ISBN 1-903223-40-7
192 pages

Authors' Introductions; Acknowledgements; Forewords; Glossary; photos; color profiles; maps; OBs; Index

   How much has Chris Shores brought to light about the RAF in World War II? Probably more than anyone else in the field. After so many years and so many well-researched books, Shores and his collaborators continue to produce excellent, highly informative tomes about the Royal Air Force. He recently turned his attention back to 2nd Tactical Air Force, a subject he initially covered in 1970 with a book of the same title. This time, with the assistance of Chris Thomas, the original edition has been revised and expanded into three volumes of which this is the first. The result? Another great RAF book from Team Shores.
   For the first few years after the fall of France, RAF forces based in the UK had little reason to think about cooperation with friendly ground forces. Instead, Bomber Command, Fighter Command, and Coastal Command pursued other aspects of aerial warfare. However, as the time for the Allied return to Northwest Europe grew closer, the need increased for a collection of air units trained and experienced in ground support. In June 1943 2nd Tactical Air Force was formed in southern England.

   Experience had shown that the most successful and adaptable instrument of close support was the fighter-bomber, so that many squadrons at that time operating in Fighter Command would have to be released for the new organisation. Although the most immediate way to provide a nucleus for the new force would have been to expand Army Co-operation Command, this would have entailed a massive re-organisation and a considerable disruption of the "non-stop offensive" in which the Fighter Command units were engaged. Consequently, the alternative was adopted, whereby the formation of what was initially known simply as 'The Tactical Air Force' took place within the framework of Fighter Command.
   This re-organisation commenced in the early summer of 1943, when on 1 June, 2 Group of Bomber Command was transferred to Fighter Command; this Group contained all remaining light and medium day bombers still operating from the United Kingdom, and had for some time been considered by its parent Command as something of a cuckoo in the nest, all other groups being equipped with heavy bombers and operating at night against strategic targets. On this same date Army Co-operation Command ceased to exist, and all squadrons from this formation were also transferred to Fighter Command. Within the latter two new groups were to be set up, which with 2 Group were to provide the basis of The Tactical Air Force, each of these groups being intended to operate with one of the armies which would make up 21st Army Group, the British Commonwealth element of the main invasion force. Each group would comprise wings of fighters, fighter-bombers, and tactical reconnaissance aircraft (the old Army Co-operation units), and to this end allocation to them of squadrons of Spitfires, Typhoons and Hurricanes began forthwith.

   The authors go on to describe the various components of the new air organization and then segue into the heart of each chapter, a day-by-day chronology of 2nd TAF's activities. For each day, Shores and Thomas explain the events in a series of paragraphs followed by a tabular listing of claims and losses. Data in the daily table includes time of day the event occurred, squadron, type of aircraft, identification of aircraft, names and ranks of pilot and crew with casualties (killed, wounded, prisoner, escaped), type of enemy aircraft claimed (if any) as destroyed - probable - damaged (shown as "d p d"), and cause/location of the claim or loss of the aircraft. All this initially proves a bit tricky to decipher, because each table includes both RAF aircraft lost and victories claimed by RAF aircraft. These are listed in chronological sequence for each day, making a bit of a mix.
   Here's how the tabular data looks for 10 June 1943, the first date of 2nd TAF operations:

TIME	SQN	TYPE	IDENT	PILOT/CREW	CLAIM	d p d	CAUSE/LOCATION
1840	98	Mitchell II	FL204 C	F/S J. Grindley (K)	-		l/s Lorendegem
				Sgt H.J. Webb (K)
				Sgt S.G. Coleman (K)
				Sgt E.G. Sayer (K)
1945	98	Mitchell II	FL167 F	F/O W.B. Fee	Fw 190	- - 1	hbf and e/a (Ghent) c/l Manston
				F/O L.A.T. Moss
				F/S R.H. Budden
				F/S K.L. Cudlipp

   The tabular material becomes considerably longer and more complicated as D-Day grows closer and the pace of operations increases. In all cases, a few abbreviations are critical to understanding the tables. For example, "sdbf" means "shot down by fighters," "hbf" means "hit by flak," "e/f" means "engine failure," "b/u" means "blew up," "l/s" means "last seen," "c/l" means "crash landed," etc.
   The authors follow the same pattern throughout the book, beginning each chapter with several pages of explanation about the big picture, followed by more day-by-day records. This material is supplemented by detailed orders of battle, maps, photos, full-color aircraft profiles by Thomas, and assorted sidebars on airmen, units, events, etc.
   If this sounds similar to John Foreman's Fighter Command War Diaries, it is. Foreman also covers air operations in day-by-day fashion with introductory material for each chapter, text and tabular data for each date, and ample sidebars. He limits his coverage to fighters (whether Fighter Command, 2nd TAF, or Air Defence of Great Britain) while Shores covers strictly 2nd Tactical Air Force but includes bombers as well as fighters. Foreman's data is built around totals for each type of aircraft on each day while Shores lists each individual machine (with pilot and crew) lost or with a claim on each date.
   Because each book covers a slightly different subset of RAF squadrons, the overall numbers can't be expected to match up precisely. Even so, it's occasionally difficult to reconcile the figures for a day in one book with the results posted for the same date in the other account. Even without discrepancies, two different snapshots of overlapping—but not identical—activities on the same day can sometimes look quite different.
   For example, here's the Foreman entry for daylight operations on 9 October 1943:

Six Typhoon pilots set off on a sweep at 07.02 hours. One was hit by Flak at Domburg and returned with the Pilot, Flight Lieutenant V. Fittall, wounded. 11 Group repeated Ramrod No. 265 at 11.05 hours, Mosquitos bombing Woippy at low level. Four were shot down by Flak and a fifth returned with the navigator dead. 10 Group Ramrod No. 92 at 14.30 hours took B-25s to Guipavas. A Spitfire pilot crashed in England, believed on return from this mission, and was injured.

Mosquitos
Unit	Dest	P.D.	Dam	MIA	Cat E	KIA	MIA	WIA
487 Sqn	-	-	-	4	-	-	8	1

Typhoons
Unit	Dest	P.D.	Dam	MIA	Cat E	KIA	MIA	WIA
198 Sqn	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1

Spitfires
Unit	Dest	P.D.	Dam	MIA	Cat E	KIA	MIA	WIA
65 Sqn	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1

   And here's what Shores and Thomas show for the same date:

The second 2 Group Mosquito raid was launched as 'Ramrod 265,' an attack on a Messerschmitt engine works at Woippy by 14 aircraft of 464 Squadron and 12 of 487 Squadron. En route a formation of Royal Navy vessels were seen, and in changing course to avoid overflying these, the Mosquitos crossed the coast slightly off course, and in an area where Flak was concentrated. Four aircraft were shot down, two from each unit, all falling near Metz, and a fifth was damaged, Wg Cdr A.G. Wilson, Commanding Officer of 487 Squadron, landing at Manston with his navigator, Flg Off D. Bridgman, dead. The whole effort had proved of no use, however, for on arrival the target was found to be covered by cloud, and bombs had to be brought back.

TIME	SQN	TYPE	IDENT	PILOT/CREW	CLAIM	d p d	CAUSE/LOCATION
e1225	487	Mosquito VI	HX938 V	S/L W.F. Wallington (E)	-		sdbf Metz (Woippy)
				F/S J.H. Fawdry (P)
	487	Mosquito VI	HX937 Y	F/L E.W. Court (K)	-		e/f jettisoned bombs b/u Metz
				F/L J.B. Sands (K)			(Woippy)
	487	Mosquito VI	HX965 C	W/C A.G. Wilson (W)	-		hbf Woippy, landed Manston catB
				F/O D. Bridgman (K)
e1250	464	Mosquito VI	HX912 F	F/L P.C.C. Kerr (K)	-		sdbf Metz (Woippy)
				F/O B.J.E. Hannah (K)
	464	Mosquito VI	HP850 Q	F/L R. Winstone-Smith (K)	-		sdbf Metz (Woippy)
				F/O C.G. MacDonald (K)

   Whatever the reason for occasional discrepancies (were all four lost Mosquitos from 487 Squadron, or were two from 464?), it's clear that Shores and Thomas add considerably more detail to their daily tallies, and that richness makes this volume a terrific source of information. Readers should be warned that this is definitely a data-heavy book, not a narrative history and not a compendium of first-hand accounts from pilots and aircrew. However, it's exactly the kind of resource we appreciate, and we can recommend it without hesitation to anyone interested in highly detailed, day-by-day compilations of flying operations. Bravo, Messrs Shores and Thomas, and we look forward to the next two volumes in the series.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from the publisher and its US distributor, Specialty Press.
   Thanks to Specialty for providing this review copy.