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Aviation History
1952
1952 - 0985.PDF
II April 1952 445 THE AERONAUTICAL BOOKSHELF Unvarnished History "The Struggle for Europe," by Chester Wilmot. Collins, St. James's Place, London, S.W.i; 766 pp.; illustrated with 51 maps. Price 25s. XJAD this book been written in the style of so many histories of -•"•- World War II, we should have derived sadistic pleasure from describing how we struggled valiantly through 766 pages of The Struggle for Europe. But it is not that kind of book; here, for the first time, are the facts about World War II, unvarnished by wish ful thinking, with no attempt to praise one man, one Service or one country at the expense of any other, and with plenty of honest-to- goodness criticism. As The Struggle for Europe has been widely reviewed elsewhere in general terms, we shall concern ourselves solely with the air side of the story, which is commendably complete and balanced, except for the strange omission of any mention of the Luftwaffe's surprise last-fling attack on the Allied air forces in France on New Year's Day 1945, which cost us 260 aircraft destroyed and damaged. From the Battle of Britain to D-Day, we can trace the gradual build-up of Allied air power, which enabled us in 1944 to photograph, map and make detailed models of every inch of the invasion coastline, while protecting completely our own invasion bases from attack or reconnaissance. Mr. Wilmot's description of Allied airborne operations on D-Day is particularly good—which is hardly surprising, as he accom panied the 6th Airborne Division as a B.B.C. war commentator. The subsequent effects of Allied tactical bombing and rocket attacks are perhaps best summed up by German Panzer General Bayerlein, who told how "The planes kept coming over as if on a conveyor belt, and the bomb carpets unrolled in great rectangles. My flak had hardly opened its mouth when the batteries received direct hits which knocked out half the guns and silenced the rest. After an hour I had no communication with anybody, even by radio. By noon nothing was visible but dust and smoke. My front lines looked like the face of the moon and at least 70 per cent of my troops were out of action—dead, wounded, crazed or numbed. All my forward tanks were knocked out, and the roads were practically impassable." Allied strategic bombing does not get so much praise from Mr. Wilmot, though he emphasises many indirect benefits from it. For instance, output of Me 163 rocket-fighters had reached 80 a month by the autumn of 1943; then the R.A.F. destroyed a plant in Hamburg which was the sole producer of part of the rocket fuel, and the 163 project had to be abandoned. Similarly, Allied mass raids on German fuel and oil plants forced Galland to use up his fighter force piecemeal in continuous small-scale actions, so preventing its planned build-up to a force of 2,500 aircraft, intended to inflict staggering losses on the Allied bomber fleets in one "grand strike." As for Hitler's "miracle weapons" : Mr. Wilmot points out that "Even after 5,000 V-bombs had fallen on Antwerp and its environs, the total damage to docks and installa tions was no greater than might have been caused in one con ventional raid by a hundred bombers." The Struggle for Europe is more than just a model of readable history; for if we take to heart its many lessons of war, there may still be time to prevent ourselves losing the peace. Recognition Trio "The Air League Recognition Manual, by C. H. Gibbs-Smith, M.A„ F.R.S.A. Putnam and Co., Ltd., 42 Great Russell Street, London. Price 10s 6d. "Jet Aircraft," by R. Das and H. Volker. Anglo-French Literary Services, Ltd., 72 Charlotte Street, London, W.i. Price $s. "Military Aircraft of the U.S.S.R.," by Charles Cain and Denys Voaden. Herbert Jenkins, Ltd., 3 Duke of York Street, London, S.W.i. Price 35 6d. WELL-KNOWN to spotters as the author of three very useful war-time recognition books, Mr. C. H. Gibbs-Smith has completed the quartet with a new manual written for the Air League. It is designed as a primer and reference-book for the student of recognition, who will find it a reliable guide to the shapes and functions of the 180 types covered in its 240 pages. Aircraft have been classified in the simplest way possible (e.g., small—fast, medium—slower) and statistical facts kept to a minimum. Mr. Gibbs-Smith relies on photographs, three-view silhouettes and caricatures by Charles Sargeant to make a visual impression on his readers. Less conventional but equally effective are his deft word-pictures of aircraft: to the author, the Valiant's fuselage is "a great tapered torpedo with a snake's head," and the Sabre is a "perky U.S. fighter very much like a flying fish, with a mouth perpetually agape." We were sorry to spot an error on the fly-leaf, where a silhouette of the Bristol Freighter is named as the Blackburn and General Aircraft Universal Freighter, which (to quote the author) is "the most easily recognised aircraft in the world." This "brick" appears to be an isolated one, though the speed-ranges quoted for some types are open to query. All in all, however, the book is good value. Another book for the general reader is Jet Aircraft, the fifth in the Picture Encyclopaedia series. Over 50 jet aircraft of inter national interest are introduced by means of silhouettes, small data tables and neat black-and-white sketches by R. Das. The drawings are the better part of the book; too many "guesstimations" are inserted to inspire confidence in the author's claim that exact figures are used. To our knowledge, there is no factural basis for quoting such speeds as 800 m.p.h. for the Fairey F.D.i, 670 m.p.h. for the Avro Canada Canuck, 590 m.p.h. for the Avro 707B, 700 m.p.h. for the Boulton Paul P.ni and 597 m.p.h. for the English Electric Canberra. And there is no such aircraft as the "Supermarine 535 Swift" described in this attractive but partially misleading booklet. The text, incidentally, is in English, French, Dutch and German. Russian military aircraft are the subject of the book by Charles Cain and Denys Voaden. In his foreword, Mr. Peter Masefield congratulates the authors on a "Sherlock Holmes" job of real value in following up clues and compiling "probably the fullest account available anywhere of the equipment and status of Soviet military aviation." Wisely, they have not over-emphasised the significance of unconfirmed reports. Facts and figures are neatly presented and well illustrated with photographs and silhouettes. The artist, Bjorn KarlstrOm, has also contributed caricatures. Who, Where, What "The Aeroplane Directory of British Aviation, 1952," Temple Press, Ltd., Bowling Green Lane, London, E.C.i; 434 pp. Price 15s. T HIS new edition of the standard who's who, who's where and what's what in British aviation introduces a number of im portant changes. To start with, the page size is bigger, so that although the directory contains many more entries than before it is less bulky. Secondly, and even more welcome, there is now a very complete index at the back, covering every section of the book with the exception of "who's who," which is arranged alphabetically in any case. The directory of the aircraft and allied industries has been split into many more sections to facilitate reference, and a large number of companies appear for the first time. New sections list such things as overseas licensees of British aircraft and engines, V.C.s of the Air and details of the auxiliary Services, including the Royal Observer Corps. The result could hardly be more complete, up-to-date and useful. OTHER BOOKS RECEIVED Teach Yourself Motoring, by Dudley Noble. English Univer sities Press, Ltd., St. Paul's House, Warwick Sq., London E.C.4. Price 6s 6d. Aircraft Maintenance, by D. J. Brimm and H. Edward Boggess. Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd., 39 Parker Street, London, W.C.2. Price 40s. Air Transportation Management, its Practices and Policies, by J. L. Nicholson. Chapman and Hall, Ltd., 37 Essex Street, London, W.C.2. Price 52s. Books Recommended by "FLIGHT" Fellowship of the Air (Jubilee Book of the Royal Aero Club). By B. J. Hurren. Price 30s net; by post 30s lid. Mechanics for the Home Student. By Eric N. Simons, in association with W. D. Burnet, B.Eng., Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield University. Price 7s 6d net; by post, 7s iod. A Racing Motorist: His Adventures at the Wheel in Peace and War. By S. C. H. Davis of The Autocar. Price 10s 6d net; by post, us. Rallies and Trials. By S. C. H. Davis of The Autocar. Price 15s net; by post; 15s 7d. Roads of France—A Guide to Tourist Routes. By A. G. Douglas Clease. Price 5s net; by post, 5s 2d. Yachting World Annual, 1951-52 (Incorporating Yachtsman's Annual). Price 30s net; by post, 31s. Obtainable at all booksellers or direct from the Publishing Dept., Dorset House, Stamford St., London, S.E.I.
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