John Vader (1919–2005)

Solid, if unspectacular, account of the P-40 fighter-bomber and the campaigns it was used in during World War II. Like a lot of the Ballantine books, it has a decided weakness in that it tends to hop, skip and jump between timelines and battlefields, without any real rhyme or reason. For example, the chapter on the development of the P-40 comes in the middle of the book, not at the start, where you'd expect it. The organization among the usages of the P-40 in the CBI, SWPA and North Africa show more isn't terribly logical, either. Some good first-hand accounts, but that doesn't really salvage it. You're better off finding the later and equivalent Osprey book. show less

Story of the Australian/New Zealand military actions

An illustrated guide to the Supermarine Spitfire, used by the Royal Air Force and Allies in World War II, with an introduction by Air Vice Marshal and flying ace James Edgar Johnson.

"Men came from every corner of the free world to fly and fight in Spitfires. Men from countries where freedom had a meaning in their minds. A babel of tongues chattered in her cockpit, and all came to love her for her thoroughbred qualities.

Today there are only a handful of Spitfires still flying, and seldom can show more be heard that nostalgic whistling call as she arcs across the sky. But occasionally, after all these years, I am privileged to fly in that familiar cockpit again when the song of her Merlin engine brings back a hundred memories of those valiant years.” show less