There have been comparatively few published volumes on the Vickers Wellington. Chaz Bowyer's Wellington Bomber (William Kimber, 1986) is one that comes to mind, but is far from recent. Here, Birtles tackles the subject of the oft-underrated Wellington, which was, for the early part of the war, the heaviest bomber the RAF possessed. His text approaches the subject comprehensively, discussing design, development, Bomber Command operations, maritime activities, action in the Mediterranean and further afield, foreign operators and export Wellingtons. Backed up by 18 pages of useful appendix, this is a comprehensive and readable account. Photo coverage, all in black-and-white, is comprehensive, although reproduction can be awarded no more than a resounding 'OK'. One surprise was the pair of images on page 216 which, at first sight, appear identical. Both depict Wellington X MF628, the RAF Museum example, seen at the RAF 50th anniversary event at Abingdon in June 1968 and captioned as such, but why both are included remains a mystery. Having been produced to the tune of 11,462 examples, a figure more than 50 per cent higher than that of the Lancaster, the Wellington has long deserved comprehensive treatment in a new volume. As such, this one comes recommended.
展开▼
