Seafire vs A6M Zero: Pacific Theatre

Description

Products of vastly different design philosophies, the Seafire F III and the A6M Zero were never intended to meet in combat, and never should have. The Zero, extremely nimble at low speeds was purpose-built as a shipboard fighter. In contrast, the Spitfire was intended to operate from established airfields, and needed to be adapted as a carrier fighter. The book examines these two iconic fighters and their two very different histories, using fantastic artwork and first hand accounts to illustrate the last aerial duel of World War II, as the British Seafire overcame its critics to emerge victorious over the Japanese Zero.

Donald Nijboer is a freelance writer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He teaches courses in radio broadcasting at Humber College of Technology and Advanced Learning. His four books, Cockpit: An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Interiors, Gunner: An Illustrated History of World War II Aircraft Turrets and Gun Positions, Cockpits of the Cold War and Graphic War - The Secret Aviation Drawings and Illustrations of World War Two have been published by the Boston Mills Press. He has also written articles for Flight Journal, Aviation History and Aeroplane Monthly. This is his first book for Osprey.

"Seafire vs. A6M Zero: Pacific Theater continued the tradition of the 'Duel' series well, providing readers a nice primer for machines that fought each other during the great war." --C. Peter Chen, World War II Database, ww2db.com (December 2009) "In this book, the author, Donald Nijboer, discusses the development of both aircraft as well as their technical specifications and deployments. Pilot training and tactics are also part of the story and one will find quite a few 'I was there' stories to add some spice to the book. As part of the appendices, there is a section on stats and analysis as well as a listing of those FAA pilots whose scores included an A6M. In all, a superlative inclusion to this series. It is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and is one that I know you will find a delight as well." --Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness, www.modelingmadness.com (July 2009)