Handley Page Halifax

Description

128 pages
Contains Photos, Illustrations, Bibliography
$27.95
ISBN 1-55125-085-3
DDC 623.74'63

Publisher

Year

2005

Contributor

Reviewed by Steve Pitt

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Review

The Handley Page Halifax was one of the great bombers of World War II.
More than 6,000 were made, and between 1941 and 1945 thousands of
Halifax missions were flown over enemy air space by Canadian crews. For
some reason, the Halifax has always been overshadowed by its slightly
larger sibling, the Lancaster. Fortunately, this book fills in the gaps
for history buffs, especially those interested in Canada’s war as seen
through the eyes of its Halifax squadrons. Authors Anthony Stachiw and
Andrew Tattersall painstakingly trace the history of the Halifax from
its creation on the drawing board in the mid-1930s to its
decommissioning from active air service in the early 1950s. Dozens of
blueprints and scores of vintage photographs support the meticulously
researched text. There are also chapters devoted to the Royal Canadian
Air Force’s deployment of the Halifax and in-depth histories of the
individual Canadian squadrons that flew them. A separate chapter for
modellers is included in the back of the book, with suggested kits,
accessories, and eight full-colour illustrations of how Halifaxes were
painted for day and night bombing duty. If you are interested in
Canadian history, military history, or military models, this book is for
you.

Citation

Stachiw, Anthony L., and Andrew Tattersall., “Handley Page Halifax,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed October 8, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/17264.