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Aviaeology – AviaDossier 1: Canadian Aircraft of WWII

Aviaeology – AviaDossier 1: Canadian Aircraft of WWII

NO : AAD001

Author : Carl Vincent

Publisher : Aviaeology

ISBN 978-0-9780696-3-6

Pages: 72

Format : Soft cover (A4 Landscape style ) Colour  profiles and Some colour but mainly black and white photographs.

RRP: CDN$29.95

 

Canadian Decal / Book/ print makers Aviaeology have come up with a great  new series of books called "AviaDossier" and the first book in this series covers Canadian aircraft on home soil. details much of the history of each particular airframe shown. Interesting because to many modellers and historian alike because often it shows the genesis of a particular airframe thorough-ought  its history with the RCAF.

 

"Canadian Aircrat of WWII" is part little like a  periodical article, part photo essay if you like,on each aircraft presented , but with extra details on the more interesting airframes of each type and of the crew that shared their history. Indeed No airframe is as interesting as the sum of itself and the missions it flew and the people who flew in them can be. This book strikes a good balance between all three of these important parts of the whole story. It is not just informative but a nice read as well, flowing from one subject to another without boring you with the more dull details which hold down some monograph books.

 

Each aircraft represented has additional boxes of information added to the original text to tell you of the individual airframes particularities and missions. This more in-depth  information really brings each subject alive and immediately made me more interested in some quite obscure aircraft that I did not even know existed.  Indeed I  wasn't even aware of some of the types of aircraft presented, let alone the differences which occurred to their U.K. and U.S. variants. Aircraft like the Supermarine Stranraener, the  Fleet fort trainer and the Bristol Bolingbroke bomber and recon aircraft -  but that was all  before I read this Dossier. (to rub it in - on the back cover before I have read the book and thought why have they called that that Bolingbroke called a Blenheim???  it mentions that the Bolingbroke wasn't just the Canadian Blenheim  -  I did slap my head! )

 

 

 

 

It is details like these that  in a very well researched book that make you interested in subjects which usually wouldn't warrant a second look.  There is a lot of love and care in research which has gone into this book, and the  human touches donated to this dossier add to the whole enlightening experience. Indeed as mentioned in the forward of this book, many people in Europe and the rest of the world were unaware of the contribution by the Canadians to the war effort.

 

The Author of the forward, Retired Wing Commander J.F. "Stocky" Edwards, was posted in North Africa and the European Theatres of war, and himself was unaware of just how much the Canadians did contribute in Men and Materiel during the conflict. Indeed in this book is two of Wing Commander "Stocky's" mounts during the war - his Spitfire and his captured FW-190 are both represented, again with probably the best reference you could get to back up the accuracy of each - the man himself. Again this is why I like this book, it connects The history of the planes and the men who flew them in such an interesting way.

 

 

 

This Novel isn't just for the Mac wearing obscure aircraft spotters though , indeed many of the more well known Aircraft of world war two are included in This AviaDossier – Mustang MK1's , Spitfires, Sunderlands,  Beaufighters, Liberators  and he Hudsons and Catalinas are all covered here so it's a book for the avid as well as the novice Aviation historian and Modeller alike.

 

My favourite part of the book was the mission of the  Beaufighter TF.X maritime strike fighters as it has a small section in addition to the usual text where you can see the nose art of the plane and an amazing sequence of attack runs by Beau's on Flak ships in Norway where you can actually see the rockets streaking toward the  ships and clearly as well the AA guns that are firing BACK at them! WOW

 

 

 

So what do we think?

I loved this book -  not too heavy and not too light. Indeed I am looking forward to AviaDossier 2 which I can reveal is to be released in the second half of 2010 "Hurricanes in Soviet Skies"

Learning what I did from this book  about the Canadian effort, I now know there will be many more topics in the future – well I hope so anyway!

 

 

Overall 9/10

Adam Norenberg

 

Many thanks to Aviaeology for supplying this book for review. This item currently retails for $29USD directly from their web site. Check your local book retailer for variations.

 

http://www.aviaeology.com/Publications/aad001-aviadossier1canadianaircraftofwwii.html