P-39/P-400 Airacobra vs A6M2/3 Zero-sen: New Guinea 1942 (Duel) Paperback – July 26, 2018

In this Osprey Duel series, the reader gets both a comprehensive review of fighter combat in 1942 between American and Japanese fighter aircraft as well as a view of the kind of phenomena that are common to air-to-air combat in the Pacific.Like all Osprey "Duel" titles, "P-39/P400 Airacobra vs. A6M2/3 Zero-Sen: New Guinea 1942" begins with the design and development of the respective aircraft as well as technical specifications of both.It moves on to the strategic situation, looks at the opponents and then moves into detailed review of documented combat between the sides. It ends with a final analysis.In this case, we have the famous "Zero" fighter, designed as a naval fighter that accepted certain trade-offs in respect to range and speed vs. protection for both pilot and vulnerable systems. On the other side, we have an aircraft in which, according to the author, the manufacturer was willing to fudge the top speed in order to sell it to first the British and then the American military who were desperate for weapons to fight the war with.Although the author doesn't specifically state it, any reader will quickly reach the conclusion that the P-39 was an inferior aircraft and only the ability to replace combat losses in machines - and men - was the deciding factor in the air war over New Guinea. The author does an excellent job of telling of the combats over the jungles and seas in 1942, utilizing many first-hand accounts from both sides as well as the official documents from both sides. The reader really gets an excellent idea of what air combat was like over this fetid island where Japanese contested with Australian-American forces.The author is able to do a lot of things well. He explains the combats between aircraft in both the big picture (the overall operations) and the small where individual pilots are maneuvering and firing. The author Michael Claringbould shows how, as defender, the American pilots were more likely to survive a bail-out to fight another day (if they managed to avoid being shot in their parachutes by the Japanese pilots) while the Japanese naval aviators refused parachutes in fear of parachuting behind enemy lines and facing the shame of capture. I was also surprised by the large number of Airacobras that were lost simply because the engines failed.Using the official documentation of both sides, we see the age-old problem of kill claims. In the case of American pilots, they claimed 95 A6M Zero-Sen shot down while Japanese records show losses of only 15. This was common during WWII with all combatants, but it often gave higher headquarters an inaccurate picture of what was actually happening. In air-to-air combat, the experienced Japanese pilots were clearly better and with a better mount. As the war went on, this would change.This is a very good Osprey Duel which utilizes both first-hand accounts - the words of the men flying the aircraft and pulling the triggers - and official records. It's an eye-opening account of the early war years between the Allies and the Japanese and succeeds in showing the reader what this 1942 duel in the skies over the jungle was like.

I've been reading about the air war in the SWPAC for years now, and have come to recognize Michael John Claringbould's name as a premier historian in all things New Guinea- so when I saw that this title was authored by him I was prepared to appreciate the depths of his research while sometimes having to wince when he negates prior US victory claims. In fairness, he does the same to the Japanese as well.So, I have to say that I mostly appreciated both his exhaustive use of Allied and Japanese records to give an accurate picture of the SWPAC front in 1942, as well as his ability to present the history with an interesting narrative style. No dry recitation of names, dates, and facts here. Very well done in that respect. Also, there are many excellent photos, maps, etc that support the narrative.The biggest drawback this book has- which I feel is true with all the Osprey Press titles in this series - is that it is too short. While this allows someone with little or no prior knowledge to be able to follow along and understand, as a more advanced reader I wouldn't have minded a bit more minutiae.Also, there are a number of pages in my Kindle ebook edition that have what are obviously partial captions for non existent photos at the tops of the pages; happens 5 or 6 times in the book almost as if the photo itself and the first half of the caption was accidentally deleted. Somewhat annoying and confusing, to say the least. This error I place solely on the editors responsible.Still, for me the primary consideration is that author Claringbould once again impressed me with his commitment to researching his subject, and relating a part of our history most Americans have long since forgotten.Get the book for what it does have- if you're new to the subject I guarantee it'll open up a whole new interest for you.

A

Typical Osprey face-off book, which is high praise. Remarkable how many victories on both sides were claimed, but not achieved (according to the existing squadron loss reports). Of course, not all Japanese reports survived, so they could have lost more than this book credits them with (but they note that - once - in the book's opening page).Great photos (though too many of the often-unidentified pilots and not enough of the planes), and great artwork, classic Osprey.One thing I found interesting. The P-400 and P-39 did far better in air-to-air with the Zero over New Guinea than did the very same planes did over Guadalcanal (sometimes these were, in fact, the very same airframes, sent from Port Moresby to Guadalcanal to reinforce the Cactus Air Force). Over New Guinea, they fought above 20,000 feet, and the battles were not totally one-sided. Over Guadalcanal, the same planes almost never fought above 15-16,000 feet, and despite a clear and significant speed advantage, the Airacobra did not fair well. Further oddity - with the same engines and a bit less streamlining (so a bit lower top speed), the P-40 continued to successfully fight the Japanese over New Guinea, the Solomons and Rabaul through 1944, where the P-39s were retired with unseemly haste in 1943. Why is not clear, and (also clearly) beyond the scope of this book. But P-39/Zero is worth reading if you like air combat in the Southwest Pacific.

The P-400/39 is a fascinating aircraft, and this book taught me lots about it, and increased my interest and knowledge of the New Guinea air war. The book is well written by an author well known for his knowledge of the theatre, and enjoying to read. The technical aspects are very interesting, the Zero of course being covered many times by Duel books thus far but this is still a good read on it. The Airacobra is the most interesting point for me, and I wasn’t disappointed in its coverage of the aircraft and its ups and downs and weird quirks, although the actual development itself is somewhat left uncovered, leaving me still wondering why they made certain design choices that they did, such as tricycle landing gear and the odd car style door that was always unliked, yet never changed. The coverage of the air campaign in New Guinea was somewhat new to me, and this book significantly raised my interest and understanding of the subject, with the simple maps being very helpful, besides not showing where any front lines where or who held what territory. The combat section takes up half the book, and is very well written and covers the whole period of the fight for control of the air between these 2 aircraft and their units, which good coverage of both sides and accounts from both as well, which is somewhat rare from the Japanese side. Overall this was a very good read and one of the best aircraft duel series books I’ve read this far. I would also recommend the title P-38 Lightning vs Ki-61 Tony, as it picks up where this one leaves off (more or less, there’s a little while until the Ki-61 begins operating), and also covers 2 rather interesting unique aircraft.

The P39 has quite a few fans in the enthusiast community and this book is a good honest appraisal of the type over New Guinea against the superior A6M2/3 Zero-Sen.The author , Michael John Claringbould , grew up in Papu New Guinea and is an authority on the Pacific air war .Both types design and development is covered as are details of their operations and effect on the conflict .Maps of the area of operations are included and artwork by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier detailing both types in action and cockpit and armament layouts.The book is illustrated throughout with many nice photos from the authors collection.All of the Osprey series are good value and can act as the stimulus to find out more about a particular subject. It is certainly the case here , highly recommended.

Super Bild- Broschüre, in 1A Erhaltungszustand. Eine sehr gute Adresse, kann ich nur weiterempfehlen...

Les photos sont connues, à de rares exceptions près, mais le texte semble intéressant.

故坂井三郎氏の空戦記で零戦とP-39との空戦シーンが記述されており、その描写ではP-39を問題にしないような展開になっています、今回Duelシリーズで両機を扱った本書が出てきたので購入してみました。本書のカバーしているのは1942年5月から翌年2月位まで続いたポートモレスビー攻略を目指す日本軍と、それを阻止しようとする連合軍の戦いに於けるP-39D、F、K型及び英国向け仕様のP-400と日本軍の零戦21型（A6M2）、32型（A6M3）の1942年12月までの空戦を扱っています。　シリーズの様式に従って両機が開発された経緯、戦いに参加した前述の型+零戦11型（A6M1）の形式説明、両軍の戦いが行われた戦略状況、乗員の訓練状況、実戦、実戦の結果解析、事後という内容に分かれています。　本文にはモノクロ写真多数（版が小さいのは欠点ですが日本側乗員の写真も多数収録されています）の他、零戦21型とP-400の前・側面・上面の三面図、両機の武装配置図、計器盤周辺図、2頁見開きの空戦図が視覚情報を補ってくれます。　本文特に空戦記は、米軍側は勿論、日本側の参加部隊の行動調書まで目を通して、日本側から見た空戦の状況、戦果及び空戦での犠牲者名なども明らかにし、更に空戦の実態を明らかにする内容の濃いものになっています。その反面日本軍による米軍捕虜の過酷な扱いの記述も含んでおり、その点は覚悟しておいてください。　また、ダグラスSBDドントレス急降下爆撃機の陸軍型A-24バンシーの実戦記や当時下院議員で前線配備を希望していた後の大統領リンドン　ジョンソンが爆撃機に同乗して出撃したエピソード等、興味深いものも含んでいます。　本文の内容の濃い部分は肯定的ですが、機体の仕様に関しては気になる表示もあります。まず零戦32型に関して25頁で本機のエンジン栄21型の過給機を2段2速式としていますが1段2速式の、20㎜機関砲の弾数をベルト給弾式の100発としていますが、従来60発だったドラム弾倉を100発に拡大したもので、ベルト給弾式はもっと後期の52型甲まで実現しませんでした。　またP-39D、Fの一部に出力1,325馬力のV-1710-63が装備されたということですが、このエンジンはP-39Kから搭載されたとする文献が多いです。　どちらが優れていたかはネタばれになってしまいますが、その意外な結末も含め本書は色々考えさせられる示唆に富んでいる本だと思います。