First published in 2022, this reprint produced in December 2023 is strongly requested by our readers. Limited edition, don't delay!
So ask anybody to quote an Air Force transport plane, he will certainly tell you about the "Transall", the "Noratlas" or even the brand new "A400M". And yet, the variety and volume of the transport fleet, all devices and all periods combined, are clearly greater than in hunting. Moreover, no one disputes that the carriers of the Air Force have been involved in all foreign operations since 1945, brilliantly writing great pages of military and aeronautical history. It was therefore only fair to finally bring together all these planes and their units, over 75 years of history, across all continents. Not only transport planes, but also all those that have been used for links, single or twin, in a role that was not always foreseen during their design ...
The first part of the book reviews all transport, liaison, in-flight refueling and specific mission planes (electronic warfare, search and rescue, calibration, etc.). The second part gathers and presents all the units of the Air Force having implemented these devices, in metropolitan France as in theaters of operations. Thus, all the planes designed from the start for transport are presented in detail (design, use, particularities ...), as well as their modified versions for training and specific missions (electronic warfare, search and rescue, calibration ...), without forgetting the aircraft whose initial vocation was in no way transport or liaison. This is how we will see in these pages some models of famous bombers which enjoyed a second career in transport after the war.
At the same time, all the units with a "transport" vocation (and similar), but also those for training and specific missions are detailed (chronology, traditions, endowment ...). This book, of more than 470 pages, illustrated with some 600 photographs and 17 unpublished color profiles, is not for all that dedicated to military air transport stricto sensu and the air tankers of the Strategic Air Forces are not omitted, as well as the technical units that have always supported Air Force carriers.
We talk about it in the press and on the net:
- 75 years of military air transport reviewed by the machines…
In the collective imagination of pilots and going back in time, military air transport undoubtedly evokes the A400M, the C-160 Transall, even the Nord 2501 Noratlas and a few Airbuses or DC-8s. Two authors – Xavier Capy and Bernard Palmieri – helped by Jacques Guillem for the iconography and Patrice Gaubert for the profiles – decided to show that it was certainly not necessary to stop there... From 1945 to the present day, the army of the Air has indeed used an impressive number of various aircraft for transport, liaison and some specific missions.
This is the main purpose of this book, which reviews the various aircraft used for transport, liaison (GAEL, GLAM, etc.), in-flight refueling and specific missions ranging from calibration to electronic warfare, including search and rescue (SAR). Depending on the number of machines concerned, their lifespan in the fleet, this leads to a series of short monographs of variable size depending on the aircraft's career, with history, chronology in the Air Force, different versions, characteristics and performances, a list of identifications, all illustrated with photos and patches of the user units. Some testimonials from pilots shed light on the pilot of this or that machine.
While some devices have been designed or modified for the different roles sought, others have been adapted somehow to meet a specific request. Six chapters will thus be necessary to come to the end of this varied fleet, disparate to the reading but covering 75 years of activity across all the continents, French colonial empire obliges.
The beginnings were made with simple single-engine pistons (Caudron Simoun, Lysander, Stinson L5, Morane 500, Nord 1000/1100 Pingouin et Ramier, Morane-Saulnier
MS-733, Max-Holste MH-1521 Broussard, etc.) and multi-engines (Caudron Goéland, Lockheed Lodestar, Martin B-26 Marauder, Cessna Bobcat, Junkers Ju-52, Douglas DC-4, Languedoc, Breguet Deux-Ponts , Lockheed Constellation, Breguet 941, Nord 262, C-130 Hercules, TBM-700, Xingu and many more).
Then will come the transition to jet propulsion, from the MS-760 Paris to the Airbus A-340 via the Caravelle or the Falcon 7X and 2000, not to mention those expected in the coming years. Some “unclassifiable” appear on the board as well as aircraft “that nearly entered service” – from the Rallye MS-893E (!) to the Beech 90 KingAir via the Armagnac, Cormoran, Spirale or Communauté.
The second part (2 chapters and the appendices) presents the units having implemented these various devices, in mainland France but also on various theaters of operations - the command of the military transport (COTAM) having been of all the external operations since the Liberation . Expanding the scope of the title, the units having provided training on the type (schools), refueling squadrons, units providing technical monitoring (GERMAS, AIA, etc.) or equipment evaluation (CEV) are subject to a presentation, with a summary timeline, photos and insignia
In the end, we discover on reading the 476 pages (600 photos, 17 color profiles) the very wide variety of the Air Force transport fleet used over the decades, with a much larger number of models. than that of hunting, the work thus filling a gap and therefore having to find a place on the shelves of the library of an enthusiast of aeronautical history with a tendency to tricolor cockades.
PS: if we discover on page 10 that a third Caudron Simoun could exist in Morocco
(the second being that of the Air and Space Museum), the one being restored in Pontoise is well advanced to resume its flights very soon… © site AERO.VFR - François BESSE.
- Here, with this very voluminous album, is a veritable encyclopedia of transport, liaison, refueling and special mission aircraft (electronic warfare for example) of the Air Force since the end of the Second World War.
The first four chapters allow the authors to present nearly 70 models of aircraft classified by engine type: "Single-engine piston", "Multi-engine piston" (the most numerous), "Turboprops" and "Aircraft with reaction". The four chapters that follow deal with particular themes: "unclassifiable" aircraft (aircraft that arrived in the Air Force without having been searched for, such as the Japanese aircraft recovered in Indochina in 1945 for example), aircraft "which failed enter into service" (for most of the unsuccessful projects), the units concerned (from the major commands to schools, squadrons, specialized formations, in mainland France, abroad, in the colonies and overseas), and finally the units technical support and flight test center. As we can see, the authors' field of investigation is extremely broad and covers almost the entire subject. You will find in this large and beautiful volume not only the Transall, the Noratlas or the A400M, but also aircraft that only existed in one copy within the Air Force. The set is accompanied by an extremely rich and very often original iconography, beautiful profiles, insignia of the units concerned, summary tables and graphs.
In summary, a book that will be extremely useful to all amateurs, even those most familiar with the history and equipment of the Air Force. © Guerres & Conflits.
- It's time to break the bank to add this magnificent publication to your library. A shock trio formed by Xavier Capy, Bernard Palmieri and Jacques Guillem offers you a bible dedicated to Air Force transport aircraft from 1945. Each aircraft benefits from a presentation with history, operational service, units endowed. Of course the great classics are present: Ju 52, "Noratlas", "Transall" and A400. But real little nuggets are hidden here and there. You have to delve into the many pages of the book to discover them. The set is well structured, solid and offers a great perspective. Push the walls, make shelves and make room to store this now essential book on the subject in your library. © LE FANA
- What a nice surprise this book is. “Transport” planes are indeed less “sexy” than fighters, but they are well worth delving into 470 pages!
One of the surprises of this book is first of all the iconography (and for the model makers this is super important): with a few exceptions (prototypes from the 1950s), all the devices are illustrated with color photos (without the having counted—at 2 or even 3 photos per page we must easily exceed a thousand—I would say that more than 50% of the iconography is in color! !). In addition, the photos are large (the width of the page in general) and as always with this publisher, very well printed.
Another nice surprise: a kind of "cross-referencing" with a first part dealing with each plane...in order of entry into the scene and a second part dealing with the units.
Third nice surprise: a glossary of acronyms...the English publishers impose it, in France it's rarer and that's a shame. … missing only an index of names of places, people etc… (for the next book?)
Fourth pleasant surprise: an extensive conception of the subject: by dealing with "liaison" aircraft the authors thus evoked the use of transport (generally of passengers) of aircraft, such as the B-25, the B-26 Marauder, the Douglas A-24 of which this is not the primary role.
Fifth nice surprise: the part devoted to planes includes many crisp anecdotes that can motivate model makers to take an interest in the subject, even if there are no aces on transport planes !!!!
Conclusion: I did not expect it, but this book is very similar to what on a "brother" site is called a "coup de coeur". Recommended to everyone, without moderation! © Modelstories
By providing an overview as exhaustive as possible of the planes that have equipped the transport and liaison units of the Air Force, the authors happily make us revisit a whole section of the latter's short history. The post-1945 period is extremely rich and the discovery of the devices then used will give you a valuable insight. For that alone, thanks be to them.
The book is divided into eight chapters and an appendix. We find in order a chapter devoted to single-engine pistons, one to multi-engine pistons, one to turboprops, one to jet planes, one to unclassifiable (which will surprise some), one to planes that have failed to return to service ( which may make others dream of it), one to the airborne units concerned (important, useful and exciting addition) and one to the technical units and the CEV. A short but essential appendix will tell you all about the ICAO callsigns of aircraft and the usual acronyms. In the preface, the most demanding will find a rich synthesis of the period before 1945.
Each device is presented via a short history followed by its use in the Air Force, possibly supplemented by identified devices and accompanied by a short technical sheet.
The synthesis work is remarkable and makes it possible to usefully complete the history of sometimes discreet or even very discreet units (GLAM or GAM 56), units which have often used unique devices (Avro York for the GLAM). Everything is accompanied by a rich iconography with magnificent profiles due to the talent of Patrice Gaubert.
This book will be a landmark because through the history of these aircraft, the authors make us revisit an air force that has unfortunately disappeared. If Transport, thank god, still exists but at the cost of many difficulties, the saga of the replacement of the Transalls constantly postponed for thirty years is an example, the Liaison has been literally sacrificed in the light of the "dividends of peace" . Currently reduced to its minimum portion (a handful of TBM 700 excluding specific units), this disappearance can be regretted because it held, in my opinion, an important part of the "fighting spirit" air that charmed me so much. © Henry-Pierre Marquis pour le Trait d'Union 323.
