Customer Reviews

Allied Fighters 1939-45 (The Essential Aircraft Identification Guide)

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I purchased this book because I thought it would be about Allied Fighters. Instead it is a general overview of WWII from the perspective of allied air war. Even the historical overview is of little value.

It has little information about the specific models of aircraft used other than a small box with sparse information. In fact, it doesn't discuss the aircraft in much detail at all. It mentions tactics and organization only in passing as well.

While the color plates are strong (the reason I picked up the book) they generally show the same aircraft over and over and almost always from the same viewpoint (the left side of the plane) -- no top down views at all.

It doesn't give any real comparisons between the aircraft, much less their opposition or show which years the aircraft was in service.

This is a book that you will give a once over read and then it will sit on the shelf. Sadly, one can get more information from just browsing Wikipedia.

Part of Zenith Press' 'Essential Aircraft Identification Guide' series, ALLIED FIGHTERS 1939-45 claims to be "the authoritative guide to Allied fighter units for both military modellers and World War II enthusiasts." I can't say as I agree with that claim but, considering the price tag and the wealth of color profiles you get in Chris Chant's book, it isn't a half-bad guide to some Allied fighters.

ALLIED FIGHTERS has pluses and minuses. First, it does offer a country-by-country guide to Allied fighters but only to those that operated in the ETO or MTO. Nothing on PTO fighters. Countries covered include France, the U.K./Commonwealth, America, Russia and "other Allied air forces."

Second, the publisher is Amber Books, which means recycled artwork/pix from the Aerospace Publishing backfiles. Many of the profiles were first used in WINGS OF FAME, etc. Some are really showing their age; several (357th FG P-51D, 4th FG P-47C & P-51B, 353rd FG P-51D, etc. are poorly done and the colors suspect). The book's most notable innovation is displaying, for example, the aircraft strength of a typical fighter unit - like an RAF FS - by featuring a Spitfire profile repeated 12 times. Incidentally the full-page 56th FG P-47 chart features a P-47 from the 358th FG repeated 72 times. Oops!

My biggest beef about ALLIED FIGHTERS is its scattershot arrangement. The sequencing in the RAF section, for example, bounces around from "Nightfighters" to "Malta" to "Flying Bomb Interceptors," etc.

In summary, you do get some useful info on various Allied fighter units and some general info on the ETO/MTO air war along with lots of color profiles. I imagine wargamers and modellers will enjoy Chant's book but I found it wanting. Given the $19.95 price tag, it's your call, folks!

At just 192 pages this book was never going to be a 'comprehensive' account of the subject, and is indeed not when you consider that it mentions nothing at all from the Pacific theatre. Still, I find what it does have pretty useful for a quick-and-easy reference guide, and can see the benefits for the modellers too. Good value for money in my opinion, but not perfect by any means.

This book claims to be an essential identification guide for Allied WW2 fighters but almost totally neglects the Pacific war and especially US carrier aviation.
Their was only one picture of a Hellcat, no pictures of the Wildcat, except as the British variant named the Martlet, and not a single mention of the Vought Corsair. I could understand the omission of some more obscure aircraft but these three workhorses makes the title of the book a bit overreaching.
What you do get is dozens of great color side views of Mustangs, Spitfires, Hurricanes and Thunderbolts with the occasional Lightning thrown in. There are a some good depictions of more obscure allied planes (Poland) and some Italian and Russian craft. If this guide had been named "WW2 Allied European Theater Fighters" it would have been more accurate but with it's existing title the omission of the Pacific Naval forces makes it just a bit deceptive.