Early Canadian Military Aircraft: Acquisitions, Dispositions, Colour Schemes & Markings: Volume 1: Aircraft Taken on Strength through 1920
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by John A. Griffin & Anthony L. Stachiw
The title of this hardcover book might seem a mouthful, but it indicates what a massive undertaking its production must have been.
Volume 1 is based on the first seven aircraft types that were adopted on strength by the Canadian Air Force in 1920. With a projected fifty-one more aircraft to come — which would take the series through to 1938 — the volumes could fill a small bookshelf.
The late aviation historian John Griffin started meticulously researching this subject. It was then taken over by Anthony Stachiw, who employed artist Andrew Tattersall to provide the line drawings and colour illustrations that grace the book’s pages.
There are lots of statistics, facts, and figures that will appeal to the serious aviation buff. However, if you delve a little deeper, the text and photos give a glimpse into the lives and duties of the pioneers who flew the aircraft that helped to open up Canada and that subsequently developed the framework of the wartime RCAF. The book ends with an interesting appendix full of air regulation documents and maps, plus scale drawings of aircraft, paint schemes, and markings — enough to make you want to build your own pre-World War II aircraft, or at least a model of one.
— Beverley Tallon (Read bio)
Beverley Tallon is a freelance writer and the former Assistant Editor for Canada's History.