(by Rosario Abate and Giorgio Apostolo; ISBN 978-88-96381-06-9; Vaccari s.r.l., ViaM. Buonarroti, 46, 41508 VIGNOLA (Modena), Italy; 9¾in x 8½in hardback; 297 pages, illustrated; €45.00 plus p&p)

THIS MUCH-REWORKED edition of an Italian-language book that first appeared in 1970 benefits from a parallel English text, many replaced illustrations with updated captions and an “appendix” (at the front of the book) of colour photographs. During the First World War Caproni was noted for its impressive large biplane and triplane bombers, and these form the principal subjects of this nicely produced and profusely illustrated volume, in which the authors’ aim is to “trace the most significant milestones in the development of Italian bomber aircraft”.

by Brendon Deere
ISBN 978-0-473-16711-0; ITL Aviation Ltd, New Zealand
The Aviation Bookshop, 31-33 Vale Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1BS
8 1/2in x 12in hardback; 304 pages; illustrated
£39.99 plus £5 p&p

The Spitfire has probably attracted more authors than any other aircraft (a quick check on Aeroplane’s bookshelf revealed 44, and we do not have them all by any means), but this one concerns one aircraft, Mk IX PV270, and its restoration from the ground up and return to flying condition in New Zealand.

The author is the nephew of the late Second World War ace Al Deere, the inspiration behind the decision to undertake the restoration. In his foreword, Air Chief Marshal Graham Lintott, Chief of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, points out that there was only one New Zealand Spitfire squadron, No 485, formed in March 1941, initially with Mk Is and finishing with Mk IXs. Beginning with a brief account of the Spitfire in general, the book then covers Al Deere’s life (pages 33 to 118) before passing to the history of PV270, built at Castle Bromwich in September 1944. Based in Italy, with some servicing being undertaken by Macchi, it was sold in 1952 to Israel, becoming its 80th Spitfire, coded 2080 with 107 Sqn. After going to the Burmese Air Force as UB424, it eventually became a gate guardian, painted as UB425, then passed to the Air Force Museum in 1995. In 1999 Burma sold a number of aircraft to the USA, including PV270, which was a possible restoration project, but its owner was preoccupied with other projects and sold the Spitfire hulk.

by Simine Short
ISBN 978-0-252-03631-6
University of Illinois Press, 1325 South Oak Street, Champaign, Illinois, 61820-6903, USA
6 1/4in x 9 1/4in hardback; 400 pages; illustrated
£25.99

Octave Chanute presents biographers with a difficult task. French-born and domiciled in the USA, he gained fame in two spheres, as a civil engineer specialising in railways and timber preservation and as an aviation pioneer, so research into two very different aspects is required. Moreover, Chanute corresponded with a large number of his fellow aviation pioneers worldwide in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, and a great deal of that correspondence survives, providing a unique and valuable insight into the exchange of theories and information in the earliest days of the aeroplane’s birth.

The author evidently had limited wordage in which to cover both of Chanute’s primary interests as well as his personal life. That she has succeeded to a large degree is praiseworthy, but the limitation has resulted in significant omissions. For example, Chanute’s praise of the Wright’s “testing machine” is cited without explaining that the brothers had built an impressive windtunnel and balances and had conducted an unprecedented series of tests on aerofoils, and although the British pioneer Percy Pilcher is mentioned a few times we are not told what he did, or how his correspondence with Chanute influenced his work.

by Sebastian Richie
ISBN 978-0-7090-2991-9
Robert Hale Ltd, Clerkenwell House, Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0HT
8 1/2in x 9 1/2in hardback; 292 pages; illustrated
£22.50

The author, an official historian at the Air Historical Branch of the Ministry of Defence, wrote this book as an entirely private project unrelated to his occupation, the basis being a thesis published in the RAF Air Power Review in 2005.

Arnhem’s Operation Market Garden has attracted a number of authors and their interest is acknowledged (Market was the airborne operation and Garden the ground), but Mr Richie considers that the scarcity of papers relating to the detailed planning has led historians to rely on source materials and memoirs. His aim here is to place Market Garden in its correct historical context, and show how many critical aspects have been misunderstood or misrepresented.