Air University Review, May-June 1980

Mostly Old Wine in Old Bottles

THE FIELD of aviation literature is not I only vast but growing at an amazing rate. Proof can be found in the publishers' announcements, booksellers' shelves, and the public's purchases. The great interest in aviation literature is generated by such factors as the colorful figures involved in aviation, the importance of aviation both in the past and the present, and the glamor, drama, and daring of aviation feats. Aviation is not only greatly involved with personalities and human drama; it is at the same time highly technical. Modern man, especially Americans, never ceases to be fascinated by gadgets, and the technology that permits man to break his earthbound existence is one of the most highly developed technologies around. Little wonder, then, that one of the more popular areas of aviation literature centers on the machines themselves.

For forty years the standard aircraft book was the weighty and authoritative Jane's All the World's Aircraft, published yearly with basic data on current aircraft. Then, in 1958, William Green's Famous Fighters of the Second World War appeared and broke new ground. It contained not only the three views, performance figures, and photographs, as did Jane's, but many more photographs, more detailed technical and operational material, and, in addition, line drawings. Deservingly, it was well received. Green followed with a second fighter volume; two volumes on World War II bombers; a ten-volume series, Warplanes of the Second World War; and then, in 1970, the exhaustive, Warplanes of the Third Reich. These works mark Green as not only a pioneer in the field but also as one of the best writers at describing aircraft.

Green's success has also encouraged others. Books--large numbers of books--on the aircraft of a nation, a war, or a type have followed, even a number of books devoted to one aircraft. It would seem, then, that there is little need for more books on aircraft. The continued publication of such books may be more a testimonial to popularity and profits than to need.

Of the newer aircraft books under consideration here, the one of broadest scope is the Encyclopedia of Aircraft edited by Michael and John Taylor.* Its purpose is "to tell the story of powered, manned flight," and the editors selected 244 aircraft, on the basis of technological or historical importance, from all countries, of all types (civilian and military), from the beginning to the present. A short, but adequate, prose entry is included for each, but more impressive are the graphics. The ample format (9-by-l1¾ inches) permits large photos or drawings for each entry, about half of them in color. In addition, there are cutaway drawings of four aircraft as well as limited technical data on all of them. Clearly this book is not intended for the student of aviation; rather, it is for the coffee table. Its strong points are its graphics and scope, the latter making it worthy of the name encyclopedia. (One distressing note is that the binding of the review copy was faulty.)

*Michael J. H. Taylor and John W. R. Taylor, editors, Encyclopedia of Aircraft (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1978, $20.00), 228 pages.

Another book of broad scope is Bill Gunston's Fighters 1914-1945,* aptly described by its title. It is well illustrated and appears to be aimed somewhere between the layman and specialist; although the book lacks footnotes and lists only seven titles in the bibliography, it does put the development of fighter aircraft and related technology into a well-written, coherent narrative. The reader should be alerted, however, that Gunston's book is little, if any, better than Bryan Cooper's Fighter (1973). In fact, the same illustrator, John Batchelor, worked on both, which explains their similarity.

*Bill Gunston, Fighters 1914-1945 (New York: Crescent Books, 1978, $5.98), 127 pages.

Two other books concentrate on World War II and thus are more detailed and limited in scope. Combat Aircraft of World War Two* compiled by Elke Weal has a large format (91/4-by-12 inches) and includes not only trainers and transports but also aircraft employed in the Spanish Civil War and the Sino-Japanese War. The illustrations, 176 full color prints of 120 types and 250 line profile drawings, are large, clear, and attractive. Almost 900 aircraft from 25 countries are listed, with specifications, performance and production data, as well as brief remarks. The book also contains 15 orders of battle. Most impressive is a very extensive bibliography, a device regrettably missing from most aircraft books; this bibliography is arranged by nation, and for the U.S. alone it lists almost 100 items. Thus, the book is a very good one-volume reference, for the scope is wide, the information detailed and accurate, and the illustration excellent. Weal has taken an old formula and turned out a superior product.

*Elke C. Weal, compiler, Combat Aircraft of World War Two (New York: Macmillan, 1977, $17.95), 220 pages

Enzo Angelucci and Paolo Matricardi are authors of a set that covers the same material.* World War II Airplanes is a two-volume work in soft cover and small format (5-by- 7112 inches). All the aircraft are illustrated by color drawings (many of which are apparently based on photographs in the volumes by William Green) and three views. The text contains brief specifications, performance figures, and remarks; but Angelucci and Matricardi cannot compete with Weal in illustrations, scope, or bibliography. The only advantage of the Angelucci and Matricardi work over Weal is its lower cost.

*Enzo Angelucci and Paolo Matricardi, World War II Airplanes, 2 vols. (Chicago: Rand McNally Co., 1978, $6.95 each), 287 and 267 pages.

THE remaining books are of a different nature. The most unusual is Eric Brown's Wings of the Luftwaffe.* Brown was a British test pilot for six years and flew 55 German aircraft during and after World War II. In his book he tells of the 17 most famous. The book is superbly illustrated with a two-page cutaway drawing, a cockpit drawing, a full page of three views, and many clear photographs. The text gives an overview of the plane's development and then Brown's comments. He discusses the looks of the aircraft and then how to start, take off, fly, and land each machine. Most will learn something from this book. For example, in the discussion of the Messerschmitt 262, the reader is told such details as the aircraft's engine overhaul time (only 10 hours) and total life (25 hours) and that the safe one-engine speed was 180 mph, extremely high for World War II. Students of World War II aviation, especially of German aircraft, will surely enjoy this book. It is a new departure, extremely well done.

*Eric Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe: Flying German Aircraft of the Second World War (Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Co., 1978, $10.95), 176 pages.

Flying Combat Aircraft of the USAAF-USAF is a collection of first person impressions edited by Robin Higham and Carol Williams.* It is produced in large format (8½-by-11 inches) with clear photographs. Although the illustrations are more than adequate, they are not so profuse as those in Eric Brown's book and clearly secondary to the text, which consists of 22 articles on aircraft developed and used in the period before World War II on into the Vietnam period. The title is a bit misleading for one naval aircraft is included (F9F-2) as are three essentially noncombat aircraft (AT-6, C-141, and KC-135).

*Robin Higham and Carol Williams, editors, Flying Combat Aircraft of the USAAF-USAF, vol. 2 (Ames, Iowa: The Iowa State University Press, 1978, $11.95), 202 pages.

That each article was written by a different author who flew the aircraft discussed gives this volume both depth and immediacy. As in Brown's book, the aircraft is described from walk-around inspection, through starting, taxi, takeoff, flight, and landing. The authors draw on their extensive experience with the aircraft and, of course, what they learned from other pilots. The writing is crisp and clear, a welcome improvement over most prose on aircraft, and it is also critical. We are told the differences between World War II bomber combat in Europe and the Pacific (p. 41) and why the American Air Force used two pilots per bomber. (p. 38) And that the B-24 " 'was a truck.' It looked like a truck, it hauled a big load like a truck, and it flew like a truck. . . . It was a good plane for its time in history, but it was not the shapely, romantic beauty some of its contemporaries were. In the air it was like a fat lady doing a ballet. . . it was never a star. It was an excellent truck. " (p. 45)

There are many fine articles in this collection. World War II aircraft are well covered, and another article that is especially good compares the F-84 in Korea with the F-5 experiment (Project Skoshi Tiger) in Vietnam. There is something here for everyone, the technical detail, the war stories, the tidbits that never appear in print, the critical assessments, and even philosophy. Overall this volume is of very high quality, a valuable addition to the literature; and, thus, it is highly recommended.

A similar attempt based mainly on oral history is Scribner's At War series. As of this date there are at least 19 books in the series, each devoted to a single American, British, or German aircraft. Some splice together a number of first person accounts, such as Lancaster at War:2 by Mike Garbett and Brian Goulding;* while others, although relying heavily on oral sources, are a standard narrative history, such as William Hess's A-20 Havoc at War.** Because the end product of each volume is different, it is perhaps unfair to make more than just a few general comments about the set. First and foremost, the graphics are superb, with numerous, excellent, large illustrations. Second, each book deals with design, flight, and combat operations. Third, there is little or no documentation. For those who want to know about a specific aircraft as related by those who designed, built, serviced, and flew them, here it is in great and loving detail, just about the ultimate--an entire book. But aside from such addicts, or those searching for a gift or trapped by the rain, a definite word of caution. These books vary in quality not only from book to book, but in some cases, from chapter to chapter. In short, the cost is high, the detail is great; but most of all, the illustrations are terrific.

*Mike Garbett and Brian Goulding, Lancaster at War:2 (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980, $17.50), 160 pages.

**William N. Hess, A-20 Havoc at War (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980, $17.50), 128 pages.

The last of these aircraft books also breaks new ground. Marcelle Knaack's study looks at the development, procurement, and operations of 15 USAAF and USAF fighters since 1945, with a separate chapter devoted to each, from the F -80 to the F -5.* In addition 18 rarer fighters, XP-81 through YF-15, are briefly covered in an appendix. This is basically a reference book with such information as performance, specifications, and production totals. In addition, hard-to-obtain data such as cost figures, milestone dates, and major development, production, and operation problems are included.

*Marcelle S. Knaack, Encyclopedia of U.S. Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, vol. 1, Post-World War II Fighters, 1945-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1978, $7.25), 344 pages.

This book is a USAF production that makes use of official Sources. It contains the necessary information on its stated subject and is easy to consult. A number of improvements can be suggested. First of all, the prose is rough. The graphics should be vastly improved or removed as they are very poor, especially relative to the other books discussed. Specifically, while the one photograph included is adequate, the very small, crude three-view drawings are of dubious value. Footnotes are not used, although there is a four-page bibliography; if there cannot be footnotes, at the very least each chapter should have a separate bibliography. More operational information would greatly enhance the books. Nevertheless, this is a solid and worthy effort. For information on these aircraft, this is the best we have, and certainly the USAF should be encouraged to continue with the rest of the series.

IN CONCLUSION, then, here is more of the same. Recent books on aircraft emphasize visuals while their texts tend to be brief and analysis rare; footnotes are seldom found while bibliographies are only a bit more common. Most of the books reviewed here, and for that matter most of the aviation books in print, concentrate on the period prior to 1945. Undoubtedly, aviation books and especially books on aircraft wilt continue to flow from the presses. Yet we can probably expect little improvement over what we already have, which is regrettable. But better production of old ideas, such as the Weal volume, or new ideas, such as the Brown, Higham and Williams, and Knaack books, give some hope.

There is a need for more studies on aircraft, but they should be directed deeper than what has thus far been the norm, and they should be better. Any serious endeavor should contain both footnotes and bibliographies. Analysis of why aircraft were designed as they were, how they were produced and modified, the problems of design, production, and operations, and how well they fulfilled their role are just some of the areas that require study. Other areas of neglect are aircraft engines, armament, gunsights, radios, life support systems, and maintenance. While oral history is now being used, other techniques such as quantitative methods and comparative studies should also be employed. What is needed is not more, but better; not old, but new; not the same, but different.

Kenneth P. Werrell (USAFA; Ph.D., Duke University) has taught recent American and military history at Radford University since 1970, except for one year at Army Command and General Staff College. He has published numerous articles in historical and military journals and has just completed a book-length manuscript on the Eighth Air Force in World War II. Currently, he is working on an annotated bibliography of that organization for the Eighth Air Force Historical Society. He is a frequent contributor to the Review.

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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