Aircraft Recognition

by R.A. Saville-Sneath

When this book was first published in 1941, aircraft recognition was far more than just a pleasant pastime; it was often a matter of life and death… This classic text provides a definitive catalogue of the aeroplanes, enemy and friendly, seen over British skies during the Second World War. R.A. Saville-Sneath set out to produce a handy classification guide, with many diagrams, a full glossary and some useful mnemonics, showing how each type of aircraft could be identified quickly and easily. The basic structures, tail units, positions of the wings and engines, and even the sounds made by the different planes, form part of the essential 'vocabulary' for distinguishing Albacores and Ansons, Beauforts and Blenheims, Heinkels, Hurricanes and Junkers, Messerschmitts and Moths, Spitfires and Wellingtons. For anyone interested in aviation the book provides a mine of information about a golden age. For those who lived through one of the most glorious episodes in the history of combat it will prove vividly evocative of those extraordinary days.

Genres: Classics, Nonfiction, History

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Pascale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not read this cover to cover, as it was written during WWII and the technology is just a little dated.

I find it fascinating to learn about these old planes, as well as the ways they were visually identified.

And I feel kinda proud that I knew a few of them as well as their ancestors. I wish Lockheed Electra and Fairey Swordfish were in it, though!

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reprint of an aircraft recognition book printed for British users and dating back to 1941. In reading it, you have to wonder just how useful it was at that time – many of the ‘official silhouettes’ are hopelessly inaccurate, and some are of types that were replaced by 1940, so ‘Aircraft Recognition’ opportunities would certainly have been compromised as a result. 32 excellent photos are included. A note on the final page for armed forces users reads ‘Leave this book at a Post Office when you have read it, so that men and women of the services can enjoy it too’ which I think is just brilliant. It even has some original adverts included. I am puzzled by a reference on the back cover ‘with a foreword by William Green’, as I couldn’t find any sign of it in the book. Read and enjoy, ignore the technical inaccuracies, and just try to appreciate how these things were perceived by people in 1941.