HALIFAX SQUADRONS OF WORLD WAR II (Osprey Combat Aircraft No. 14)

Jon Lake

The second of Britain's four-engined bombers to enter frontline service, Handley Page's Halifax  has forever lived in the shadow of Avro's superb  Lancaster. However, it was a Halifax which became the first RAF 'heavy' to drop bombs on Germany when No 35 Sqn raided Hamburg on the night of 12/13 March 1941. Between 1941-1945, the Halifax completed some 75,532 sorties (copared with the Lancaster's 156,000) with Bomber Command alone, not to mention its sterling work as both a glider tug and paratrooper carrierwith Airborne Forces, maritime patrol mount with Coastal Command and covert intruder with the SOE. The Halifax was also the only RAF four-engined bomber to see action in the Middle East. Built in six major variants (and numerous sub-series within these variants) which differed primarily in the type of engine employed, no fewer than 6176 Halifaxes were completed for the RAF etween October 1939 and November 1946. This volume, which features an additional 16 pages, includes full appendices listings for every user of the 1/144th scal plans, and a wealth of photos. Soft cover, 112 pages.