Focke Wulf Fw 190 volume One written by J. Richard Smith i Eddie J. Creek is another book describing this superb fighter aircraft which by many is acknowledged as the best one during World War II. Both authors are respected historians working together since 40 years. They wrote such titles as German Aircraft of the Second World War, Jet Planes of the Third Reich and Arado 234 Blitz just to name the most poplar.
This book is supposed to present a complete history of Focke Wulf Fw 190 aircraft which lead the authors to dividing it into 3 parts. The first volume is describing the history of the aircraft since 1938 up to 1943.
There are tons of books about Fw 190 aircraft but the authors have managed to show the topic in a way which makes me believe that it is worthy book. Every aviation history passionate and Focke Wulf lover will find something useful in this book.
One of the biggest advantage of this book is the way it was printed. Good quality paper and quite big format allowed the publisher to put some very good quality photos inside. We also get impressive art work of Janusz Światłoń whose color plates are very good. Additionally there are many original documents which are remastered for better readability.
The book has 336 pages and is divided into 10 chapters with an introduction. At the end the authors have provided us with a complete losses list of aircraft described in the text, and footnotes. Each chapter is describing a specific moment in the history of Fw 190 providing the reader which information about the version, numbers of build machines, and also the authors describe the most important campaigns in which the aircraft where used.
Considering the amount of work both authors had put into providing us with this book, the help provided by other significant authors and their research in many archives – this is a one good piece of Fw 190 history which I can only recommend.
The book was made available for review courtesy Ian Allan Publishing.