The vast majority of the world's air arms were in austerity mode in the period between WWI and WWII, mainly due to the world-wide depression. Money was very tight. Even the the largest nations were unable to upgrade their forces in the numbers that were deemed appropriate. This is a period of time when planes were bought by the dozens if lucky. It was the rise of fascism and the seeming inevitability of war that caused nations to start to buy larger fleets of aircraft.

Left with one of the largest air forces after WWI, the RAF's rapid drawdown meant a surplus of growing obsolete aircraft. Like most nations that fought in WWI, the RAF realized that they had to keep developing new types in order to stay ahead of the game. So it was that, though purchased in fairly small numbers, the RAF's fighter force was able to stay modern.

This book is the third special in the Flight Craft series and is as much a photo book as it is a history of various type. For sure, a history of each aircraft is provided, but it is fairly abbreviated, hitting only the high points. The author concentrates more on the various units that flew the type as anything else and each entry includes a full squadron listing. In addition to the excellent period photos, the book has a large number of pages devoted to full color profiles. This is quite welcome as many of these inter-war units had very colorful aircraft. In addition to those aircraft that entered service, all of the various prototypes of planes that did not make the cut are included. This makes for a well rounded and useful book on the subject. I very much enjoyed reading this one and know that you will as well. A great reference and worth picking up.

June 2025

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