Review by William Newton

There are lots of interesting details to be seen, especially of those aircraft that had lingered on in service overseas where they had to carry everything, including the kitchen sink, strapped to the fuselage! I thoroughly enjoyed this book... finding new photographs of RAF subjects that are new is rare, I was pleased to find this book which certainly provided me with quite a few new photos, and as such can be wholeheartedly recommended.

IPMS Magazine

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The newsletter of the North Weald Airfield Museum Association

Overall, this is an excellent book that is both useful as an historical reference and also of interest to the casual reader - it's well put together and the photographs are well chosen and described, if you want to learn the difference between a Saro London and a Blackburn Botha then look no further.

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Army Rumour Service (ARRSE)

This offering from Pen and Sword as part of the Images of War series is a great release and a must for any modeller interested in the RAF during the interwar and early years of World War 2. This title covers aircraft I have not heard of before let alone seen and as such make it a gold mine for the modeller. The captions are very well written and the images have been well sourced.

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Armorama

The book is a feast for the eyes, as many of these planes are little known even to professionals. The photos are very beautiful and there are more than 200 of them, while the captions of each photo clearly explain the fate of each aircraft, which, as you can imagine given the period in question, often found an inglorious end being decommissioned or falling due to some accident. and not in battle. However, this does not detract from the charm of many of these aircraft as the period in which these photos were taken was a period of great expansion for the Royal Air Force, a period that nevertheless laid the foundations for the heroic defense of the British Island and then for the counterattack against Nazi Germany.

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On The Old Barbed Wire

Martin Derry has uncovered a wealth of information about the sometimes clandestine behind the scenes activities that characterised Britain's build-up to war in the face of mounting evidence of German militarism. Reads like a black ops list in some cases. Fascinating.

Books Monthly

In conclusion, this was an enjoyable, and uncomplicated review the RAF inventory over the period 1936-1939. The narrative is accessible and pre-supposes no prior knowledge. This book could be used as a springboard for further study, or simply as a welcome addition to any self-respecting bookcase

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Donnas Book Blog

Certainly I, for one, had no idea that there were so many different types of RAF aircraft in the skies in the run up to the Battle of Britain. As the book points out, we've all heard of the Spitfire and the Hurricane fighters, and the Lancaster and the Sterling bombers, but the cast was far larger than this, and each plane played its part.

The aviation enthusiast, of course, may scoff and say that this is all old news. For me though, this was enlightening, and the book's helpful format easily makes it an engaging page-turner. There's a useful introduction, acronyms helpfully explained in a glossary, and of course the archive photos, all accompanied by economic well-written text. This was the type of book I loved when I was growing up, and it will sit happily with other books in my limited RAF library today.

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Paul Nixon

Yes folks, back with probably my favourite book series from Pen and Sword books. Prelude to War The RAF 1936-1939 was a title I been looking forward to reading, as my son and I both have a keen interest in all things to do with the RAF. It always surprises me when looking at the RAF in the 30’s as to how basic the aircrafts war, as you have the impression that it must be full of Spitfires and big hulking Bombers such as the Lancaster or Wellington, but you’d be wrong. This book is split into 5 chapters Fighters, Bombers, Submarine Patrol, General Purpose and Waiting in the Wings, this was a good way to separate but your still looking at planes as in bi planes and planes in their design infancy. Most of these planes are very interesting and some quite amusing, but you are left with the feeling that it was a good job the RAF were able to advance their designs and building.

What I probably don’t mention as much as I should do is the little captions and snippets of information about the photographs that appear in these books. They are always clear and very informative. I thoroughly enjoyed this book especially the chapter about Submarine Patrol planes mainly because many were based in my county to patrol the Irish sea and the Atlantic. The book also has an excellent section at the beginning which sets the scene for the rest of the book and the number of photographs, there must be at least 200 are all of high quality and very clear that tells the story as you go along. I learnt a lot from this book and would highly recommend it. Pen and Sword has it in the bag again.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐


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UK Historian

A fine collection of images, and all accompanied by some helpful and well informed captions. I think modellers and aviation historians will enjoy this one.

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Scale Modelling Now

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