Tuesday 26 November 2019

Book Review: Early Jet Bombers, 1944-1954, Leo Marriott (Images of War)



If I'm completely honest it's only the German part of this that really interests me. They lead the way, and had the funkiest ideas and gear. But here you also get info and pics on British, French, US and Russian stuff. 

Because the Germans were in a too little too late scenario, that's kind of reflected here: after brief mention of prop powered bombers such as the Do-17, He-111 and the rarer He-177, there's just a few pics each and basic info on the Arado 234, the better known Me-262, and the Ju-287. 

It's a pity there isn't more on the Ar-234 (which stars on the cover). And some mention of the myriad unrealised German ideas would've been nice, in particular the Ho-229, which was at least being built. These latter projects would feed into postwar jet work for other nations, the US and Russia in particular. 

The text is minimal, but clear and informative, the pictures, all black and white, are fairly interesting. A useful reference book depicting the shift from the prop to the jet age in warfare.

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