The next book in Valiant Wings' Airframe Detail book is on the Supermarine Swift. The Swift was an aircraft that showed how far the British aerospace had lapsed after the end of WWII. When the other major players were all developing quality swept wing fighter jets, the RAF was still operating straight wing jets in its premier fighter units. While British turbines had and still are considered some of the bet around, the same could not be said of its airframes. For instance, the Swift did not have a full clear vision canopy as British industry was incapable of producing one for jets without frames. Indeed, the materials to do this had to be imported from the US when one was eventually developed for the last versions of the Swift.

The initial Swift was also a tail dragger and there were issues with gun gasses causing the engines to stop. The lack of a 'flying tail' such as on the F-86 severely hampered the development of the type and in fact, the early Swift variants were so limited on their performance, that the F.2 version was never issued to a squadron and these planes were trucked to maintenance schools. All of this must have been a real blow to the developers of the Spitfire; knowing they had produced such an incapable aircraft. Eventually the Swift was produced into an effective recce platform as its low level speed was very good, but even then, it was produced in small numbers as the RAF realized it would never amount to much.

Despite the small numbers of the aircraft produced, several of the later variants have survived and it is those planes that have helped produce this volume. Like the other books in this series, we start with a history of the type, including all the prototypes and the aircraft's squadron service. We are then provided with a camouflage and markings section. This area is quite well done and it is helped by the fact that the plane was around when color photography was becoming more of a norm. This takes away much of the guesswork that often occurs when trying to decide shades from grayscale images.

The major section is, of course, that of the details of the airframe. This is superbly done with a combination of period photos, tech manual drawings, and photos from extant airframes. We then go into a profiles section, followed by a build review of the recent Airfix 1/72 kit. Appendicies include one that provides information on the various kits produced of the Swift, Swift units as well as books previously done on the aircraft.