Thursday, March 01, 2012 - 06:37 AM UTC
On the website of the Osprey Publishing we can find two new publications in the "Aircraft of the Aces" series, scheduled to release for June 2012.
Defiant, Blenheim and Havoc Aces

Paperback
Publish date: June 2012
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9781849086660
Series: Aircraft of the Aces 105
Author: Andrew Thomas
Illustrator: Chris Davey

About this book
The Blenheim IF flew some of Fighter Command’s early offensive operations, and the type soon proved vulnerable when pitted against single-seat fighters. However, for much of 1940 the Blenheim fighter squadrons provided the RAF’s main long-range convoy escort and nightfighter capability. In the mid-1930s, in an attempt to capitalise on its expertise in power-operated gun turrets, the Boulton Paul Company developed the Defiant, a single-engined fighter in which all the armament was concentrated in the turret behind the pilot. Intended as a ‘bomber destroyer’, the Defiant had its combat debut over Dunkirk, and initially achieved some considerable success. A number of American-built aircraft called Douglas DB-7 light bombers (named Havoc by the RAF), were fitted with radar for nightfighter duties and others successfully replaced the Blenheim as night intruders. A total of 11 pilots claimed five or more victories when flying these three types to become aces, whilst no fewer than 33 who became aces claimed at least part of their scores when flying the Blenheim, Defiant or Havoc.

Book contents:
  • Early Day Operations
  • Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain
  • Early Night Operations
  • Overseas Operations
  • Valediction
  • Appendices (- Blenheim, Defiant & Havoc Aces - Aces with some Blenheim, Defiant & Havoc claims - Aces that flew Blenheim, Defiant & Havoc but made no claims - Colour Plates Commentary

Product page on Osprey website.


Spanish Republican Aces

Paperback
Publish date: June 2012
Number of pages: 96
ISBN: 9781849086684
Series: Aircraft of the Aces 106
Author: Rafael A. Permury Lopez

About this book
At the start of the Spanish Civil War, most young fighter pilot officers joined the rebels, while the high ranking officers, grupo or escuadrilla commanders, and the NCOs, sergeants and corporals remained loyal to the government. Mostly flying the obsolete Nieuport Ni.52s these loyalists were soon outpaced by the more modern Fiat CR.32s and Heinkel He 51s. However, at this early stage of the war, there were several Republican airmen who became aces and famous in the process, despite the small numbers of enemy aircraft shot down. Widely speaking, the Republican military aviation did not keep an exhaustive record of individual shooting claims. However, sufficient documentation exists to make a reasonable assumption as to which pilots fall into the ace category. This volume details the exploits of those pilots, complementing previous works in the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series on Nationalist CR.32 Aces and Polikarpov I-15, I-16 and I-152 Aces.

Book contents:
  • The Republican Fighter Force in 1936-37
  • The Escuadra de Caza nº 11
  • Fighter Pilots in the North
  • Chato Pilots
  • Mosca Pilots
  • Nightfighter Pilots
  • Appendices (-Technical specification and performance tables for all fighter types serving in Spain -List of Top Scoring pilots in the Spanish Republican Aviation -Colour Plates Commentary -Selected bibliography for those wishing to delve deeper into the history of air operations in the Spanish Civil War).

Product page on Osprey website.


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Comments

Hmmm .... do they at Osprey think, they've got the right cover art for that Spanish Republican Aces? What I see is a Rata of the VVS and a Bf 109 F or G with Eastern Front markings .... A scene which might have happened in early 1942 over Russia. Though I think that Polikarpov fighters were already taken away from the front by then. A bit far away from Spain, don't you think so? Osprey should overhaul that cover again. On the other hand, that Blenheim Aces is surely something for my father's son ....
MAR 02, 2012 - 08:50 AM
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