After WWII, the US had more men and equipment than it needed in a peace-time military. As is often the case, the drawdown was fairly rapid and dramatic. Ships were mothballed or sunk, equipment was sold off or stored or used as scrap, personnel were allowed to return to civilian life and contracts were greatly reduced or cancelled entirely.

This was true of the USAAF as much as anything else. Aircraft were sent to storage and eventually sold as scrap. Pilots and ground crews and administrative personnel were let go to find employment in the civilian market. However, the USAAF did not stop development as it soon became clear that there was a new enemy, the Soviet Union. As such, aircraft development continued, though at a much slower pace. The fighter force was where the greatest developments occurred. The advent of the turbojet meant that reciprocating engine powered fighters were no longer good enough, no matter how new.

This book covers the time period from the end of WWII until the start of the Korean War. During this time, many new fighter aircraft were developed with some of them making it into production. Aircraft such as the F-80, F-84, F-86, F-89 and F-94. Some of these had their first flight during the waning days of WWII with others soon after. Not only that, but there was a huge administrative change as the USAAF became a separate service;  the USAF.

The author covers not only the development of production fighters, but also those that were not chosen such as theF-85, F-88, F-90, F-92, F-95 and others. It also covers the prop driven P/F-61 and the F-82 night fighters. The changes in administrative boundaries is also covered as well, because the direction of a military force is determined as much by its leadership and the political climate as anything else. As you might expect, only those aircraft variants developed prior to 1950 are covered so while, for instance, the F-86E is included, not the F-86F or F-86H, which will be covered in another volume. Typical of Helion books, there are a lot of nice photos, including many in color and quite a few from the USAF Museum. Personally, I think that the latter could have been omitted as there is no lack of period photos of these planes. Add to it the usual full color profiles in the center section, and it all makes into a very interesting book, especially the political aspect of the subject. Highly recommended for hours of pleasurable reading.

October 2024

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