A new book in my library.

[Wayne Little]

Good score there Terry!

 

[Airframes]

Not as good as I at first thought though !
On reading the first couple of chapters covering the periods and sub-variants I have particular interest in, I find the book somewhat lacking. Information is rather vague in parts, and sometimes contradictory, with photo captions often nebulous to downright wrong.
The chapter covering The Battle of Britain is very short, more or less 'glossing over' this important event, and appears, to me at least, to be bordering on revisionist !
Specific info on sub-variants is very thin, and at times at odds with what has been published elsewhere, leading to doubt about the contents in general.
However, given that photo captions are ignored, there are some useful detail shots, together with snippets of useful technical info, so not a total waste.

 

[Capt. Vick]

Bummer

 

[Airframes]

Yep, especially as Nowarra has, or had, a reputation for producing good, detailed work. The first book of his I ever got, back in 1962 (!!), was the Harleyford classic 'Messerchmitt 109 - the story of a famous fighter', which was a bench-mark work for many years.
Perhaps, as this latest book must have been one of his last, being originally published in 1979, it was more a final exercise, perhaps in fund-raising - unless it's lost something in the translation from the original German text.

 

[Micdrow]

I've only had a brief 'flip through' it so far Paul, but in general, it seems OK, with lots of good photos, drawings and diagrams.
It does, however, seem to follow the Nowarra style, of being detailed in parts, but sparse in some areas, with chronology jumping around a bit, and I have some doubts about accuracy in a couple of small areas regarding sub-variants, where again some of the info is sparse or dubious, or both, which I need to cross-reference to establish the true information.
But, allowing for the original publication date (1979), it still serves as a good reference.
I very recently read a magazine review following it's first publication in English, in 1980, when it got good ratings, and for the price, in new condition, I can't grumble.

Thanks Terry for the feed back.

 

[Wayne Little]

Thought you were on a winner there Terry...

 

[Airframes]

More like breaking even, I think Wayne !
Not a total loss, but, once a doubt is cast, it affects the whole approach to the rest of the book.
As a 'Documentary History', shown in the title, it falls very short - there are no production tables, or full specs and mods for each variant (although there is a basic list of variants), not one mention of Werk Nummer batches and, as already mentioned, conflicting information and what appear to be very inaccurate date lines.
As a reasonably interesting read, with some aircrew accounts and some useful photos, it fills that role quite well.

 

[Lucky13]

More like breaking even, I think Wayne !
Not a total loss, but, once a doubt is cast, it affects the whole approach to the rest of the book.
As a 'Documentary History', shown in the title, it falls very short - there are no production tables, or full specs and mods for each variant (although there is a basic list of variants), not one mention of Werk Nummer batches and, as already mentioned, conflicting information and what appear to be very inaccurate date lines.
As a reasonably interesting read, with some aircrew accounts and some useful photos, it fills that role quite well.

....as long as you don't break wind we're happy!

 

[Airframes]

Phhtttt...burr..emppp !
Nurse !

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Hey Jan,................................you have a mess to clean up.

 

[Lucky13]

He soiled himself, he clean himself! That's classified as a chemical hazard...

 

[stona]

My latest

It's pretty much what it says on the cover. Wakelam is the director of research and symposia at the Canadian Forces College and assistant professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College and his academic background is evident in the text.

He demonstrates the good use that Bomber Command made of the available science and argues something I've believed for years, that Harris was an innovative and flexible commander always ready to listen to scientific advice. You certainly can't say that of many senior officers in all services and on all sides during WW2.

If you have an interest in the bombing war, then I'd recommend this book. It will join all the others on this subject occupying an entire shelf in my library

Cheers

Steve

 

[Wayne Little]

Most interesting Steve..

 

[Lucky13]

Does that include the 5th of November?

 

[tomo pauk]

Latest pick - 'Flugzeug bewaffnung' by H. Schliephake:

Covers the Luftwaffe gun and air-to-air rockets'.

Could not agree more about Nowarra - yes, his books have loads of pictures, but the data is eiter lacking, or sometimes is not in line with what newer works have.

 

[Airframes]

Looks like a very interesting book Steve - might have to look out for that one.
A useful reference Tomo - is it in German only, or German/English ?

My second He-111 book arrived today. More or less in the style of the 'Squadron Signal - in Action' books, looks like it's done 'on the cheap', but plenty of useful photos (if the captions are ignored!), and at half price, in new condition, it didn't break the bank. A close look at the front cover shows what appears to be the center fold of book pages, indicating the artwork has been copied from another book, and this is also visible in one or two of the B&W photos in the book itself !

 

[Wurger]

 

[tomo pauk]

A useful reference Tomo - is it in German only, or German/English ?

German-only. Published in 1977, covers also the pre-ww2 armament of the German aircraft, obviously before the LW was born.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Tomo.

 

[Capt. Vick]

Yeah I have a few of those books and the captions are a bit bush league and I've even seen a picture upside down!