Duke Hawkins is a series of superb photo essays on aircraft covering a dozen planes in thorough detail. The latest covers the MiG-31 Foxhound. As a first note, the 108-page book contains over 300 pictures taken by pilots and a “back-seater’ with over 20 years of experience and I must add that he is also an excellent photographer.

In order of appearance, the book covers:

This is a new publication from Duke Hawkins Books and is the fourth volume in a series of books that have been recently published highlighting modern jets. This series got its start with The Sepecat Jaguar in July 2017 and has now seen twelve books in this series published. There is also a special limited edition on the Belgian Air Force F-16 and on the Juan Carlos I Aircraft Carrier. This series of publications falls under the name of Duke Hawkins, but it is not clear exactly who Duke Hawkins is. If you check out other retail sites on this series, you can find Robert Pied and Nicolas Deboeck listed as authors, but there is not much additional information on them. One of the bylines goes like this:

Historical Background

Nearly every historical modeler and historian is thoroughly familiar with the British Spitfire fighter, which probably did more to help the Royal Air Force achieve victory over the Luftwaffe than any other aircraft. However, less publicized is the role of the Spitfire as a naval, carrier-based fighter, replacing older types including the Gloster Gladiator biplane, Fairey Fulmar two seat fighter, and Sea Hurricane, which were in Royal Navy service at the beginning of the war.