IPMS/USA Reviews

This is volume one in a three volume set to cover the SAAF in WWII. This volume covers the East African Campaign with the following two volumes to cover North Africa and Malta as well as Sicily, Italy and the Balkans! The SAAF was sent to protect the Sudan and Kenya early on in the war from the Italians and their 200,000 troops and some 400 aircraft. The SAAF 1, 2 and 3 squadrons were equipped with mostly obsolete bi-plane aircraft such as the Gauntlet, Gladiator and Fury with which to counter any Italian attack. These were augmented by a few fabric winged and wooden propeller equipped Hurricane Mk Is. Later on these units joined by 4 Squadron that brought its Curtiss Mohawk fighters and Gladiators.

If you are a fan of the M1 Abrams, which has now been in service for over 30 years, David Doyle satisfies your visual needs with this book showing images of the XM-1, M1E1, M1A1, M1A2 SEP as well as some variants in between. For Abrams fans and modelers alike, the photographs provide a wealth of detail for the tank from the prototype through the M1A2 variant. The author provides many of the photos, but there are also plenty taken by the military that shows these tanks in action. Overall, this is a great visual history of the tank beginning with photographs of the XM1 in 1976 and concluding with the M1A1 and M1A2 in 2017.

The book goes into great detail of the development, service, variants, and full history of a classic British World War II aircraft, the Typhoon and the Tempest.

I found this book so informative and was full of facts and details I was never aware of. The articles on the variants that were explored during the development were especially interesting.

The book is full of amazing photos of the aircraft in development, manufacturing, in action etc. These would be great as reference for any modeler. Another nice touch is the inclusion of the Pilots Notes and aircraft production lists.

I was amazed at the amount of information and history found in the pages of this extremely enjoyable book. The pictures along are worth the cost of the book. I will find this book indispensable in my library.

I recommend this book to everyone with an interest in military aircraft.

Thanks go to Casemate Publishing for providing this book to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it.

History

This book is an account of the development of the American airliner powered by reciprocating engines, up to their replacement by jet powered aircraft in the 1960's. The authors are well qualified to trace the advances in both airframes and powerplants. Craig Kodera has a completely aeronautical background, having experience as both an airline and Air Force pilot, and as an excellent aviation artist. William Pearce's background is in aviation powerplants, and between them, they are able to trace the technical developments and the developmental histories of each major aircraft and powerplant.

David Doyle's book on the P-51 Mustang is one of the latest entries in the 'Legends of Warfare' series with entries in Ground, Naval, and Aviation. The first Ground book focused on the Panzerkampfwagen IV, the first Naval book was on the USS Yorktown (CV-5), and the first two Aviation books were are on the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (#4) and Douglas TBD Devastator (#3). The Legends of Warfare series has expanded rapidly since its 2017 debut in the market with now over 50 titles released. This hard cover series covers a wide variety of monographs at a good price point.