Osprey Aircraft of the Aces S.
3 primary works
Book 18
The Hawker Hurricane was the RAF's first monoplane fighter, and it dragged the air force in to a position where it could defend Britain during 1940. Hurricanes outnumbered Spitfires during the Battle of Britain by three to one, and actually downed more Luftwaffe aircraft than the famous Supermarine fighter. Even prior to it's "Finest Hour" over southern England, Hurricanes had provided the first RAF aces of the war in France during the Blitzkrieg, and they are described in this volume. In 1941 the type was heavily used in the Mediterranean and North Africa, before being flung in at the deep end in the Far East against the Japanese. US Eagle Squadron pilots also flew the type in the early years of the war, and it saw much combat with the Fleet Air Arm and the Soviet Air Force.
Book 38
Tomahawk and Kittyhawk Aces of the RAF and Commonwealth
by Tony Holmes and Andrew Thomas
Published 13 November 2002
Deemed unsuitable for the Channel Front, lend-lease Tomahawks and kittyhawks instead became the staple fighter of the Desert Air Force in 1941-42, flying with RAF, South African and Australian squadrons in North Africa and the Middle East. Although usually outclassed by the Bf 109, a number of pilots enjoyed some success during the desert campaign - men like Caldwell, Gibbes, Edwards and Drake, all of whom accrued double figure scores, In the Far East, Australian and New Zealand pilots also saw much action against the Japanese in 1942/43, flying over the jungles of New Guinea in defence of the Australian mainland.
Book 44
Never before has a single volume been devoted exclusively to the intrepid and disparate band of pilots who could claim to be Gladiator aces. Flying the ultimate British biplane fighter, pilots in China, Finland, East Africa, North Africa, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, Norway and the Middle East all scored the prerequisite five kills to become aces. The first individuals to do so were fighting marauding Japanese fighters and bombers attacking targets in China in 1938. The likes of Sheen, Tuck and Carey will also be featured in this volume, as they were among the many early war acers who cut their teeth in Fighter Command on the Gladiator.