Military Model Scene

Title: The Hawker Hunter
Author: Martin W. Bowman
Publisher: Pen & Sword
ISBN: 978-1-52670-560-0

For this new Images of War title from Pen & Sword we have one of the best loved Cold War era jets, the Hawker Hunter. Written by well known author Martin W. Bowman, it is clearly set to be an excellent addition to the Images of War series.
Naturally an Introduction to set the scene, then the book is split into 5 chapters, most with some text to lay out the specifics of the chapter and then a collection of appropriate photos, each of which has so much more detail provided in the extensive captions. The chapters cover the start, A Hunter We Will Go, then The Hunter's Halcyon Days, Detached Service, End of Empire and finally Overseas Customers. The Hunter started out as a design shortly after the end of WW2, the prototype flying in the early 1950s. The Hawker design was always popular for having an elegant, swept wing design, and always reported as a pleasure to fly. They served the RAF and the Royal Navy for many years, along with the Air Forces of many foreign operators, some of them who were set to be the last operators to keep them in service. It was also the first jet fighter to carry a standard armament pack of 4x 30mm cannon. The fine sets of photos show the Hunter in service with the RAF around the world, including the days when the last locations of the widespread 'British Empire' still needed to be defended. It was also the mount of display teams, the Black Arrows, Blue Diamonds and Royal Navy Blue Herons, let alone all the standard service versions with both single-seat and twin-seat trainers.
A marvellous collection of images, coupled with some very informative text from one of our best aviation authors. Super new book, easy to recommend.
Thanks to Pen & Sword for our review copy.

Robin