Combat Biplanes of World War II - Peter C. Smith

Combat Biplanes of World War II - Peter C. Smith (Pen & Sword Books Paperback* /£16.99


The Second World War was a conflict that not only spanned the whole globe, saw the death of untold millions and destruction on a scale unimaginable, it also saw the advancement of science and technology.

Both the Germans and the Allies started the war with huge amounts of antiquated military equipment including the old fashioned biplane yet by the end of the conflict there not just jets and even guided missiles there were also rockets and nuclear bombs. A huge advance in technical ability in such a short period of history.

Of course jets and rockets were being developed before the war even began but it is an indictment of the time that so many nations despite the development of the much more modern monoplane were still using planes that would have seemed not that much out of place in the previous conflict.



Sadly yet not without some merit it was the British RAF and Navy that operated the largest number of the these types of aircraft the most famous being the Gloster Gladiator and Friary Swordfish the latter used to knock the Italian Navy out of the war in a raid on Taranto.

There were many others particularly around the fringes of Empire and many older British types such as the Hawker Fury in service with foreign air forces.

Most famous of all are the three Gladiators, Faith, Hope and Charity that defended Malta. There was in fact a fourth but it was used for spare parts. The Gladiator also saw service in the Finnish Air-Force fighting for the axis until Finland changed sides.



The Italian Air-Force the Regia Aeronautica used biplanes such as the Fiat CR 32 & 42 which were popular with their pilots and did sometimes acquit themselves well when faced with more modern opposition. The Germans made use of the HenscheL Hs.123 a dive-bomber that saw service in several theatres which only ended as spare parts ran out towards the end of the war despite the pilots protests.



And yet it is the rickety old fashioned Polikarpov Po 2  or "Mule" used by the Russians that stands out not just in war use, most famously bt the Night Witches, female pilots harassing the Germans by night but to the incredulity of Nato experts remained in service throughout the Korean war (It was too slow to be shot down by jets!) and on duty until 1991.


photo: By Bundesarchiv, Bild 1

These are just some of the aircraft covered by this book which is published for the  aviation/military enthusiast and contains far-too much detail like a train spotters guide however fit is possible for the casual reader to skip these sections as war service and "foreign nation" uses are clearly headed. A fascinating look at a piece of aviation history.
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* This edition 2020, Hardback 2015.