Midland Publishing

1000 Preserved Aircraft, In Colour

by  Gerry Manning

Reviewed By  Brian R. Baker, IPMS# 43146

MSRP: $34.95 ISBN: 1857802292 The book can be ordered in North America from Specialty Press by contacting their web site (www.specialtypress.com) or calling them at 1-800-895-4585. Thanks to Specialty Press and the IPMS for the review copy. Gerry Manning certainly gets around. He is described as "a well known English photographer who specializes in civil aviation. He is the author of several books and articles on the subject, and travels widely in search of interesting aircraft and airliners around the world". That pretty much sums it up. He appears to be the kind of guy you see around military air shows, civilian fly-ins, and camped near major airports, festooned with cameras and long lenses, shooting rapid fire automatic with his trusty 35 mm camera, praying against battery failure, and wearing a cartridge belt full of rolls of 35 mm film, reminding one of a Mexican revolutionary's cartridge belt. But probably, he has now gone digital. Being a long term aircraft photographer myself, and having photographed some of the same airplanes myself, I can readily identify with the photographer, and envy him for his ability to wangle passage to all of those "far away places with strange sounding names". His subject is "preserved" aircraft, and this ranges from "planes on poles", or gate birds guarding the approaches to military and civilian airfields, museum aircraft displayed both inside and out, and antique and classic aircraft that are still flown regularly by private owners and organizations. In truth, he probably could have done this book in three volumes, "pole displays", "museum aircraft", and active antiques and classics, but he has combined the topics very effectively. This is NOT a museum guide or a listing of all preserved aircraft, but rather a photographic sampling of some of the more interesting aircraft that have been preserved for posterity. The book consists of very little text, concentrating on the one thousand color photos of some very interesting aircraft accompanied with short but well written captions which identify the aircraft type, its serial or registration when necessary, the location, and a brief statement telling the historical significance of the type.

The best feature of this work is the collection of photographs. Some are "in the clear" or "in-flight" shots, while others are shown on display at various museums. Virtually all of them include the whole airplane, and even the inside shots with cluttered backgrounds, a normal hazard encountered when photographing "inside museum" displays, show the aircraft in striking detail. Some of the photos were taken at various fly-ins, including the mother of all fly-ins, the annual EAA Oshkosh gathering, where examples of most civilian antique and classic aircraft can be seen. There has to be something to shoot when you have 20,000 airplanes convening at one place at one time. The tower controllers sound like auctioneers when they direct the landings and departures there. The book seems to be rather haphazard in its organization, with little indication about what comes next. Beginning with preserved jet fighters and bombers, he goes on to vintage World War II types, airliners, transports, rotary winged aircraft, he finishes with World War I vintage planes, trainers, and older civilian aircraft. Some aircraft types, such as the Spitfire, are covered in detail, while other aircraft types, including the P-40 and SBD, are less frequently illustrated. One problem I detected was that some of the aircraft were "preserved" at the time the photo was taken, and have subsequently met their demise, such as the Confederate Air Force's Heinkel-Casa 2.111, which crashed a few years ago with the loss of both crew members, a B-17G which was displayed in Switzerland up until the 1970's when someone lacking foresight allowed the aircraft to be scrapped, and Ed Maloney's North American O-47A, which crashed and burned a few years back due to a "wheels up" landing. But then, that is why we photograph airplanes: if they auger in the next day, at least we have a photo to prove that they once really did exist. This is an interesting book which serves to illustrate some of the myriad aircraft types that have been preserved throughout the world after surviving the normal attrition caused by military service, civilian operation, and the normal wear and tear associated with aviation. Thumbing through the book, you will discover that the author has been to some fascinating places, including Finland, China, South America, Australia, Indonesia, and remote places in the United States, where many one-of-a-kinds are either displayed or are still being operated by us diehards who prefer flying interesting airplanes rather than mundane "spam cans", i.e., Cessnas and Pipers. The book answers the question "I wonder if any Polikarpov I-16UTI's Sukhoi Su-2's, Brewster Buffalos, or Northrop YC-125's survived?" The photos prove it. And the author also identified the location of these aircraft, so that if a modeler or enthusiast wanted to examine the aircraft up close, he would know in which direction to travel. Although not aimed directly at modelers, it is nevertheless useful to modelers and enthusiasts alike. The book is certainly interesting reading, and I have found myself going back again through the pages, finding new things each time. There's some really strange birds in here, including a turboprop powered Russian TU-4 (That's a B-29 that runs on vodka, folks!) in a Chinese museum, and a Northrop A-17A, actually a DB8A-3P displayed at the Peruvian Air Force Academy. There are some interesting and unique markings displayed, which should give any enterprising modeler some great ideas for planes that are not the usual "bill of fare", such as out-of-the-way air forces using equipment supplied by the major powers. Don't pass this one up. Highly recommended.

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