Cockpit Book Review by Al Bowie (Boston Mills Press)

COCKPIT
An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Interiors

by Donald Nijboer

Boston Mills Press

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Title:	COCKPIT– An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Interiors Boston Mills Press
ISBN:	978-1-55046-488-7
Media and Contents:	Softcover A4 Portrait with 176 pages including Colour and b/w photos plus diagrams and Text
Price:	$39.95 plus shipping available online from Firefly Books
Review Type:	First Read
Advantages:	Pictorial collection of World War Two Aircraft Cockpits by Aircraft type and nation
Disadvantages:	None found
Conclusion:	A great title suited to the modeller but with enough information to appease the ardent enthusiast.

Reviewed by Al Bowie

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FirstLook

Another for the aviation enthusiast or modeller is this title from Boston Mills Press Entitled Cockpit – An Illustrated History of World War Two Aircraft Interiors. The title is a little misleading as it an Illustrated guide to Aircraft cockpits and not much else is seen of the rest of the interiors.

Thumbnail panels:

Divided into national groupings the book covers a series of selected aircraft and gives a brief introduction to the Aircraft then a detailed examination & pilot's perspective of the cockpit with a full page colour shot of the cockpit supported by a b&w key diagram showing what all the instruments etc are. The pilot's perspectives are by actual veterans and an interesting read.

The book covers a great deal of aircraft and uses colour shots of restored and preserved examples of famous aircraft. These are listed by nation and I was surprised how many they managed to fit in the book. The book has five Chapters devoted to the major combatants:

Introduction

United Kingdom – 9 Aircraft from the Gladiator to the Lancaster
U.S.A. – 17 Aircraft fom the Seversky P 35 to the Mighty B 29
Japan – 4 Aircraft including the Zero, Dinah, Shiden Kai and Ki 100
U.S.S.R. – Only the one aircraft , the Yak 3
Germany – 6 Aircraft from the Bf 109 to the Me 163 and 262.

Bibliography & Index

The photos are large and clear in general but some are a bit obscured by canopy frames, lighting etc but these are the minority. I was impressed by the range of aircraft covered and the fact that they didn’t overlook the less glamorous types such as the Swordfish, Stuka and the P-39.

Conclusion

This is a great title suited to the modeller but with enough information to appease the ardent enthusiast. It would even make a good coffee table type and to my eyes is presented a bit that way. Having said that I do not believe it detracts from it in any way.

Recommended

Review Sample supplied by Firefly Books

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