The publisher has been producing a number of aviation history series that feature rare archive images. This book is one of those books and has a fine photo content. The photographs in this case mostly show the image from the gunsight, or more accurately gun camera – Highly Recommended.
NAME: Air War Archive, Combat Over The Mediterranean, The RAD in Action Against the Germans and the Italians Through Rare Archive Photographs FILE: R2589 AUTHOR: Chris Goss PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING:soft back PAGES: 151 PRICE: £14.99 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War Two, World War 2, Second World War, aviation, war in the air, ground attack, anti-tank, anti-ship, Mediterranean, North Africa, Malta ISBN: 978-1-47388-943-X IMAGE: B2589.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/y9mh78zu LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The publisher has been producing a number of aviation history series that feature rare archive images. This book is one of those books and has a fine photo content. The photographs in this case mostly show the image from the gunsight, or more accurately gun camera – Highly Recommended. The hero responsible for the destruction shown in these rare photographs is the Bristol Beaufighter which is one of the most under-rated warplanes of WWII. It was powered by two rugged radial engines (although some were built with V engines), had very good performance, a wide range of roles, a heavy and flexible armament, all delivered quietly and for that reason, known by the Japanese as the “Whispering Death”. Even avid fans cannot describe it as a beautiful aircraft. It was thick set, pugnacious and determined in all of the roles assigned to it. The Beaufighter was flown in a similar manner to the WWI 'Frisbit' Fe2. In this, it was flown as a single seat fighter with the air-gunner/radio operator watching astern and advising the pilot of incoming trouble. The pilot fired four 20 mm cannon mounted in the forward fuselage and six wing-mounted machine guns, all firing outside the propeller arcs at full rate of fire. A flexible mount Vickers K machine gun was usually mounted in the rear blister canopy to give some rear protection. This standard gun armament made it an effective night fighter that was also able to hold its own in day combat, but the Beaufighter could also carry a heavy external weapons load in the form of rockets, bombs and torpedo. The result of this rugged well-armed design was to make the Beaufighter very effective in the Mediterranean, North Africa and the Far East. The photographs in this books show just how effective it could be.