Jane's Historic Military Aircraft Recognition Guide (Jane's Recognition Guides) [Paperback]

Bernard Ireland (Author)

Book Description

Series: Jane's Recognition Guides | Publication Date: August 26, 1998

All the world's Historic Military Aircraft

From jet interceptors recently retired from military service to World War I bi-planes, Jane's Historic Military Aircraft Recognition Guide is a complete directory of military aircraft preserved today:

• Recent photographs

• Historic details

• Technical data

• Location guide

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bernard Ireland has written may books on warships and naval including War at Sea 1897-1997, Battleships of the 20th Century, The Mediterranean Campaign 1940-1943, Cruisers and Warships of World War II.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Collins Reference (August 26, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0004721470
• ISBN-13: 978-0004721477
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,487,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars JANE'S HISTORIC MILITARY AIRCRAFT, March 25, 2000

By 

John C. Macidull (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jane's Historic Military Aircraft Recognition Guide (Jane's Recognition Guides) (Paperback)

I agree with the two-star reviewer above. However, I gave it three stars because of the convenient format. But the scope is not up to Jane's sandards. There are so many aircraft missing. Better to have a black & white photo from Jane's itself than to just forget about all the missing historical ones that were flown by hundreds of thousands... like these few: T-34, RA-5C, A-4 (photo is of a TA-4),F-8 (Main Navy fighter during first half of Vietnam), F-102,F-105,and A-7 (Vietnam)! , Banshee, Panther, Shooting Star (first operational U.S. jet), and Couger (Korea), PB4Y, Hurricane (Battle of Britain and before), U-3, all the Russian Illusian and Italian fighters of WWII, the ME-262,FW-190,Condor,Stuka and others (German,WWII), Japanese Bettys, Tonys, Raidens, and numerous others, Mig 25/29/etc., Yak-36, the Harrier (Faulklands), the rest of the Century Series fighters like the F-101 Voodoo (Vietnam), and helicopters? What about the Kaman H-2 (Vietnam), the TH-13 (Korea), H-19(Korea and Vietnam), H-34(Korea and Vietnam),H-1J Aircobra gunship (Vietnam), S-61, Apache, Blackhawk(Desert Storm), H-3(Vietnam, Desert Storm)(that our President still uses), and the H-53 (Vietnam, Granada, Panama, and Desert Storm)? There isn't even an H section in the index. And the index is a joke. There are over forty aircraft which are listed by their common designation or name, but instead of referring the reader to the simple page number, they are referred to the manufacturer in the index. Talk about user unfriendly. Then I couldn't find the F4U Corsair at first because it was listed under Vought, whereas the manufacturer was Chance-Vought. Couldn't find the F-8 under F-8, Crusader, or the manufacturer, LTV - Ling Temco Vought. The write-ups opposite each photo is where one should find out specifics like that. Of course a comprehensive guide to historic military aircraft would be about twice as thick, or in two volumes... but it would be a valuable 'bible' in keeping with the fine reputation of Jane's All The World's Aircraft/Ships/Weapons Systems etc (which only cover those used today and updated each year.) The title of this book should be changed to "Some Historical Aircraft" and the term "Recognition Guide" should be changed to "Historical Summaries, Photos, and Performance/Operational/Dimensional Specifications".

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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It could have been better., June 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jane's Historic Military Aircraft Recognition Guide (Jane's Recognition Guides) (Paperback)

I am very disappointed in this book. It could have been alot better. I own 3 of Jane's recognition guides and I must say that this one is the worst. It seems that the book was based on color pictures, which was good for appearance, but it restricted alot of the aircraft in the book. All of the aircraft in the book were aircraft that were flying today. If you are a World War II air enthusiast you will know that there is not a single flying Focke Wolf 190 around today. This was a vital historic military aircraft, yet it was not included in the book. This situation applies to many other aircraft that should have been included in the book. The book would have been much better if there were more combat historic aircraft. The book is mostly composed of trainers and laison aircraft. On a good note, with the aircraft that have been included the book does give suffient information on the aircraft. Another part that seems to be missing in the book is not including the armament of the aircraft. I would not recomend this book to anyone except those whose knowledge of historic military aircraft is a minimum.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best guides to historic airplanes!!!!, January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jane's Historic Military Aircraft Recognition Guide (Jane's Recognition Guides) (Paperback)

For a 13 yearold I must say that this book was one of those that if you can't remember the name to it, it will be right there! It is broken into 5 sections: World War I; Inter war aircraft; World War II; Post War; and Helicopters. The index is easy to use. You should really get this!! Even has different types of the same aircraft! All in All it is a GREAT book!