Alex Crawford (2) (1965–)

Being already aware of the basics in regards to this family of aircraft, the question in regards to buying this book (the only way I was going to get to read it), was whether I respected Crawford and MMP/Stratus enough to make the purchase.

Suffice to say, this turns out to be worthwhile, as Crawford gives one a good sense of why the Buckingham bomber turned out to be a flop; basically a case of the best is enemy of good enough. This is before how a specialized torpedo bomber became a close-support machine; mostly a case of availability is the best ability. At that point, Crawford launches into a blow-by-blow operational history of Brigand-equipped squadrons "East of Suez," which is where this book really shines.

Apart from that, there is a lot of detail taken from the maintenance manuals for these aircraft, and the usual complex of scale drawings one associates with the MMP/Stratus "Orange" series of books.

I do have a few small caveats. One, the photographic complement seems a little weaker than normal; though that might be a commentary on an aircraft that was rather rare, and dumped in a combat zone (where there would be limitations on personal photography) and left to rot. Two, a few more color profiles would be useful to the modeling set, particularly of the tops and bottoms of the wings. Three, the squadrons flying the Brigand (and its conversion trainer consort the Buckmaster), seemed to have had a real issue with spare parts, and I personally wonder what the deal was with that. Maybe there's a monograph to be written on weak RAF logistics in the early Cold War.

Still, if the RAF in the Cold War is of interest to you, then you probably want this book.… (mais)