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Illustrated Encyclopedia of Combat Aircraft of World War II
Contains more than seven hundred illustrations of military aircraft of World War II used by both Allied and Axis Countries, together with capsule specifications and history
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1990
About the author
Bill Gunston
306 books21 followersBill Gunston was a British aviation and military author. He flew with Britain's Royal Air Force from 1945 to 1948, and after pilot training became a flying instructor. He spent most of his adult life doing research and writing on aircraft and aviation. He was the author of over 350 books and articles. His work included many books published by Salamander Books.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 30, 2019
What a way to end the year! My copy of this book is in tatters being as I must have paged through it who knows how many times over the years. So I figured I would read it cover to cover and post a review.
Of all the books about WWII aircraft on my bookshelves, this has to be the best by far. This baby has a full bombload of information about all the well known types from each of the major combatants, as well as a few obscure types as well. Besides the statistics, there are photos, color art work, schematics, and various silhouettes of these planes. The following are some of the interesting notes found in the book.
The French M.S. 406 fighter was "free from vices, but too slow to catch German aircraft and too badly armed to shoot them down."
The He162 German jet fighter "was a futuristic kind, created in quantity far quicker than modern aircraft are even drawn on paper."
The German Me163 fighter was actually a rocket powered fighter that was fueled by two highly dangerous materials that exploded when mixed together inside the firing chamber.
The British Lancaster bomber finished the war dropping supplies to starving Europeans and ferrying home prisoners of war.
The Gloster Meteor jet fighter entered service eight days before the German Me262 jet fighter and was used to chase down V-1 flying bombs.
The Italian Cant Z.506 seaplane was the only aircraft ever hijacked by prisoners of war.
The Japanese H8K 'Emily' seaplane's first mission was to bomb Oahu, Hawaii after refueling from a submarine in March 1942, but heavy cloud cover foiled the mission.
The Russian I-16 fighter was often used for ramming attacks against German bombers.
The Russian Po-2, a small biplane that was used for low level nuisance bombing attacks at night was thought to be able to look over the window sill and see if the Germans were inside.
A US seaplane PBY Catalina heroically attacked a Japanese carrier in broad daylight after radioing, "Please inform next of kin."
The US Douglas SBD dive-bomber sank more Japanese shipping than any other Allied weapon.
The US Republic P-47 fighter was thought by the British to be so big that the pilot could evade enemy shells by running about inside the copit.
In 1946 the author supervised destruction of 97 US Fairchild PT-19 trainers right out of the crate. What a waste!
There are two other aircraft covered in the book that I would like to mention something about. At a local airshow I saw eight US TBF Avengers lined up. What a sight! I could just imagine them on a carrier flight deck. Also, I would like to add one comment that wasn't in the book. Although the Grumman F4F Wildcat is listed, it doesn't mention Butch O'Hare's exploit in a F4F when he singlehandedly shot down five Japanese bombers attacking his carrier, and thus winning the Medal of Honor. He was killed later in the war and Chicago's O'Hare is named after him. One can view a F4F hanging from the ceiling in the lobby.
Of all the books about WWII aircraft on my bookshelves, this has to be the best by far. This baby has a full bombload of information about all the well known types from each of the major combatants, as well as a few obscure types as well. Besides the statistics, there are photos, color art work, schematics, and various silhouettes of these planes. The following are some of the interesting notes found in the book.
The French M.S. 406 fighter was "free from vices, but too slow to catch German aircraft and too badly armed to shoot them down."
The He162 German jet fighter "was a futuristic kind, created in quantity far quicker than modern aircraft are even drawn on paper."
The German Me163 fighter was actually a rocket powered fighter that was fueled by two highly dangerous materials that exploded when mixed together inside the firing chamber.
The British Lancaster bomber finished the war dropping supplies to starving Europeans and ferrying home prisoners of war.
The Gloster Meteor jet fighter entered service eight days before the German Me262 jet fighter and was used to chase down V-1 flying bombs.
The Italian Cant Z.506 seaplane was the only aircraft ever hijacked by prisoners of war.
The Japanese H8K 'Emily' seaplane's first mission was to bomb Oahu, Hawaii after refueling from a submarine in March 1942, but heavy cloud cover foiled the mission.
The Russian I-16 fighter was often used for ramming attacks against German bombers.
The Russian Po-2, a small biplane that was used for low level nuisance bombing attacks at night was thought to be able to look over the window sill and see if the Germans were inside.
A US seaplane PBY Catalina heroically attacked a Japanese carrier in broad daylight after radioing, "Please inform next of kin."
The US Douglas SBD dive-bomber sank more Japanese shipping than any other Allied weapon.
The US Republic P-47 fighter was thought by the British to be so big that the pilot could evade enemy shells by running about inside the copit.
In 1946 the author supervised destruction of 97 US Fairchild PT-19 trainers right out of the crate. What a waste!
There are two other aircraft covered in the book that I would like to mention something about. At a local airshow I saw eight US TBF Avengers lined up. What a sight! I could just imagine them on a carrier flight deck. Also, I would like to add one comment that wasn't in the book. Although the Grumman F4F Wildcat is listed, it doesn't mention Butch O'Hare's exploit in a F4F when he singlehandedly shot down five Japanese bombers attacking his carrier, and thus winning the Medal of Honor. He was killed later in the war and Chicago's O'Hare is named after him. One can view a F4F hanging from the ceiling in the lobby.
Displaying 1 of 1 review