When I was a small child (mid- to late-'60s) I had a book. My parents thought it was too ‘gown up’ for me, but I begged them and they bought it for me. Three dollars, which was a lot back then. The hardback book had a black cover textured like leather. (It was not ‘leatherette’, but leather-textured paper over the cardboard.) It was about 4 inches high, 5 inches wide, and about an inch thick. The type was very small. There was a history and specifications for virtually every fighter airplane used in WWII, from the '30s until the end. Most of the entries had small B&W photos of the aircraft. Some of the aircraft in it were very obscure. For example, there were a couple of Dewoitines, and there were semi-obscure Fiats. Of course it had all of the well-known types too. I don’t remember if it had a dust cover. Probably, else it wouldn’t have caught my eye. I don’t remember it having a dust cover though, and after I pored through it continuously, it didn’t even have the hard cover.
I don’t remember the title. It was a database of airplanes from a war that ended over two decades previously. In other words, not exactly a best-seller. That’s what makes the identification impossible. I may be the only person alive who remembers it! But what they heck. I’ll post this thread, and maybe I’ll get lucky.
It’s not the fact that it wasn’t a best-seller that makes it hard to find, it’s a) the fact that you don’t know what the actual cover art was and b) there appear to be dozens of books that are more or less what you describe: a catalog of World War Two aircraft.
A very similar idea. The book I had was landscape instead of portrait, it was all airplanes, and the entries for each aircraft were (in my memory) larger than the ones in the link. But the small type, small pictures, and the general concept are the same.
Possibly. I’m familiar with Jane’s Guide from when I worked in Defense. The format is familiar, but I don’t know if it’s because that’s the book, or because I used to read Jane’s. The book I had as a child was smaller than the ones I read in my previous life. But you may well be right.
Maybe this one? William Green wrote a series called War Planes of the Second World War, but all the fighter planes are not in one volume. The fighters take up the first four volumes of an eight volume set. The books in the series are 13 x 14 cm (5.1 x 5.5 inches), hardcover, and were published by Hanover House (Garden City, NY) between 1960 and 1967.
It doesn’t exactly fit your description but in England there was a series of pocket-sized books published on a variety of subjects all entitled “The Observer’s Book of…”. I spent many hours with the 1967 Book of Military Aircraft and the 1962 Book of Astronomy. Wikipedia indicates there were three editions published during the war of WW II aircraft (for correctly spotting the enemy).
This may be it. The size is as I remember, and I don’t have a recollection of printing on the front of it. The dust covers in the images I found seem vaguely familiar, though as I said I lost mine early on – and I was more interested in what was inside of the book. Googling, I saw where one guy said they cost $2.95 at Sears, and my parents frequently shopped at Sears. The only thing is that I only had one book and it seemed very comprehensive. As an 8-year-old (?) it seemed like the one book contained everything. But we all know how distant memories are.
War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters looks as close to my recollection as it can be. I went ahead and bought a set of the four volumes from a seller on eBay for £47 including shipping from the UK. (The shipping was ⅔ the price of the books! :eek: )
Thanks for the lead, and thanks to everyone who replied. I’ll LYK if I got the right books when they arrive.
I remember reading decades ago that Italian fighter pilots loved aerobatics. They were masters at them. But airshow routines did not serve them well in dogfights.
I have to say that I’m impressed the book was identified, since the OP is basically ‘I used to have this little black book with airplanes in it. Anyone know the title?’
