW2 aircombat.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Than Just Statistics, August 18, 2009

By 

cpt matt (tanktown, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Duels in the Sky: World War II Naval Aircraft in Combat (Hardcover)

I have read and re-read this book many times. Eric Brown was a WWII British test pilot. You can get statistics and data of planes anywhere, but what is most often lacking are opinions of what is the best plane, why, theoretical combat of one plane vs another.

This author has the guts and experience to state his opinion. Having flown every one of these planes, he is in a position to judge. Will you always agree? No, but it does not detract from the enjoyment of this book.

This is not a book for modelers, not enough photos or line drawings. But it is an excellent review of arial combat from 1939-45 in all theaters covering all of the planes. And of course, the best is last - Brown's assessment of the ten top fighters of WWII and why. I disagreed with his final selection, but as the author admits, perhaps that is national bias. When you get to that level of greatness, it is all about which pilot is better.

Thought provoking and different. Highly recommended for any aviation enthusiast.