Paul Bradley
Reviews By Author
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Bases of Bomber Command Then and NowPublished:
After the Battle were set up 50 years ago (in 1973) to publish magazines and books presenting the history of the world's conflicts through 'then and now' comparison photographs. Owner Winston Ramsey was a noted historian and his new approach to history presented a novel way at looking at the past. The magazine ran until 2020 when Mr. Ramsey retired and the company was bought by Pen and Sword Books, who announced that no new After the Battle magazines will be published. During WWII, Bomber Command and its bases were concentrated in a compact area of eastern England, such that bases’ landing patterns sometimes overlapped with neighbouring airfields. Some of the bases were long-standing homes to the RAF; others were wartime expediencies that, like the mayfly, were born and died… more |
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DH.82A Tiger Moth with BombsPublished:
Ukraine’s ICM has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and even now with Russia’s invasion threatening their country’s very existence, ICM are still able to produce and export fine model kits, such as this one. Their first boxing of this kit of the universally-known DH.82A Tiger Moth, released in 2021, features the standard RAF trainer version; this new boxing goes a slightly different direction, showcasing a rare combat version of the type. In 1940, the threat of invasion forced the British to improvise defensive systems, and this included developing and fitting small-bomb racks to around 300 of the Tiger Moths then in service with Elementary Flying Training Schools across Britain. Under the codename Operation Banquet, the idea was to have the experienced pilot… more |
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Images of War: The Malayan Emergency – The Crucial Years 1949-53Published:
From 1948 through the 1950s British and Commonwealth forces fought a ruthless communist insurgency on the Malay peninsula. Thanks to sound generalship and the dedication and resilience of the officers and men, the security forces eventually broke the terrorists' resolve. This book charts the service of one particular unit, the 1st Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment, throughout their tour of duty between 1949 to 1953, the most critical years in The Emergency. The book describes in text and photos how the Battalion – which was mostly made up of National Servicemen conscripts – was able to operate in the oppressive climate and jungle conditions of the Malay Peninsula. Its success was built on good leadership and those most elusive of factors, good morale and camaraderie. The… more |
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Fairey Swordfish: Fleet Air Arm Legends #2Published:
The Fairey Swordfish needs no introduction, it being one of those classics of aviation that find themselves famous for being available in the right place at the right time. This new book from Morton Books is the second in their Fleet Air Arm Legends series and is written by noted aviation historian Matthew Willis. Author Willis weaves a tight story of the need and development of the Swordfish in the early 1930’s, the entry into service and the emergency measures taken to ensure that this obsolescent aircraft was made available in the numbers needed by the FAA when it’s replacement – the Albacore – hit development issues. The story of the Swordfish’s wartime service is concise and well written and complemented by numerous well reproduced period photos. The Bismarck… more |
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Warpaint 133 C-47 Skytrain/Dakota in Worldwide Military ServicePublished:
Perhaps the most famous and most long-lived transport aeroplane in history, the DC-3 and its military versions including the C-47 Dakota are still in service around the World some 85 years after it’s first flight. There cannot have been many air forces around the world that have not operated the type and at one point or another still use them today. It is only fitting that the almost as famous and long-lived Warpaint series of books from Guideline Publications has now seen fit to include the type – the only mystery here is why it has taken so long! Author Adrian Balch has been a fixture of the British aviation scene for well over half a century himself and has amassed an unrivalled collection of aviation photos, some of which grace this volume. The book begins… more |
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RAF Cold War Jet Aircraft In Profile 2Published:
Here’s a really neat book for modelers. Illustrated and written by renowned profile artist Chris Sandham-Baily, aka Sandworm, RAF Cold War Jet Aircraft in Profile covers 14 different aircraft types designed and built by British companies and operated by the RAF between 1945 and 2010. The book features over 300 different colour profiles of the following types: Gloster Meteor, de Havilland Vampire, de Havilland Venom, English Electric Canberra, Supermarine Swift, Hawker Hunter, Vickers Valiant, Gloster Javelin, Handley Page Victor, Avro Vulcan, Blackburn Buccaneer, English Electric Lightning, Hawker Siddeley Harrier and SEPECAT Jaguar. Two types most notable by their absence are the McDonnell Douglas Phantom and the Panavia Tornado, both of whose omission is a major fault in my… more |
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QANTAS and the Empire Flying BoatPublished:
Between 1938 and 1948, QANTAS Short Empire flying boats navigated a dramatic and dangerous period for commercial aviation. They flew the Singapore to Sydney section of the pre-war Imperial Airways UK to Australia air route, introducing a new level of luxury travel to the route. However, the outbreak of war cut short this brief glamorous time and brought the boats increasingly onto the front line. Containing over 160 stunning illustrations, many previously unpublished, this book details the history of the Empire flying boats as they went from luxurious carriers to military service in roles that included the resupply and evacuation of Allied military forces. QANTAS, short for the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services, is never spelt with a ‘U’ and should always be… more |
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British Aviation: The First Half-CenturyPublished:
The British aviation industry produced a stunning variety of types in the half-century until 1953, from the famous Supermarine Spitfire and Avro Lancaster to the esoteric Planet Satellite and Armstrong Whitworth Apollo (Kudos to those who didn’t have to look up those latter two!). This new book from Key Publishing uses photos from the famous Aeroplane magazine archive to illustrate this wide variety, but does so through colourising those photos selected. Author David Willis is well known for his aviation-related writing and he does a very good job with the concise, explanatory historical text and the informative and extensive photo captions. The photos are, as stated, from the Aeroplane archive which guarantees quality, and they are an excellent selection. Aeroplane… more |
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Villers-Bocage Through The LensPublished:
Villers-Bocage in Normandy has, for years, been the battle that made the reputation of Nazi Germany’s tank ace, the SS hero, Michael Wittmann. In this book the battle is analyzed in depth for the first time through detailed examination of the images taken by war photographers after the town was captured by German forces. The book is a straight reprint of an article in the British magazine After The Battle from 1999. Whether there has been any further reassessment of the battle since that time goes unstated. The text is extremely detailed, giving an almost second-by-second account of the actions. Most of the 100 or so photos were taken by German forces after the battle and are of very mixed quality, ranging from good to terrible, as might be expected! Reproduction is as good as… more |
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Tempest Wheels, Early and LatePublished:
The new Airfix 1/72 Tempest V kit is very nice but, in some areas there’s a slight lack of detail and sharpness. These two new releases from Brengun/Hauler in the Czech Republic can fix one of those areas of weakness. Cast in Brengun’s standard medium grey resin, there are two different items - what they term Early and Late Wheels. What this means is reality is that early Tempests had Typhoon main wheel hubs with 5 spokes. Sometime in the JN-series, this changed to a new 4-spoke design, but the exact cut off is not known. What is known is that the first 50 Tempest Vs (JN729 to JN773 and JN792-796) were built using the centre-sections from a cancelled Typhoon contract, so it would make sense that they, at least, had the 5-spoke wheels. I was able to obtain a copy of the… more |