Osprey Combat Aircraft 14 : Halifax Squadrons of World War 2

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 1941-45, the Halifax completed some 75,532 sorties [compared with the Lancaster's 156,000] with Bomber Command alone, not to mention its sterling work as both a glider tug and paratroop carrier with the 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 between October 1939 and November 1946. This book, which features an additional 16 pages, includes full appendices listings for every user of the Halifax, 40 all-new colour profiles and 1/144th scale plans, and a wealth of previously unpublished photographs. Text by Jon Lake with illustrations by Chris Davey.

Contents

• Introduction
• Origins of the Halifax
• Halifax Goes to War
• Breaking the Back of the Reich
• Pathfinder Force
• SOE Halifaxes
• No. 100 Group
• Airborne Forces and Transport
• Coastal Command
• The End
• Appendices