Jeffrey L. EthellReseñas

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softback

Smithsonian Frontiers of Flight celebrates the milestones in the history of flight by profiling the aircraft chosen by the curators of the National Air and Space Museum as the most important in their matchless collection.

Druhá světová válka přenesla leteckou techniku z éry dvojplošníků vyrobených ze dřeva a plátna do věku proudových letadel. Přehledný průřez nejdynamičtější období rozvoje letectví v celých jeho dějinách.

poorly-written book, with belaboured points, badly-written and often bland captions
The photo's are marginal and the combat history of the Spitfire and the more in depth coverage in the book that attempts to cover each 'Mark' of Spitfire is sketchy at best. Aside from the two older GOLD STANDARD books written on the Spifire ('Spitfire' by Alfred Price and 'Spitfire: The History' by Eric B. Morgan and Edward Shacklady) I would highly recommend the more recent book 'Spitfire' by Stewart Wilson which falls somewhere between these two in quality and I found it to be a very pleasant surprise.

Detailed survey of 12 aircraft types that changed the world during the second World War. Covers the production and development of 12 classic aircraft including: P-38 Lightning ,P-51 Mustang, B-17 Flying Fortress, Hellcat, F4U Corsair, Spitfire, Mosquito, Lancaster, Messerschmitt Bf109, Focke-Wulf Fw190, Ju87 Stuka, and Zero Fight. Over 400 Full-Color Illustrations by Rikyu Watanabe, including 24 fold-out panels suitable for framing.

he capture of the Burma Road by the Japanese during World War II forced U.S. airmen to fly hundreds of missions a day into China in an airlift of epic proportions. Having to fly over the towering Himalayan Mountains, the pilots came to know this route as 'flying the hump'. The Hump was a pioneering aviation operation that had just about everything working against it: the forbidding mountains, the worst flying weather in the world, deadly Japanese fighters, the crudest of navigational aids, unproven aircraft, and inexperienced flight and maintenance crews. Military commanders considered a flight over the Hump to be more hazardous than a bombing mission over Europe. More than 1,300 pilots and crew members were lost and more than 500 transport planes crashed trying to make it. Flying the Hump contains more than 170 original color photographs depicting the lives of the pilots and their planes during this dangerous operation. Many Hump pilots shared their personal recollections of rare photos and many untold stories to comprise this book of seat-of-the-pants flying.

documents and explains World War II fighter aircraft in period color photographs, supplemented with great text--history and human interest.
Large selection of original color photographs of the planes and the men who flew and fixed them, including shots of various uniforms.

This volume brings together in one book two titles previously published by MBI: Bomber Command, a history of American bombers in World War II, and Fighter Command, the story of the fighters that escorted those bombers. Each book chronicles U.S. Army Air Force operations in the European and Mediterranean theaters. First-person accounts and anecdotes are accompanied by more than 400 original World War II color photographs, all compiled by the late Jeffrey Ethell, a noted warbird enthusiast and author.

I think it as a very interesting way to deal with the subject: To describe the air operations over North Vietnam for one specific day in history. In details from documents, transcripts of radio communications and interviews. Surely gives a picture of the complexity of an air raid

In general I can only recommend Jeffrey L. Ethell and Alfred Price.

A semi-random pick off the shelf, I flicked to a page and the photo that I saw was enough for me to decide to read this. I like this style of book as a casual read between, or alongside novels as a breaker. Sometimes nature, war, disasters...anything with a lot of pictures. And the title suggested it would cover a fair bit of the WWII Air Force experience.

And this is its pro and its con...being put together by Americans it is as you would expect, about Americans. For once I would love to read a book about WWII written by a Yank that actually admitted that other countries were on their side against the 'Narzis' and 'Yellow Peril', and they didn't win it themselves.

The narrative is all from the aircrew, bombardiers, fighter pilots, recon crew, and other people within the different branches of the USAF. To their credit, there is one excerpt from a Luftwaffe pilot, and another from the Japanese Naval Air Arm, and there are at least three photos depicting aircraft other than US-manufactured machines (one Spitfire!!! Just one?! And even that had USAF markings...).

Sorry, but it is a really well put together almanac or diary (for use of a better term) of those who served, lived and died and the photos, all in colour are stunning. But I just feel ripped off when the cover insinuates that it may include aspects other than rednecks and mom's apple pie.

All in all a bloody good read...½

Great photos and limited text make this a quick read. Is a history of the development of the B-17 from its earliest model to the final B-17G that finished the War. This is also a good summary of its importance to the bombing of Germany. It does an honest comparison with the B-24. If your looking for an introduction to the B-17, this would be a good source. Contains more than 80 colour wartime photos. These are not pictures of restored warbirds but rather wartime photos of aircraft taken in England, in the skies over Europe and even a few from the .Pacific Theatre.

Color photos that give a newreel overview of WW 2.

Too technical for me!

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