Military Model Scene

Title: Me 262 vs P-51 Mustang

Author: Robert Forsyth

Publisher: Osprey

ISBN: 978-1-4728-2955-9

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Up to number 100 in Osprey's Duel series of books.  This time it takes a look at the battles from the second half of WW2 between the German Me 262 jet and the piston engined American P-51 Mustang.
At first thought the jet powered Me 262 should have been easily able to out-distance the Mustang but in reality, they proved capable adversaries. There were of course a number of factors which resulted in the more even match than we might think, and these are tackled quite neatly in here. The scene is set in an Introduction and that is followed by a helpful Chronology of the two aircraft. The rest of this 80-page softcover book is made up from 7 chapters, which look at the Design and Development, and Technical Specifications of each one. Then we get the Strategic Situation, which considers how the US Bomber fleets were attacking Germany in their daylight raids, while the 262 was set to attack them and the Mustang was there to escort the bombers and protect them over Germany. Then it moves on to The Combatants, which considers the pilot training provided with the airmen who flew each type. This one includes some excellent artwork illustrating the two cockpits. The next section records a number of examples of combat between the P-51 and the Me 262, followed by the relative Statistics and Analysis. The book is rounded of with the Aftermath, as this took place in the later stages of the war, and once it was over, technical developments moved on apace, so these aircraft moved on to take their place as part of history. Plenty of lovely artwork and lots of archive images which support the story throughout the book. Another fine addition to the series.
 

Thanks to Osprey Publishing for this review copy.

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Robin