One book to rule them all....

[SirFrancis]

Hey guys,
So if I wanted just one resource book on WW2 and /or WW1 aircraft, could be just fighters or all aircraft, which is the best?
Would need to have photos, colour drawings, specs, some development data, some service data etc.
I'm looking at something like Jane's fighting aircraft of WW2, or even one like The complete book of fighters by Green and Swanborough, or Aircraft of World War I: 1914-1918: Identification Guide Herris and Pearson.

I've been using Aircraft of WWII by Stewart Wilson, which I think is very good as a quick reference, with just 1 photo for each aircraft in Encyclopedic format.
Had a quick glance at the Green and Swanborough volume and it was quite detailed.

I've heard the Jane's aircraft volumes are not as good as their Jane's Fighting Ships series but the ships series is a very high bar.

ok cheers

 

[special ed]

I have those and you will still want more.

 

[swampyankee]

The Jane's Fighting Ships bar varies greatly with year. Some of the bars it sets are not that high

 

[SirFrancis]

I have those and you will still want more.

I've actually donated dozens of books over the years to the local charity shops. I've kept a bunch of books like squadron Signal which go over one aircraft in detail. But what i'd like is one book I could take with me on a road trip etc, to keep me occupied. Sometimes I don't want to read about pilot stories or historical accounts. I have other books for that. Sometimes I just enjoy looking over aircraft specs and brief background and comparing them.

 

[SirFrancis]

The Jane's Fighting Ships bar varies greatly with year. Some of the bars it sets are not that high

Oh ok, that doesn't bode well for the aircraft series then....

 

[Crimea_River]

I still have this gem but it only covers 12 types:

 

[Greg Boeser]

Try these.
Books by David Mondey (Author of American Aircraft of World War II) Books by David Mondey (Author of American Aircraft of World War II)

 

[Capt. Vick]

I think maybe you should look at the Putnam line

 

[SirFrancis]

I still have this gem but it only covers 12 types:

View attachment 876189View attachment 876190View attachment 876191View attachment 876192

I have the Spitfire and the Bf109 books illustrated by Watanabe. Very good, lots of detail. I think I'm looking more for quantity of aircraft in encyclopedia fashion. I'd like something that has every aircraft flown by all sides including the various marks etc. Even prototypes, or experimental.

I like the look of "American experimental fighters of ww2 by Tony Butler" I could break my rules and get additional books along this line including other nations X planes.

 

[Engineman]

Hey guys,
So if I wanted just one resource book on WW2 and /or WW1 aircraft, could be just fighters or all aircraft, which is the best?
Would need to have photos, colour drawings, specs, some development data, some service data etc.
I'm looking at something like Jane's fighting aircraft of WW2, or even one like The complete book of fighters by Green and Swanborough, or Aircraft of World War I: 1914-1918: Identification Guide Herris and Pearson.

I've been using Aircraft of WWII by Stewart Wilson, which I think is very good as a quick reference, with just 1 photo for each aircraft in Encyclopedic format.
Had a quick glance at the Green and Swanborough volume and it was quite detailed.

I've heard the Jane's aircraft volumes are not as good as their Jane's Fighting Ships series but the ships series is a very high bar.

ok cheers

Hi,

The big difficulty is that the topic is simply HUGE! The Janes's WWI and WW2 books shown are good for starters but, IMO, they are not always as accurate as you might want. I suspect that many peoples interest often boils down to specific subjects and then you can read about a smaller part of the spectrum in more detail. If you keep at it, you will find that you soon get a good feel for where your interest takes you. The good thing is that there are many good books and online resources.
My advice would be to always try and find the most authoritative information that you can find.

Cheers

Eng

 

[fubar57]

Agree completely with above. 2 FAOW books on the Zero contain 182 pages. You have 47 Spitfire Marks including Seafires. Bf 109A-K plus subtypes. One book would have to be huge to contain all the subtleties and diagrams

 

[SirFrancis]

Agree completely with above. 2 FAOW books on the Zero contain 182 pages. You have 47 Spitfire Marks including Seafires. Bf 109A-K plus subtypes. One book would have to be huge to contain all the subtleties and diagrams

I understand your point. However for example the book I have by Stewart Wilson is only 192 pages, and yet it has 9 marks of Spitfire and 6 of Bf109, so it covers the main variants. So I was thinking if there is a book just like this but maybe 350 pages ....with maybe a few more marks or some prototypes then even better. That's kinda what I'm after.

 

[Maximus_823]

 

[SirFrancis]

View attachment 876402

Hey, McNab's looks like a nice book, but if it has tanks and ships, it's extra content I don't need for this one book I'm after. The encyclopedia also looks interesting with 1000 illustrations. But again including modern aircraft will fill with excessive content I'm not after. I'm sure they take pride of place in your bookshelf!