Military Model Scene

Title: Aircraft of the Royal Navy Since 1908
Author: David Hobbs
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-3990-8952-4

A large new book of 368-pages in the hardback form, which is also available in e-book formats.
The author is in perhaps the perfect position to write a book such as this, having over 30 service in the Royal Navy, serving on aircraft carriers and with 2300 flying hours and having flown both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. Along with other roles during his service, after leaving service, he became curator of the Fleet Air Arm Museum. In this significant work, he details over 400 types which have been designed or manufactured for service with the Royal Navy. Many have seen service while some did not, yet they are still included. The entries are presented in alphabetical order, by designer or manufacturer. Many of these have multiple sub-entries, and these are included in chronological order. Not just fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, it also features airships and more modern UAVs. Most of the widely used types include basic date of sizes, engine(s), range and armament and a good number also include line drawings. Most also include a photo, though not many of the rarer prototypes, and the well used ones have multiple archive photos. Not a detailed record of operational histories, though mentioned in places.
This is a marvellous reference, including aircraft deployed on naval vessels as well as land-based types such as basic trainers. I was interested to see the entries for both Fairy Aviation and Miles Aircraft, as I am a volunteer at the Museum of Berkshire Aviation where we have exhibits from both manufacturers as they were associated local to the museum at Woodley, in Berkshire. While my own aviation interest in military aircraft now goes back over 60 years, I still enjoy discovering new aircraft which I had never seen before, and there are plenty in here to find. There is such a lot of work that has gone into this one, and I liked the way it has been organised, finding a way to present over 100 years worth of aircraft development in a format that makes everything easy to find. For anyone with an interest in British naval aviation history, I'd heartily recommend this one to enthusiasts and modellers alike.
Thanks to Seaforth for the review copy.

Robin