The era of the combat biplane is usually thought to have been between
1914 and 1938. By the outbreak of World War II, most of the advanced
air forces of the world had moved on to monoplane aircraft for their
front-line battle forces, both in bomber and fighter capacities. Yet
despite this, many biplanes did still survive, both in front-line
service and in numerous subsidiary roles, and not just as training
machines but as fully operational warplanes. Thus in 1939 the majority
of major European powers still retained some, albeit few, biplane
aircraft. Sadly, and as an indictment of failed British Government
defence policies, it was Great Britain who still had the bulk of such
obsolescent combat aircraft, machines like the Gladiator, Swordfish,
Walrus, Vildebeeste and Audax for example, while the inferior
Albacore, meant to replace the Swordfish, was still yet to enter
service!Germany had relegated most of her biplane designs to secondary
roles, but they still managed to conduct missions in which biplanes
like the He.50, He.51 and Hs.120 excelled. Both France and Italy had
biplanes in active service, Mussolini's Regia Aeronautica attaching
great importance to the type as a fighter aircraft as late as 1941,
while the Soviet Union also retained some machines like the Po-2 in
front-line service right through the war and beyond. In addition, a
whole range of smaller nations utilised biplanes built for larger
combatants in their own air forces. By the time Japan and the United
States entered the war two years later, they had mainly rid themselves
of biplanes but, even here, a few specialised types lingered on. This
book describes a selection of these gallant old warriors of all
nations. They represent the author's own personal selection from a
surprisingly large range of aircraft that, despite all predictions,
fought hard and well in World War II.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781473874251
Publisert
2015
Utgiver
Vendor
Pen & Sword Military (ORIM)
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter