RAF and Australian Flying Corps Squadron Losses.
Mar 23, 2019 11:33:49 GMT
Post by geoffnegus on Mar 23, 2019 11:33:49 GMT
Full title: Royal Air Force and Australian Flying Corps Squadron Losses, 1st April - 30th June 1918.
Author: W R Chorley.
Publisher: Mention the War Publications.
Available from Amazon, £15.
W R (Bill) Chorley is best known for his Bomber Command Losses books, which have been of immense usefulness to historians. This is his first book exclusively about the First World War.
Given Bill Chorley’s track record I had high hopes. However, while this book is not disastrous, it is disappointing. There is little material that has not been published before or which is not available on the web. Mr Chorley does not mention Cross & Cockade and its magazine and books in either the acknowledgments or the list of sources – an important indication that this is not a thorough piece of work.
Most of this 334-page softback is devoted to a chronological listing of the aircraft lost by squadrons – a sample scan is attached. Appendices provide tables of losses by squadron, aircraft type and location. There is a Roll of Honour. Finally, there are about 20 indifferent images of aircraft, many credited to Wiki.
Although some abbreviations are used, there was much scope for using more without baffling the likely audience. Virtually all numbers are spelled out in full. The presentation of dates is inconsistent and sometimes simply long-winded. Some aircraft serials are given in quote marks and some are not. A two-column page layout would have been more readable.
Geoffrey Negus
Author: W R Chorley.
Publisher: Mention the War Publications.
Available from Amazon, £15.
W R (Bill) Chorley is best known for his Bomber Command Losses books, which have been of immense usefulness to historians. This is his first book exclusively about the First World War.
Given Bill Chorley’s track record I had high hopes. However, while this book is not disastrous, it is disappointing. There is little material that has not been published before or which is not available on the web. Mr Chorley does not mention Cross & Cockade and its magazine and books in either the acknowledgments or the list of sources – an important indication that this is not a thorough piece of work.
Most of this 334-page softback is devoted to a chronological listing of the aircraft lost by squadrons – a sample scan is attached. Appendices provide tables of losses by squadron, aircraft type and location. There is a Roll of Honour. Finally, there are about 20 indifferent images of aircraft, many credited to Wiki.
Although some abbreviations are used, there was much scope for using more without baffling the likely audience. Virtually all numbers are spelled out in full. The presentation of dates is inconsistent and sometimes simply long-winded. Some aircraft serials are given in quote marks and some are not. A two-column page layout would have been more readable.
Geoffrey Negus
