French Flying Boats of WWII

by Gérard Bousquet

MMP Books

Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

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When discussing WWII aircraft, the subject of French flying boats doesn’t come up a lot. That’s a pity because there’s some quite remarkable designs to be had, both large and small.

Gérard Bousquet has taken the liberty of gathering up as much data as possible on these types and presenting it in an easily accessible reference book. This A4 sized hardback contains 232 pages of text, photographs, scale plans and colour profiles.

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The author starts off with a brief explanation of where French naval aviation found itself prior to the start of WWII. This includes the requisition of commercial seaplanes as well as their categorization and disposition. Especially interesting is the comparison between the Luftwaffe and the Aéronautique Navale.

This is followed by the “meat” of the publication, which is the alphabetical listing of the flying boats themselves. There are 30 individual aircraft types presented, and this includes a couple of projects that never got to the prototype stage.

The text accompanying each subject relates the history, specifications and Air Ministry contract details. It’s all interesting stuff and the reader never gets bogged down in too much technical detail.

Each aircraft is complimented with a set of scale drawings and at least one colour profile. These pieces are artwork are superbly done by Teodor Moro?anu and number 82 in total.

Unfortunately there is no bibliography which would have been nice to direct the reader to other works.

The subject tackled here is a complex one. To cover it in exhaustive detail would take a book many times the size of this publication.

To his credit, the author has neatly condensed the available information into a logical and easily accessible format. This makes it an ideal guide for those interested in the vast array of French flying boats that found service during WWII.

Thanks to MMP Books  for the sample.

All MMP Books are available direct from the publishers, who now accept credit cards (Visa, MC, Amex, Switch)  

North American distributors are MMD, Australian distributors are Platypus Publications. In Europe, the books are available from any good bookshop (via our UK distributors, Orca). Contact MMP direct in case of difficulties. 

Thanks to Roger at MMO Books  for the sample.

Review Copyright © 2014 by Rob Baumgartner
This Page Created on 7 February, 2014
Last updated 7 February, 2014

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