Fighters of World War II

I was impressed by the book. It's coverage of each plane chosen by the editor was detailed and thorough. However, the dust cover and the table of contents were misleading. Specifically, the illustration of the Lockheed P-38 and the listing of the P-38 and the Grumman F4F in the table of contents misled me into thinking that the book covered those planes. In the text, the Gloster Meteor was covered and there were two articles about the Messerschmitt 110. The second of these covered it as a night fighter, but there was some coverage of it as a night fighter in the first article. These two replaced the P-38 and F4F. I felt that this tarnished the image of what was otherwise a very fine book.

This is one of those dedicated volumes on WW2 Fighters (along with the companion vol. on 'Bombers of WW2') that aficionados are always looking out for. This book is well organised in its layout and covers a number of the more 'famous/influential' Allied and Axis fighters of WW2 which saw a period of remarkable development concerning the Fighters performance and roles. Each aircraft that is depicted in this book is very well covered regarding its history and the different variants that evolved with detailed specification tables on the more common marks. The descriptions of the various fighter/ground attack aircraft types covered in this book offer a nicely balanced approach combining a depth of detail whilst still providing general interest (especially considering the scope of the subject concerned) for both the amateur and the dedicated enthusiast alike. For example, both the Merlin and Griffon engined Supermarine Spitfire marks are described under two seperate chapters accordingly which makes for a nice change. Their is a suprising degree of colour photos and the colour illustrations are excellent for their scale, realism and detail and would prove a bonus reference for modellers and 'historians' alike. The large technical cutaway diagrams are of the same inspiring quality. To sum up, I think this is a well priced book that has a refreshing appeal with its presentation, depth of detail and colour as well as a good print quality. One can only hope that David Donald brings us a follow up volume.2 on the other 'less' famous fighters of WW2 in such a professional format on which he should be congradulated on. This volume and his 'Bombers of WW2' would make great companions to the Aerospace Publishings 'Warplanes of WW II...' series on your bookshelf. Note:The only printing error in the copy I viewed was that under the chapter that should have covered the Lockheed P38 Lightning, I found a very different breed of Fighter powered by two Rolls-Royce Derwent jet engines (the Meteor)!