Brian R. Baker
Reviews By Author
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French Wings No. 2: Nieuport-Delage Ni-D 29 & Ni-D 62 FamilyPublished:
The StoryAlthough many companies in France produced fighters during the interwar period, Nieuport manufactured two landmark fighters beginning with the end of World War I. The Ni-D 29 biplane fighter appeared at the end of the war, and was produced for the Aeronautique Militaire during the twenties, as well as in several foreign countries. Export models were also sold to Belgium, Italy, Siam, Argentina, Spain, and Sweden. By the mid twenties, it was obvious that a replacement would be needed soon, and Nieuport then developed a high wing monoplane replacement, the Ni-D 62 series, many of which were built with a small stub wing, making it sort of a biplane. There were numerous variations in the production models, with differences in powerplant, wing arrangement, and fuselage… more |
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The Secret Years: Flight Testing at Boscombe Down, 1939-1945Published:
The Story Boscombe Down was the Royal Air Force’s main experimental test station during World War II. In 1939, the peacetime station at Martleston Heath was moved to Boscombe Down, a World War I airfield with some permanent buildings, and everything was moved within a short time period. Shops and hangars were set up, but strangely, for nearly all of the war, the facility operated using only a grass runway area with a maximum length of 1800 yards, just over a statute mile, in any direction. I find that amazing, as they operated Halifaxes, Lancasters, Stirlings, and even Meteors and Vampires from the field regularly. Facilities included a control tower, a few hardstands, gunfire stop butts, a wind tunnel, accommodations and engineering shops, and finally at the… more |
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L-Birds: American Combat Liaison Aircraft of World War IIPublished:
The StoryI bought this book because it was recommended to me by David W. Menard, the noted aviation historian and photographer, after I asked him some questions about American liaison aircraft used in Europe during World War II. Dave suggested that I contact Terry Love, the author, and the result was that I now have a copy of the book. I’m glad I bought it, because it certainly fills a gap in my library, and fills me in on some of the “L” types that were used during the war, and the reason why they were developed at that time. Although the book was originally published in 2001, I was not aware of it until now. The book begins with the story of the development of aerial observation even before World War I, and the role of Army aviation following the end of hostilities… more |
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Canadaire Sabre F.4/North American F-86E(M)Published:
Introduction The North American F-86 “Sabre” was one of the world’s most famous and successful jet fighters of the late forties to the middle fifties. The design originated with the straightwing FJ-1 Fury fighter for the US Navy, which was developed without the sweptwing technology obtained from the Germans at the end of World War II, and which was only built in small quantities. In 1947, the first sweptwing North American prototype was flown, designated XP-86 by the USAF. By the time the plane was in production, it became the F-86A under the new designation system. By 1950, Canadair was also building the F-86E model, and this became the standard fighter for many of the world’s air forces in the ensuing years. The USAF and other air forces used the F-86A, F-86D… more |
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Swedish Fortresses: The Boeing F-17 in Civil and Military ServicePublished:
Hardback, 128 Pages, 8 ½ x 11”, Plus 8 16” x 23” poster sized double sides sheets showing profile drawings in 1/48 and 1/72 scale in separate packet, labeled “not to be sold separately” This book answers a couple of often asked questions (1) what happened to the battled damaged USAAF B-17’s and crews that diverted to Sweden rather than accepting the hospitality of the Luftwaffe?, and (2) how were these planes acquired by the Swedes and used after the war? This is a fascinating story that answers a lot of questions, but still leaves a few open, such as “Why did the Swedes use B-17’s when the B-24 and C-87’s would have been a better choice for their purposes?” During the course of the war, a number of B-17’s, along with other types, diverted to neutral Sweden after… more |
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Ex USAAF Aircraft 1945Published:
The Book It is refreshing to see a publication written on a topic that has never been treated in an historical context before, and this book certainly fits that description. After World War II, the United States Army Air Forces had thousands of airplanes in its custody throughout Western Europe, and while many were scrapped on the spot, or in the case of heavy bombers, flown back to the US, some were disposed of a surplus to various buyers. One such buyer was the Polish government, and they bought approximately 131 Piper L-4’s of various models from USAAF storage depots in Germany, where about 2000 L-4’s remained. Others were sold to buyers in most of the Western European countries. A few were flown to Poland, but most were disassembled and shipped by… more |
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Latecoere 290 & 298Published:
This book is the first of a series on French aircraft, and follows the excellent format developed by this publisher’s Polish Wings series of books on Polish aircraft. Since Azur produces kit of the Latecoere 298 in both 1/72 and 1/48 scales, this book will serve as a good reference for these aircraft. An 8 ½ x 11” paperback consisting of 80 pages, this book tells the development and service history of the two major French Navy torpedo bombers of the 1930’s. Strangely, the Latecoere 298 is covered before its predecessor, the 290 is described, and to get things into perspective, I began reading about the earlier type, then progressing to its replacement at the beginning of the text, as I wanted to read the story in sequence. And what a story it is. The Latecoere 290 was a… more |
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FW-190 in Foreign Service: Captured Butcherbirds Vol. 2Published:
IntroductionJust when you thought that everything had already been published on the subject of the Focke Wulf FW-190, along comes another book that destroys that theory. This is Volume 2 of a set of books on the FW-190’s that were captured by various Allied countries during and after World War II, and concentrates on the colors and markings rather than their ultimate histories, although some individual aircraft histories are provided. Volume 1 included aircraft captured by the British and Americans, as they obtained most of the FW-190’s in the West. Volume 2 covers those FW-190’s collected and/or used by the Soviet Union, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Japan, Romania, Hungary, Spain, Turkey, France, Sweden, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Photos illustrate the aircraft not only in… more |
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The Vought F4U Corsair: A Comprehensive Guide (Revised)Published:
IntroductionThere have been many books published on the Vought F4U Corsair over the years, so why, you might ask, has another one appeared? The reason is that this is not only a comprehensive history of the development and combat career of the Corsair, but it is also a very complete modelers’ guide to all Corsair kits in 1/32, 1/48, and 1/72 scale. I don’t know why they left out 1/144, as there has been at least one kit issued in this scale. In any event, this is a really complete history of the type, and it explains the developmental problems and how they were solved, with the Corsair evolving into not only an outstanding fighter but also a highly effective close support aircraft, with a production life beginning in 1941, and continuing until 1952, when the last Corsair, an… more |
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FW-190 Defence of the Reich AcesPublished:
Introduction The author, John Weal, has written a number of books on the wartime career of the Focke Wulf FW-190 and its pilots, and this book fills a gap that needed to be filled, that of the Defense of the Reich units that operated mainly over Germany from mid-1942 until the end of the war. The book mainly covers the activities of JG 1, JG 2, JG 4, JG 26, JG 76, and JG 301, and is confined primarily to the radial engine variants, from FW-190A-4 through FW-190A-8. These units operated primarily against American 8th Air Force bomber formations, and they were highly successful until the introduction of the long range P-47’s and P-51’s, which tipped the balance in favor of the Americans.
Nevertheless, these units, and the incredibly… more |