Editor's note:This publication appears to be superseded by "Hawker Hurricane from 1937 to 1950" with same ISBN Number.

The Planes and Pilots book series published by Casemate on the British design and built Hawker Hurricane is number fourteen of the group. This eighty-three page book covers a decade of time, and Mr. Brefford’s attempt to cover reference material to attract both the historian and modeler is well done. He tells how Sir Sydney Camm was appointed Chief Engineer at Hawker and how the Hurricane aircraft became the direct decedent of the Hawker Fury. In just a few beginning pages are details covering the aircraft from design, prototype and beginning operational service status.

Although most World War I enthusiasts are familiar with the Gotha bombers, and for a time, the name Gotha was the generic term for any large biplane bomber with black crosses on its wings, little information has been published about the airplanes that Gotha designed to replace its standard long range bombers. Although too late for service in the Great War, these planes represented a step forward in bomber design, featuring better streamlining and higher performance using smaller airframes. Several prototypes were ordered, including the G.VII, GL.VII, G.VIII. and G.IX. There were many variations of the basic design, and some were envisioned as reconnaissance aircraft with specialized camera installations, and even as armored ground attack types. Only a few early models appear to have been used on operations, mainly on photographic missions, although no documentation survives. About 200 late model Gotha bombers were turned over to the Allied Armistice Commission after the war.

Thank you to Amberley Publishing and the hardworking duo of John Noack and Dave Morrisette for providing this book to enjoy and review!

Martin Bowman has earned an excellent reputation as an aviation historian. Combat Carriers continues this legacy with a wonderful series of chapters detailing important events related to carrier aviation since the start of World War II.

The table of contents is paraphrased below: