. But as these are all relatively short (they’re all about the same length if you’re interested), I will happily expand on particular books if prodded .EDIT: Forgot to mention, the first line gives the title/author, the second is the summary, and the rest is the review. Also note that not all of these are recommended, but I've included them anyway in case somone else finds them more interesting.
Royal Marines
1) “The Royal Marines” – Julian Thompson
A detailed and complete history of the Royal Marines.
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in the Royal Marines, giving great detail on everything of significance in the history, and a fair number of less important things as well. Special attention is given to operations of all sorts, and there is some good reading on less well known subjects such as the Claret operations in the Borneo conflict, and the early operations and roles of the RM. It is however very extensive so can be a little slow at times to achieve this, so it is more geared towards people with a specific interest than for those looking for something to pass time. That doesn’t mean it isn’t quite often livened up with numerous personal accounts from others. And the terminology and abbreviations used are fully explained so you’re not left wondering what on Earth the author is talking about, though occasionally there can be such a gap between the explanation and it’s next use that you’ve forgotten what it means and have to go back to find out again. Not that it’s going to worry many of the chaps around here
.2) “First into action” – Duncan Falconer
Primarily a biography of an SBS bloke, and some SBS history.
A much more fast paced and modern account, the author spent almost all of his career in the SBS so there’s little on the regular RM’s, though commando training is covered in some detail. He gives a personal account of many varied missions, covering the whole spectrum of SBS work while giving basic information on methods and equipment used, at least in the past. In addition there are details on other operations, such as those carried out in the Falkland Islands where he was not present, they lack the personal touch but are interesting nonetheless. It does retain a rather accessible style throughout though.
3) “True stories of the SBS” –Robin Hunter
History of the SBS, focussed on WWII.
The name is rather deceptive, as while it does cover the whole history of RM special forces, the vast majority is given over the assorted units and development of British amphibious special operations in the second world war. A lot of good background information is presented about the problems encountered and the solutions about what was the new area of special operations, with some interesting snippets of diving theory for instance. All operations form this era are covered well, including the more mundane hours of paddling a canoe in the dark, to what are almost unbelievable tales of action film style raids around Italy. So this is good for the learning about the origins of the SBS, although books like the one above are better if you want information on post war operations.
4) “Unscathed” – Major Phil Ashby
A biography of an ML, with lots about ML training, and a UN peacekeeping operation gone bad in Sierra Leone. (pasted from another thread)
The first section is largely devoted to ML training and selection, and especially given the relative lack of information on ML's available elsewhere, makes this a must read if you're interested in them even without the rest of the book. The section detailing his experiences in Sierra Leone are also very informative, as it gives a very detailed and personal insight into African civil war; and the brutality of the whole affair is made very clear as well as how UN operations work.
Funnily enough I wasn't so interested in the key theme of the book (escaping from a surrounded UN position), but given the three areas of interest (mountain leader training, UN operations, African civil war) in one book make this well worth your hard earned cash in my opinion
.5) “Commando – The illustrated history of Britain’s green berets” – David Reynolds
A brief, history of the RM’s, with good up to date information on training and general information.
A much more civilianised affair than the previous RM books, with some large pictures and big letters. That does mean it doesn’t go into much detail but the content is quite modern and relevant which make it worth a look. The training while again not as gripping as personal accounts elsewhere, does offer the views of an outsider, giving an objective overview. It does go on to talk about recent organisation and so on, and operations up to Sierra Leone. Overall it’s quite interesting, but contains little in the way of hard information that you can’t get in more detail from other books, or free from the internet. As such it seems to be aimed more at non military nuts like the population here, but it’s still nice to have on the bookshelf.
(22 regiment) SAS
6) “SAS – The soldiers story” – Jack Ramsay
A collection of personal accounts about SAS operations and selection.
This is more of a series of anecdotes than an informative book in it’s own right, so while not highly detailed and limited in scope (only really the actions themselves are covered), are interesting to read. Post WWII operations take the fore, with some good stories about the likes of Aden and Borneo, and it’s nice to get a number of views from the same operation, each with a rather personal feel. This is based on a TV series (documentary, mind) so lacks intricate military detail and terminology, but ha doesn’t really detract from the interest. So a good read particularly on the less well known colonial emergencies, if not a complete examination of the regiment.
7) “The shooting gallery” –Gaz Hunter
Autobiography, including SAS and mercenary style work.
The first of the autobiographies is nice and varied, with bits of his non SAS life thrown in, the stuff on Northern Ireland with the Royal Green Jackets is particularly intriguing, and distinctly unnerving. Probably the most interesting part though is his private work in Afghanistan, training the Mujahideen (not sure of spelling on that one) to fight Russia, and smuggling in Stinger missiles. It gives an interesting first hand account of guerrilla warfare Afghan style, and the personal style (I’m saying that a lot aren’t I) makes the grim parts unsavoury bedtime reading (lesson one, what happens when you’re on the wrong end of an Mi24. Lesson two, how to slowly torture and kill a prisoner with a knife and some rocks). An interesting account then, but the experiences from Afghanistan make it stand out.
“Sabre squadron” –Cameron SpenceA memoir from a man with convoy of landies playing around in Iraq during Desert Storm.
Some more of the traditional SAS autobiography stuff, but talking specifically about a patrol of light vehicles behind Iraqi lines in Desert Storm. Not hugely informative, but quite fun with good detail on the assorted practical jokes and assorted other funny stuff from the mission, due partly I expect to the more realistic amount of action than certain authors put into their books. But as with most SAS books, this does have one are which is more unique, and that is the mobility aspect of it. It’s interesting to read how much they bolt, strap and glue onto their vehicles, and some of the thinking behind their use, so I think the mechanised angle makes this a worthwhile book if you’re into special forces stuff.
9) “All necessary measures” – Cameron Spence
An account of an SAS team in Bosnia.
Written by the same bloke in the same style as Sabre Squadron above, this is about an SAS team secretly put into Bosnia under the guise of a UN unit. This is much less intensive in terms of action that most others, but is more a description of attempts to effect a political outcome by bringing leaders together, assisting friendly troops and so on. It has its moments, such as tearing around dangerous territory with critical information, and an unconventional encounter with a civilian sniper. It culminates with the team getting into a situation in a besieged city, and rescuing a downed Royal Navy pilot. Overall this doesn’t have the same feel as similar books, but does go into a subject not often covered so may be interesting to some even if I didn’t find it incredibly exciting.
10) “Bravo two zero” – Andy McNab
The (in)famous story of an SAS bloke taken prisoner during Desert Storm.
This is, supposedly, the rue story of an eight man SAS patrol which go into serious trouble during Desert Storm. It goes into very good detail about the experience of the patrol, and is written very well indeed making it nice and accessible. The problem however as you probably know, is that many of the details while very interesting, are more likely than not complete and utter c**p. The ok on this subject by Michael Asher shows that much of McNabs account is either exaggerated or downright lying, and so while it’s impossible to know how much of either account is true, it’s fair to say that this makes a highly enjoyable read, and gives an eye opening insight into the experiences of being captured by the Iraqi army (this section of the book is, to the best of my knowledge, undisputed by anyone including Michael Asher), well worth a look. Just treat the first part with a fleet of oil tankers full of salt.
11) “Immediate action” –Andy McNab
Autobiography, with wide range of experiences and detail on paper.
Same author as above, so I’m hesitant to believe it all, but I haven’t heard of anyone disputing this so I’m assuming in this review that all of it is actually true (modifications for security reasons excepted).
This a full autobiography of Mr McNab, telling about his life from a distinctly antisocial kid to the army and ultimately the SAS, where there are many stories from his experiences, funny, exciting and intriguing. The sheer volume of experience put down is quite impressive, and special attention is given to some areas such as SAS selection, jungle training, life with the Counter Revolutionary Warfare wing and so on. Scattered around are more in depth accounts, with many short and sharp but highly memorable funny moments. For instance, even after not reading it for a couple of years or so, I can still recall parts such as “I’d like a bone shirt please.” “Ah, bone shirt! You know tiny, number one!” or something
. This is probably a good sign, so this gets good marks for entertainment value as well as mild education.Miscellaneous
12) “Janes guns recognition guide” – Ian Hogg
A gun recognition guide. It’s not that complicated really.
As the title suggests, this is a recognition book. About guns. Still with me? No? Ok, well this is basically a catalogue of a lot of small arms in use today (plus some larger weapons such as heavy machine guns like the M2HB and M134), with a large picture for identification and some background information, with some less useful technical data such as rifling (“Oh my god, he’s got a weapon with six left hand grooves! SIX I TELL YOU!!!”… Ahem). It’s highly educational as you would expect, and is vital if you want to become a walking talking gun encyclopaedia -no, thought not. Still, I think this could be very useful to servicemen as it gives information on the function (how to make it safe, how to fire it) so the knowledge ay be very handy indeed if you find yourself with only an obscure foreign boomstick by your side with a crazed unfriendly bloke charging your way – knowing which button makes it go bang is always nice. And being able to commentate during films can be a laugh, f not for people around you, “what an idiot – that CETME doesn’t take 5.56, I thought everyone knew that…”
. It might be worth noting though that this does not contain all types of weapons – shotguns, are noticeably absent as are things like grenade launchers.13) “Tank killers” – Ian Hogg
Information on details and application of all sorts of ways to blow up tanks.
This is a pretty informative evaluation of methods of tank destruction since their inception, with details on weapon systems including how they worked (even some of the basic physics involved – something of a rarity in civilian books), descriptions and information on the vehicles they were built to destroy, and some first hand accounts. The variety of methods explained is quite good, from improvised hand held explosives and rifles to modern artillery and missile technology. A few pictures are to be found, but the information itself is both readable and informative, though I expect not above what most soldiers are taught. The assorted weapons are also put in their economic, historical and cultural context which is a nice thought, which is another factor not always present – a reflection on the calibre of the author perhaps. To my mind though there is one significant if unintentional problem with this book – after reading it, there’s a good chance you’ll never want to go NEAR an armoured vehicle ever again
.14) “Strategy and tactics: tank warfare” – Christer Jorgensen & Chris Mann
Information on tactics used by and against individual and formations of tanks.
More information not only on how to blow up tanks, but how to blow up stuff with tanks J. This focuses quite heavily on tactics and methods, as you might expect, using a nice variety of diagrams, pictures and small case studies of historical tank operations often suing maps. It also gives information on some of the technology involved, such as ammunition and armour used by modern tanks. There are sporadic bits and pieces of technical information, but this is more or comparison between major opponents than for general reference. The text does give a far more encouraging view on fighting in tanks as one would expect, and with a range of areas covered such as defensive and offensive use, formation and individual movement for example, comes across as quite comprehensive compare to some more general narratives around. I think this is another interesting and informative read, particularly given the major role tanks still play in warfare.
15) “SEAL combat boarding manual” – No author stated – Department of Defense?
An outdated (1990) field manual style affair with some basic boarding tactics procedures, and LOTS of decidedly boring pictures.
This appears to be a straight switch from official military field manual to publication, and is really not geared towards the average civilian reader. To be honest, the style, layout etc is entirely in standard military fashion so there’s not much to say, although it does lack the pretty cartoon pictures found in the latest generation of American field manuals J. Also of note is that it assumes what appears to be basic infantry training, most abbreviations are not explained (VBSS for instance) and many highly relevant and interesting elements of combat boarding do not get covered in here, somewhat disappointingly. The content consists of three main areas, starting with equipment lists. Exciting already! These are simply lists of all the tactical equipment individual SEAL’s are deployed with, and is just a bunch of items with how much of it is taken (MP5 X 16, 9mm ball X 10, 000 sort of thing). It is mildly interesting to see what the basic hardware used is/was, but it’s really not very thrilling. Second is the good bit, basic (most if it being common sense or well known tactics anyway) tactics. This covers simple close quarters combat formations, who goes where etc, but is designed for trained operatives who already know how to use everything and what to do, so is limited to basic movements. Again this can be educational to people ho don’t sped inordinate amounts of time downloading field manuals off the internet, but the essence f it could fit into a single page of A4 really. The more specialised parts are on boarding procedures (again assuming some training, for instance it might tell you to fast rope down without telling you what fast roping is) are the best bits in my opinion, particularly the rather more detailed part on subsurface boarding (a bit complicated, but definitely an intriguing piece about this rather dark and mysterious art) I found fascinating. The third part, which accounts for over half of the pages in this noticeably slim book, is big black and white pictures. Probably intended to show operatives what how hey are supposed to put their gear on, it consists of pictures of a SEAL (face blacked out) in various sates of undress, with a new pictures for every extra layer of kit put on, with the thrilling conclusion of… A bloke standing there in assault kit. This is one for a few different loadouts, and then there are pictures of all the individual pieces of equipment (weapons, vests etc). All in all, not excellent value material, though the “finished product” pictures are slightly worthwhile. But as I said this is outdated, look at one pictures of a modern SEAL and you’ll notice that just about all of the visible equipment has changed since then. And given that this is fit for public consumption, it’s to be assumed that some methods such as boarding methods, are outdated and no longer used so this is more a look at how SEALs used to do it a few years ago, rather than how they do it now. Still interesting for people like me though, but unless you’re very interested in this field this is terrible value for money with such little real content.
16) “Sniper” – Peter Brookesmith
Varied if basic information on snipers, including accounts and tactics.
A relatively civilianised overview of snipers military and police, this is another all purpose book with plenty of pictures, technical information on weapons, tactics and first hand accounts of operations and training. The training techniques themselves are quite interesting, and the Royal Marines sniper course is referred to a fair bit so that alone boots its marks for me
. A basic history of sniping is also present, as is a rather original part about sniper psychology. Another nice addition is information about some of the more successful snipers over time, and some of their experiences. Overall, this is quite simple but interesting nonetheless, with a lot of gun data that might be of interest.17) “Secret soldiers – special forces in the war against terrorism” – Peter Harclerode
Highly detailed history and methodology of counter terrorism since WWII.
This is very long but as a result comprehensive, telling about a number of aspects of counter terrorism. The bulk of the book is on highly detailed accounts of some major counter terrorist operations including famous ones like Operations Nimrod and Thunderball (which shows well why some say real sergeants “can remember when the Israelis were badasses and everyone wanted to be like them”
), and incorporates into the general picture all sorts of smaller scale operations. Increasing the depth of the narrative are a number of first hand accounts, analysis of tactics and methods used, and of the background to operations. This ties in closely with a history of the development of modern terrorism, about the groups, their motives and their actions, and with a great deal of information on the units formed to defeat them. In this respect it is more of a historical reference than a technical one, with not a great deal on weapons and equipment etc where it does not have a major influence on the outcome of an operation. There are a few pictures, but this does lean heavily on extensively researched and complete information on key events, development of organisations, and also of the politics and consequences of terrorism. An excellent book in all regards, as long as you’ve got a lot of time to kill.18) “Airborne” – Tom Clancy
Extensive examination of the modern US 82nd Airborne, with good information on everything about them.
As with most of Tom Clancy work, this covers all aspects of the modern airborne division, from training to operations. Specialist equipment is described well such as the parachute used, and fancy gizmos like their new GPS systems, though basic bits and pieces are left alone to some extent (when he refers to the M16 he says there are problems, but you have to buy one of his other books to read about it – conniving little miscreant!), while some is described in detail (even some examples of rations are included). But much of the value lies in he information on he training, organisation and methods of the organisation, a lot of which I think would be similar to any paras but then I can’t really say. Fitness requirements, training schedules etc are all covered, and a lot of contact between the author and the subject are shown rather than just pinching facts form other books – for instance he gives an observers eye view of a training course, exercises etc. At the end, he does also have a couple of fictional examples of how the 82nd could be used in action, but they are laughably poor – the troops are the usual whiter than white nice blokes going off to stop an evil dictator who would put Blofeld to shame, and managing to single handedly stage a dramatic raid and defeating the nasty men with bugger all casualties, just like in real life! But at least these only infect a short portion of the book so there’s still plenty of proper content to keep you happy, so I would say this is a good book about the modern day US airborne, but does take some time to get through.
19) “Nine battles to Stanley” – Nicholas Van Der Bijl
An account of all aspects of the Falklands was from the British side
This is a quite authoritative look at the Falklands campaign of 1982, from a British intelligence bloke. It covers well al areas, beginning with the background to the conflict, with the history of the Islands and the conflict surrounding them. This in itself makes quite clear the basis of the Argentineans claim to the islands, something which is often neglected when people talk about their invasion. It then describes in detail the initial invasion and recapture, throughout feeling distinctly objective in its evaluation of the conduct of the Argentinean and British forces. Much attention is paid to the major battles, including smaller but significant actions such as the special forces raids such as Top Malo, and secretive missions into Argentina itself. The activities themselves are well evaluated, with planning and strategies covered. Another good addition is some statistics and notes on the casualties at the end, with the list of units and organisations involved. This is as well as a fair number of pictures, and first hand accounts. All in all, a very well written and definitive account of the war,
20) “Blackhawk down” – Mark Bowden
Now well known book about a very hairy battle between US elite forces and Somali fighters.
You have probably heard about this and may well have seen the film, but the original book is a brilliant account of a pretty significant event in modern conflict. It’s a first hand account based description of the distinctly intensive mission by combined US SF and rangers to capture some violent clan seniors in Somalia, in the early 90’s. The entire mission is described in detail, with many events told by multiple people on both sides of the battle. From the initial deployment of the force to the region to the close of the mission, everything of any significance is described well, giving great insight into a gory, violent urban battle between a professional combined military unit and thousands of local militia and civilians, which I think makes this very relevant reading as well as informative and educational. While I’m obviously biased, I do feel that this shows amply some important lessons in how such operations can develop, for better and for worse. All aspects of the fighting are covered, from the commander looking at his surveillance footage, the pilots flying above, the commanders on the ground, and the men with the job of doing the fighting itself. This varied nature makes it intriguing as how different people felt about things, the conflicting interests and ideas, and also how the men worked together. The first hand style also makes this very readable, as the human elements of humour, emotions, and teamwork are brought vividly to life. So an excellent book and well worth a read, and highly relevant today.
21) “A soldiers pocket book” – Military pocket books
An overview of basic current soldiering skills.
This is very much aimed at serving soldiers as you might expect. It covers some basic skills such as security, skill at arms, navigation, vehicle recognition etc. The information given is at a basic level, but is also very simple, well laid out and with pictures and diagrams where appropriate. In all cases some key skills are shown so while it might not cover the tactical use of the GPMG, you will at least be sure how to make it go bang J. But despite its intended market, much of the skills such as first aid, navigation and so on are readily translatable into civilian applications so would be beneficial to just about anybody. Another advantage is that it is actually pocket sized, unlike the half ton dictionaries which seem to assume a 100 litre Bergen is a pocket… And so is easy to carry around on expeditions for instance. So for £10, this is a nice and versatile information source which while not incredibly interesting, is undoubtedly useful.
22) “True stories of the Paras” – Robin Hunter
A concise history of the (British) Parachute Regiment.
This is in a very similar vein to “True stories of the SBS”, and shares the same writing style. It does have some information on current training, but it is mostly given over to the past operations of the regiment from its inception to the Falklands (little action is covered after that unfortunately). The operational details themselves are quite broad with narrative on overall performance and unit actions, but a fair number of first hand accounts do offset this with a feeling at the individual level. This generally takes the middle ground between facts and description, giving an insight into the feel of the actions while retaining tactical and factual detail. This does of course mean that the facts themselves are not as comprehensive as may be found elsewhere, but it does help to make the book readable. There is also a handful of black and white pictures, but nothing substantial. Overall an accessible and interesting if rather simple history, but then it is only £5
.23) “Mercenaries – soldiers of fortune” – Tim Ripley
An overview of the modern mercenary, with case studies and general information.
Another rather civilianised general overview, this focuses on mercenaries, predominantly in the modern context. It’s pretty varied with a look at how they are recruited, the different types of mercenary, and major operations. This covers the major theatres of the African civil wars, the Balkans, where mercenaries have been heavily involved (admittedly there isn’t much on small scale involvements). All through the book there are small information boxes with bits and pieces of knowledge, and some with information on common weapons. A fair portion is given over entirely to details and pictures of weapons commonly used, though strangely given the limited amount of content, many guns covered in the information boxes dotted around are covered again in the dedicated weapons section, with much the same information. And given the large text, and more large and regular pictures, there is little in the way of real detail; it does appear to be aimed at the general interest market rather than those genuinely interested in learning about the subject. Overall a simple if lively book which is nice to have around, but has limited value if you’re after solid information.
Military aviation
24) “Air assault from the sea” – Patrick Allen
A relatively simple look at modern air assault units and operations.
A lively look at amphibious assault, this looks at some key organisations and dedicated hardware, with some British bias but also information on US, Spanish, and Dutch amphibious forces. While it doesn’t go into great detail, it does go into how the various bits and pieces operate, and being recent, does have information on such modern innovations as the LCAC (not the piddly little RM thing, the dirty great US jobs) and HMS Ocean. But the most noticeable aspect of the book is the pictures – of which there are quite a number. They are quite good and much more interesting than is often found elsewhere, and includes some interesting photos of UK and foreign special forces in an operational context. However this is still a general interest book with not that much in the way of facts or operational details, but does benefit from good photography.
25) “Special operations aviation” – Patrick Allen
Similar to above, focussing on ground support.
This book is again quite basic in terms of detail, but has some interesting and varied information about assorted air support units and operations. The title is however deceptive; much of the book is related to regular military forces, and some to civilian units such as coastguard search and rescue and even (UK) Fire Brigade air support. This does add to the interest a bit, although the broad content may not appeal to everyone. Pictures again constitute a significant bulk of he book, and again quality is high. There are short sections on World War II (almost it seems just to be able to claim some sort of historical content) and Borneo, each containing the only first hand accounts present, but most is modern and very up to date. The variety of content is nice (with more UK bias this time) with a look at air mobility in Northern Ireland, in the arctic with Royal Marines, and with special forces. Included are some less well covered units and operations such as Operation Safe Haven, the RAF regiment, and German Border Guards. But that said, fine detail is still lacking though the high quality photography an varied content does make it general interesting.
26) “Janes aircraft recognition guide” – Janes
You can probably work out what this is by now J.
Just in case you hadn’t worked out from the guns recognition guide, this is a book with lots of planes and helicopters, with photographs, outlines, and general information to identify aircraft with. It is split evenly between military and civilian aircraft, covering all the main types. Not everything is here, gliders for instance are not to be seen, but it’s still pretty definitive. This is still particularly useful for anyone interested or involved with aircraft as it does make recognising aircraft much easier, helped by the fact that it’s small enough to carry around. I could make a humorous remark about certain allies who seem to have trouble working out what to shoot and what not to, but I think I’ll leave it J. That’s all there is to say really, it’s the Ronseal of the aviation world. “Aircraft recognition guide – does exactly what it says on the cover” – aaah, I can see it now J.
27) “Fighter!” – Bill Gunston
Civilian friendly look at a number of fighter aircraft over time.
A distinctly basic and simple book about (you guessed it) fighter aircraft (plus the F117 for some bizarre reason), this does go briefly over the development of fighter employment and design, but is mainly given over to information and pictures of some key fighter designs over time from World War I to the F22. The information on aircraft is quite brief and not very technical making it highly accessible for just about everybody, but simultaneously making it rather lacking if you already know a bit about the subject and want to actually learn something. It does mention the various capabilities and developments of the planes, but doesn’t seem to go very far. Around about half of the space is taken with pictures, some of which are interesting, but are more illustrative than interesting in their own right. This goes some way to making it even more easy to read, but again if you already know what something looks like, this will hardly take your breath away. Not that any pictures generally do, but I’m just rambling now J. So a fairly good buy if you don’t know much about aviation, but a bit simplistic if you do.
28) “Fighter wing” – Tom Clancy
Extremely intricate look at a modern US air force unit, with everything you can think of about them and their aircraft.
Much like “Airborne” from the same author, this is highly detailed and covers more or less everything you could possibly want to know about a modern USAF combat wing. The volume allows for a good range of topics, much is said about the organisation and assorted units and sub units within the wing, which while not necessarily very interesting unless you’re keen on the particular wing in question, is highly informative. There are interviews with a number of personnel, including extensive interviews with general Horner and Colonel Warden, who were key players in Desert Storm. While this is not always specifically relevant to the wing, it makes for a good read as the commanders explain tactics and strategies sued in the air war. This is carried on throughout, with the tactical value and application of al the bits and pieces which go together, and of the organisation as a whole. The aircraft and weapons and all the other bits and pieces bits and pieces bolted on are explained with intricate cut away diagrams, and again while you may not want to know the exact location of every avionics compartment in an F15, it does make it a useful guide to the technology involved. Some information on how some of the things such as weapons wok is also here, which again is nice to know. The end of the book does contain more fictional scenarios where the combat wing could be used, and again the are pretty boring and also excessively technical (“The two GBU-7/Bs with their BLU-109/B warheads dropped accurately…” AAARRRGH!), but other content is more than extensive enough for this to be ignored. This leaves a very accurate and comprehensive examination of an Ai Force unit, which is both interesting and informative; the only possible weakness is again the huge amount of material which can take a while to finish reading.
29) “Fighting cockpits 1914-2000” – L.F.E. Coombs
A specific narrative about aircraft cockpit design since WWI.
A very specialised book, this goes into some detail about the history of aircraft cockpits and controls. Starting in World War I, it gives detailed information about how the ergonomics and functions of cockpits developed, giving a great deal of insight into the design thought that went, and goes, into such design. All innovations and developments are looked at, from the first illuminated gun sights to multi function displays and electronic control. This is almost certainly quite boring if you’re not interested is the subject but if you are this makes for an enlightening look at the human aspect of military flying. It also does quite a good job of making sense of all the gizmos and buttons that make modern cockpits so insanely complicated to look at, and offers speculation on future developments. Pictures are present in abundance, but are present more to illustrate points and as examples of design than for general interest, ding the informative value. As such, I’d say this is excellent if you want to learn about he subject, but is very specific and fact based so won’t be of interest to everyone.
30) “Modern fighting helicopters” – Bill Gunston & Mike Spick
Broad yet detailed view on modern combat helicopter, including tactics and technology.
A comprehensive book on modern combat helicopters, this has detail on a number of topics. The main part is diagrams, pictures and relatively extensive information on a large amount of different helicopters, also showing what weapons and extra equipment they can carry. This can be a bit dull if you want to read all of them (there are about 90 different aircraft detailed), but it does give plenty of basic information along with the usual statistics and performance figures. What make his especially interesting is the information into helicopter design and operation. This goes on to explain the basic physics of helicopter flight, the effects of various factors such as weather and ocean flying, and goes into some depth on the technology from rotor blade hub design to laser based navigation and stealthy features. Tactics and employment are also covered, including air to air self defence, ground attack, anti submarine warfare etc, and all is explained well with the aid of diagrams and photographs. The pictures themselves aren’t pf fantastic quality, but do the job and back up he content nicely. While not much is gone into in detail (the reader is spared the mind numbingly complicated maths and physics involved, it all being suitably but not overly simplified), it still goes over most things related to helicopters and their use, and that makes this a very good, informative and interesting read.
31) “The complete fighter ace” – Mike Spick
Information on every fighter ace past and present, with a lot of data.
This covers all the fighter aces throughout the history of shooting each others planes to pieces, and focuses mainly on how the airmen managed to succeed. There is plenty of information on what manoeuvres, aircraft and weapons were used, with both descriptions and diagrams. The individual nature of the narrative gives a good personal feel, also bringing out the human element, stories of pilots throwing fire extinguishers for instance makes this fairly easy to read. There are also plenty of statistics in separate boxes here and there, with specifications of aircraft, and assorted statistics related to the airmen and their scores. And I say airmen as this does recognise the role and success of navigators, though obviously these don’t figure as heavily as the pilots. There are the usual few photographs of some of he most successful aces, but as usual there are only a few and they don’t manage to add much to the value of the book. Overall this is an interesting book about the more fortunate of airmen, and while largely ignoring much related to this, it covers its subject well.
32) “RAF frontline” – John M. Dibbs
a large book with lots of excellent pictures if little real content about modern RAF aircraft.
A very big flashy book, this certain looks impressive. It shows all the major aircraft of the RAF, with a short piece of background and operational information on each aircraft type. Scattered throughout are a good number of short first hand accounts from aircrews, but these are all quite short an related any to the aircraft rather than operations or experiences. This s either a good or a bad thing depending on our view; certainly there are numerous other books about operations available. The problem however, is that the aircraft information really is short, as are the memoirs. The strength of the book lies in its pictures; they constitute most of the content, and are many and large. The quality is brilliant, and the pictures are pretty interesting as pictures go. So if you want lots of pretty photographs, this is a good book. The difficulty comes if you actually want some content, because considering the price, real content is pitifully lacking. This results in a nice picture book of little other value.
33) “Reds” – John M. Dibbs
A bit of autobiographical information about a red arrows pilot, but really just a big expensive Red arrows picture book.
From the same author as the above, this shares a similar style. This is much more of an autobiography, with a small, almost introductory, portion given over to his early life including his time spent as an RAF lightning pilot, but the vast majority goes over his extensive time flying with the Red Arrows. The narrative is very personal and interesting, with a fair proportion of information on display flying, and basic ideas and methods used. But the total content is again quite limited, with barely a hundred pages each of which are dominated by pictures if there is any writing at all (captions excepted). This makes it far more interesting than informative, and almost feels like a subsection to another big pretty picture book. Photograph is again of superb quality, with an awful lot of Hawks zipping around the sky engaged in various manoeuvres, sat on the tarmac, or sat on the tarmac with a load of blokes fiddling around with assorted bits of plane. Don’t be put off if I’m sounding rather unimpressed, as I said if you like pictures this does contain plenty of decent shots, but I do feel it is let down by an over reliance on this at the expense of good old fashioned writing
.34) “Robot warriors” – Hugh McDaid David Oliver
Historical, technological and operational information about unmanned aerial vehicles, including very modern systems.
This is an intriguing look at the development and application of UAV’s, from the first incarnations in the First World War to the next generation yet to be fielded. It is a cross between pure description and technical detail; there is not much in the way of facts and figures, but also charts precisely the technological evolution of the aircraft. It shows al manner of UAV’s to be made known to the public, including the conventional Predator style planes to bizarre peanut shaped helicopters and miniature devices six inches long. This makes the content very interesting, and with most of the technical facts put in a dedicated section at the rear, make it easy to read if a little disappointing a times (you get little idea of the performance of these things for instance). The pictures are more of the illustrative sort, and given the fact that many of these vehicles are kept quite discreet, many are promotional photos from manufacturers, or diagrams and artistic impressions. The technology involved though is of particular interest due to the current fashion for UAV’s, in both armed and unarmed roles, and s not a common topic covered by other sources. This makes it well worth reading, and a handy reference book but as usual it seems, it’s probably only going to be interested if you like this sort of thing
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very funny book though.