Facts empire slim book to the Lancaster-stakes war for middle

This book belongs to a series of very many similar type monographs of Osprey publishing.
These books are compact and consist of a very well-made "block" of profile drawings in the book center, and a (forced by the compactness) rather dry text with an endless list of operations and losses, garnished with many b / w photos. Some stakes are described in detail, garnished with personal accounts of participants. To emphasize would be the detailed chapter on the "Dambusters", in 1943 some dams destroyed, which were important for the water and energy supply of the Ruhr area here.

This book is less about the technology of Lancaster (not really), but the seasons, their pilots and their missions to war center. The Lancaster was the most important aircraft of the British, by cheap and quick construction, large payload (ie bombs), large flying height and reach for the carpet bombing of German cities ideal. This caused horror on the ground does not play the slightest role in this book. However, it is interesting to know that the loss rates of the bomber crews were incredibly high in 1942 and partly also in 1943, there were really Forlorn. Only the Lancaster and tactics change (scouts) of inserts led to the war in mid to better chances of survival. About the emotional state of the pilots between likely to die and the knowledge of the horror on the ground can only be speculating about the book are unfortunately no information.

As for the pictures, the printing of B / W photos is moderate and limited suitability for detail studies, the illustrations, however, are top notch. Approximately 30 individual Lancaster are presented, along with their often very short use history. Unlike their US Pendents the British aircraft, however, were all painted almost identical and therefore give a uniform picture from. There to the end of the book very detailed multi-page views of different versions of the Lancaster, but this. Just as black and white, line emphasized graphics

Conclusion: Like almost all Osprey books every penny value. Anyone interested in detailed aspects of the history of warfare, is very well served. Dry text.