Description

This fourth volume on the 2nd Tactical Air Force will tempt enthusiasts with a vast amount of unpublished material, and will complete an acclaimed quartet.
The first chapter looks at the tactics and operational techniques employed by 2nd TAF and covers formations flown such as the `fluid six’, fighter-bomber operations, attack techniques for targets such as bridges, shipping and vehicles. Separate sections describe the differences for Tempest and Mosquito operations.

The second chapter describes the weapons used, from guns through to bombs and the famous rocket projectiles used by Typhoons.

The third chapter covers the training of 2nd TAF pilots, especially the training units they went through, and shows how the numbers trained and the duration of that training was changed to meet the needs of the front line – for example losses during the weeks following D-Day were less than expected and so OTU intakes were actually suspended.

The fourth chapter looks at camouflage and markings. Though camouflage remained little altered during the life of 2nd TAF there were variations in identification markings for Typhoons, Mustangs and Tempests and not surprisingly `invasion stripes’ feature prominently. How these evolved over time on different aircraft makes for interesting reading and this section is especially well illustrated.

The fifth chapter describes the histories of all the 2nd TAF squadrons. Each has a short paragraph detailing anything particularly notable about it and chronological lists of where it was based and who commanded it. Code letters and the call signs in use on D-Day are also given.

The sixth and seventh chapters provide two personal account from ground crew, a corporal in a Mobile Signals Servicing Unit and an airframe fitter, and their stories show how the operations of a whole air force were perceived by men seeing only a very small and often confused part of it.

The eighth chapter looks at the Luftwaffe orders of battle on five key dates and has short articles on the destruction of the prototype BV 238 flying boat and the sinking of several ships by 2nd TAF which were unfortunately crammed with survivors of concentration camps and their SS guards. There is also a large collection of photographs of German aircraft either abandoned at the war’s end or taken over by the RAF.

The final two chapters briefly cover the post-war running down of the 2nd TAF and corrections to the first three volumes (often corrections in the spellings of place names).