Typhoon Wings of 2nd TAF 1943-45
Osprey Combat Aircraft 86 Typhoon Wings of 2nd TAF 1943-45 By Chris Thomas
[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hris Thomas is the son of a Typhoon pilot and specialist of that aircraft. He is amongst other things the (co-)author of “Aircraft of the Aces 27 – Typhoon and Tempest Aces”; “The Typhoon & Tempest story” and 4 volumes about the 2nd TAF. He is also the author of the profiles in the present book.
The Typhoon was the heavy fighter-bomber of the RAF that illustrated himself during WWII and was the mount of famous pilots. But the Flak was a terrible “Nemesis” for that aircraft and her pilots… Famous for her destructions of ground objectives like installations, stations, locomotives, tanks, etc the Typhoon is with no doubt one of the decisive elements that helped the Allies to obtain the final victory.
The book is of the standard Osprey presentation. The cover represents the aircraft MP20/ZY-Y of Squadron Leader Stapleton attacking trains. It is divided into six chapters + appendices.
– Chapter one describes the genesis and the history of the aircraft and her armament. It is interesting to know the problems encountered by that aircraft at the beginning: structural failures that killed numerous pilots but also the fact that under a certain angle, the aircraft was, for the DCA, similar to a FW-190… It’s the reason why special markings were painted on the Typhoons. But the Sabre engine was also subject to sudden failure, so the engine was revised after 25 hours of use only. The canopy knew also an important evolution from a classical one to the well known bubble type. The armament was also adapted for the Typhoon.
– Chapter II briefly describes the Wings that used the Typhoon. The list is complete.
– Chapter III shows the leaders. Amongst others: Capt Denys Gillam, Charles Green, Wng Cdr Erik Haaljorn, Capt JR Baldwin, Capt Bob Davidson (an Ace having shot down Japanese, Italian and German aircrafts!), etc. Numerous photos of the pilots illustrates that chapter.
– Chapters IV to VI: “Build-up to D-Day”; “Normandy”; “Bitter winter – Victorious Spring” describe the missions flown by the Typhoons of the 2nd TAF illustrated by the diaries of the pilots.
– The Appendices give the list of the Wings that used the Typhoon with their sections and airfields, but also some informations about the no less than 40 plates of the book.
The book is well illustrated by a lot of numerous and splendid photos from which I did not have previously seen numerous of them…
Conclusion: a typical Osprey book: an useful tool, with precise informations; a rich iconography and splendid profiles. If you are a Tyffie-fan, or if you have interest for WWII aircraft, it’s definitively a book for you.
Daniel Clamot
Special thanks to Joseph McCullough, Marketing Coordinator Osprey Publishing for providing me this book for the review
