This month's book vote sees five Air Campaign titles battling for your support. Read the full descriptions and have your say by visiting the Book Vote page. Plus, check out the results of last month's Duel vote.

 

East Africa 1940–41: Air action over the Horn of Africa

Continuation War 1944: Finland’s last great defensive battle 

Germany 1944–45: the Second Transportation Plan

Tallboy and Grand Slam 1944–45: The first bunker-busting campaign

Libya 2011: Operation Unified Protector

 

East Africa 1940–41: Air action over the Horn of Africa

This little-known air campaign over Italian and British colonies in East Africa lasted from June 1940 until the Italian surrender in Abyssinia in April 1941. As the South Africans pushed north from Kenya and British and Indian forces southeastwards from Sudan, SAAF Hurricanes, Gladiators, Hardys, Hartbeests, Battles, and Junkers 86s supported their troops, with RAF Wellesleys, Gladiators, Blenheims, and Hurricanes supporting the British Empire forces. In addition Free French Blenheims and FAA Swordfish also took part, all of which were pitched into action against the Italians’ Fiat CR.42 fighters and SIAI-Marchetti S.79 bombers.

Continuation War 1944: Finland’s last great defensive battle

Like the Winter War, the summer actions of 1944 were crucial to preserving Finland’s independence against a major offensive by the Soviet Union, yet little has been written on the use of air power in the campaign. Between 9 June and 18 July the Finnish Air Force, with its mixed ranks of Western aircraft types now heavily reinforced by German-supplied Bf 109s, Ju 88s and Do 17s, again fought to repel the Soviets and tackle the Il-2s and other attack aircraft that were deployed to support the massed Red Army.

Germany 1944–45: the Second Transportation Plan

As the war in the West reached its final stages, the Allied tactical air forces turned to a campaign against German infrastructure in the Reich itself, using their air superiority to cut bridges and transportation links and slow the movements of the Wehrmacht’s remaining units. It built on the success of their 1944 campaign in Normandy, and proved an effective and little-known air campaign of the last year of the war.

Tallboy and Grand Slam 1944–45: The first bunker-busting campaign

Early in the war, before the success of his ‘bouncing bombs’ in the Dambusters raid, Barnes Wallis’ first proposal was for bombs far larger than anything envisaged or feasible at the time. In 1943 he was able to return to his original project, designing first the five-ton Tallboy and then the even larger Grand Slam earthquake bombs – aerodynamic, strongly built devices dropped from high altitude, to penetrate the target deeply and cause catastrophic damage to bridges, V-weapon sites and U-boat pens. 

Libya 2011: Operation Unified Protector

A uniquely European/Canadian-led air campaign, the intervention in Libya was a fascinating example of expeditionary air power without the US taking the lead. The American contribution to the air campaign came largely in the form of various types of ‘support elements’, and more than one-third of the strike sorties were flown by the French Air Force. With information and analysis from high-level participants, this book assesses an unusual modern campaign.

 

Last month, we asked what you would like to see published in our Duel series. Thank you to everyone who voted and provided feedback. Here are the results: 

 

T-60 vs Panzer II: Moscow 1941 – 17%

M3 Light Tank vs Type 97 Chi-Ha: Imphal 1944 – 23%

Tiger II vs Sherman V: Normandy 1944 – 15%

SdKfz 234/2 Puma vs Daimler Mk II: North-West Europe 1944–45 – 29%

Comet vs Tiger I: Germany 1945 – 16%