Encyclopedia of Aircraft of Wwii [Paperback]

Paul Eden (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Amber Books (June 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904687830
• ISBN-13: 978-1904687832
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #957,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book with some flaws, November 12, 2006

By 

death gleamer (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Aircraft of WWII (Hardcover)

The back cover states "Three-view artworks and annotations outline the powerplant, performance, weight, dimensions, and armament of every aircraft featured, with all measurements given in metric and imperial." This is not true! The weight and dimensions are missing for almost every aircraft except Supermarine Spitfire. Some information regarding the powerplant, performance, and armament are in the reading paragraphs. Not a big deal if you have another book with these kind of information such as 'Aircraft of World War II(300 of the world's greatest aircraft 1939-45)' by Chris Chant or The Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft by Robert Jackson which I recommend.

Most planes have high quality beautiful three-view artwork. Some planes such as P-47, P-38 and Corsair have only side-view artwork(s). There are many nice color and black&white pictures for each plane. Tons of detail information about developmental history, operation history, variants, foreign operators, and comparsion. 512 pages total. Emphasis are given to the utmost famous planes.

This book blows away other similar books. For example, the Messerschmitt bf 109 section is 23 pages long with 74 pictures and 6 side-view artworks. Awesome three-view artworks for model E-4, G-6, and K-4. Tons of quality informative text.

Overall an awesome book with some statistic flaws. A must have book for World War II aircraft fans! I bought this book(2006 reprint) from the bargin section of a Borders retail for ten bucks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Patchwork Collection of WWII Aircraft Profiles!, January 24, 2009

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Aircraft of Wwii (Paperback)

You have to give England's Aerospace Publishing firm credit - no other publisher gets more mileage from its material than Aerospace. They're past masters at recycling/repackaging data and illustrations from books and magazines they've previously published. Case in point: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II, published in 2004 by Amber Books (i.e. Aerospace Publishing).

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II is a door-stopper of a book; 512 pages crammed with narrative and 1,500+ photographs, profiles, three-views and artwork. Although the title implies comprehensive coverage of all WWII aircraft, the book's back cover blurb more accurately states it's a "guide to the best-known aircraft of World War II."

By my count, the book covers 93 aircraft beginning with the Aichi Val and ending with the Yakovlev 3/9. Most aircraft get a two-page spread with 6-8 photos and/or artwork. Some aircraft - the P-51, B-17, Spitfire, etc. - merit greater coverage. The Spitfire section, for example, runs to 36 pages!

Being an import, you can pick up a copy of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II for around $10.00. Considering the wealth of material you get, it's a bargain. However, paging through the book will bring a sense of literary deja vu (i.e. Where have I read this before? I know I've seen those profiles elsewhere!). Check out various Aerospace Publishing books and magazines (WINGS OF FAME, WORLD AIR POWER JOURNAL, HISTORY OF U.S. NAVAL AIR POWER, etc.) and you'll find some of the very same material. Likewise there are lots of aircraft left out of the book. Coverage of the French Air Force is almost non-existent. The Italian Air Force is poorly covered and so on. When the price tag is $10.00 and you're getting 1,500 pix/artwork though, does any of that matter???

Despite its cobbled-together nature, you can't beat THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AIRCRAFT OF WORLD WAR II. The information is solid and and can be pretty extensive as regards the P-51, Hurricane, Spit, B-17, Stuka, etc. The artwork by John Weal, Iain Wylie, Keith Fretwell, etc. is top-notch. So reach for a ten spot and indulge yourself! Recommended.