Clash of Wings: World War II in the Air

There are a lot of books on the air war in WW II. This has to be one of the better ones. Retired Air Force Col. Boyne brings a lot of experience to the subject and the opinions he expresses make good sense. I enjoyed the TV show and the book.

In "Clash Of Wings", the renowned air power expert, Col. Walter Boyne, brings World War II air power to life. Covering all theatres and major combatants, the reader is treated to a thorough introduction to the strategy, personalities and equipment involved. Col. Boyne has again written in a very engaging and easily understood manner. Much of this writing consists of description of aircraft, including their strengths and weaknesses. My knowledge of aircraft has generally been limited to the models I had assembled in my youth, several of which I enjoyed reading about. I have never studied aircraft in sufficient depth to really follow their ins and outs, but Col. Boyne writes in such a way that I never became bored. I appreciate the way he weaves the story of the air war into the bigger story of the overall war. I finished this book with a feeling that I had a better understanding, not only of the air war, but of the ground and naval wars also. I was pleased to find some of my lingering questions about World War II, such as why Japan attacked the U. S. and European colonies to the south rather than trying to finish off the Soviet Union first, and what would have happened if they had attacked the U.S.S.R., addressed in this narrative. This book is great! I really cannot say much more. Read it and understand what I mean.

Many books on this topic tend to get too detailed and readers tend to lose sight of the larger context of the war. I found this book to be good in that area- giving the reader a better overall view of the situtaion and circumstances that led to particular stratergies or equipment being developed in the course of the war. Its meant more for those interested in military avaition during WWII but do not want to get bogged down in the technical details.

Col. Boyne has produced a very readable history of the air war in WW2, but his USAF roots betray him in the end. Chief among Boyne's strong points is his recognition of the impact of the aircraft technological development cycle on the combatants. It goes a long way toward illuminating why the Luftwaffe and Japanese Naval Air Force peaked early, only to stagnate later. Boyne also delves into certain strategic and operational level facts not often addressed. His revelations about the small size, but significant strategic mobility of the Luftwaffe and JNAF are quite interesting, as well as his correlation of forces tables. But alas, Boyne is of USAF origin and wanders into questionable assetions about the largely naval Pacific campaign. He trots out the tired, tragic and questionable feat of Colin Kelly (saying the target was really the cruiser Ashigara, not a battleship), glosses over the abject failure of land-based air at Midway, and positively glories in the small, and largely over-rated massacre in the Bismarck Sea. The role of the pioneers of Naval Aviation (such as John Towers) is largely ignored. Boyne is also a little light on his criticism of a number of USAF and RAF figures involved with the strategic bombing campaigns. Overall, Col. Boyne has written a readable, concise and insightful history of the air war, but it is decidedly skewed and anyone truly interested in the air campaigns of WW2 must read beyond him.

History books are pretty difficult reading for me, I have to force myself to read them. This one, however, is quite enjoyable. Packed with facts and well organized it's also well written with a good amount of cynicism and sarcasm thrown in. The book covers all the major air battles in WWII and it does this with an excellent flow and honesty.