ISBN 1-904010-88-1
671 pages

Acknowledgements; Glossary of Abbreviations; Introduction; photos

   Anyone familiar with the work of Christopher Shores knows he has become one of our most important air historians. Anyone familiar in particular with his Aces High volumes knows he undertakes staggering amounts of research to produce books of extraordinary detail and accuracy. All that holds true for his newest published work, Those Other Eagles, which is a continuation, extension, and expansion of Aces High and Aces High, volume 2.
   The original Aces High was first published in 1966 and, as its title indicates, dealt with those RAF fighter pilots who had achieved five or more aerial victories. The second volume contained further information more recently discovered about those pilots, plus additional pilots who also qualified as aces, including destruction of V-1 flying bombs. The new volume expands coverage to include RAF pilots with between two and four aerial victories, or who became leaders of note. Why "between two and four?" This from the book:

   The author readily admits that even this is an arbitrary distinction, but to include every pilot within these air forces who made any claim for aerial victories would have produced a manuscript of unmanageable size. The rationale adopted in selecting two claims as the general - although not universal - minimum criterion for inclusion is as follows. One claim could be a fluke; shared claims only could reflect more on the generosity of the other party(ies) to the share, particularly where the latter was the formation or section leader. Two claims however, point towards potential virtuosity as a fighter pilot, offering the promise of a higher total if further opportunities arose.

   As with Aces High, the new volume includes not only British (in the strictest sense) pilots, but also RAF pilots (and pilots of the RCAF, RNZAF, etc) who hailed from the Commonwealth, the colonies, Free European forces, the United States, and so on. Of the 1221 pilots in Aces High and 1791 in this tome, Shores identifies twenty nationalities, including at least one each of Icelanders, Singhalese, Anglo-Argentinians, and Newfoundlanders. For the pilots treated here, the format will prove familiar to those who have seen Shores' earlier work.
   For each pilot, Shores presents a combination of narrative text and tabular data in a standardized layout. To begin with, each entry includes name, rank, service number (two, if served as NCO and officer), biographical sketch with date and place of birth, schooling and pre-war occupation, general information about RAF service with squadrons, locations, operations, promotions, retirement and/or death, etc. Next, in rows and columns arranged chronologically, the date of each victory, type of aircraft destroyed, type of aircraft with which the victory was earned, aircraft serial number and code (when available), geographic area where victory was earned, and squadron with which the pilot was flying at that time.
   Here's one fairly typical entry:

STONE, Cedric Pyne
Flight Lieutenant
RAF Nos. 754154 (NCO); 108961 (0fficer)

Cedric Stone enlisted in the RAFVR as a Sgt Pilot in June 1939, and was called up in September. On completion of training he was posted to 64 Squadron as a Sgt. During the summer of 1941 he went to 72 Squadron, where he was awarded a DFM on 17 October, and commissioned during the same month. At the start of 1942 he was posted to the Middle East, joining 73 Squadron in April. On 17 June 1942 four of the unit's Hurricanes were shot down as they were about to land by Oblt Hans-Joachim Marseille of I/JG 27 to bring his personal total to 100. One of these was BN157, from which Stone baled out, striking his head on the tailplane in doing so, and chipping two of the bones in his neck. This injury caused him to lose his medical category for flying, and while he later got this back, it was only for non-operational duties, restricting him to ferry work for the rest of the war. He was promoted Flt Lt on 8 October 1943. Released after the war, he was living in retirement in Sussex at the time of writing.

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1941
7 May	Bf 109F	Spitfire IIa	P7840	-	mid Channel	64 Sqn
16 Aug	Bf 109F	Spitfire Vb	W3441	-	St Omer	72 Sqn
16 Aug	Bf 109F Probable	"	"	-	"	"
17 Aug	Bf 109F	"	"	-	off Cap Gris Nez	"
TOTAL: 3 destroyed, 1 probable

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   In addition to all those entries for individual pilots, the author includes four separate sections of photographic portraits (although by no means do all 1791 pilots have photos contained herein). Unlike the earlier volumes (which included chapters with information about aircraft, squadrons, etc), that's it, for almost seven hundred pages: biographical entries and a few photos.
   While that might not be an especially flattering or invigorating description of Those Other Eagles, the point is that Shores has produced a spectacular volume packed full of fascinating details about hundreds of pilots, but this is certainly not an exciting compendium of air-to-air combat as recollected by the airmen themselves, nor is it a day-by-day account of air action along the lines of the author's very popular and successful books such as Fighters over the Desert, Malta: The Spitfire Year, Bloody Shambles, and so on. Instead, this is a dense and data-intense resource devoted strictly to pinning down the specific facts of each man's career in the air.
   While that approach to aerial history won't win any awards for white-knuckle excitement, Shores more than compensates by bringing together in one volume what must be the largest compilation of information about RAF pilots ever produced. With meticulous care he presents capsule biography after biography with all pertinent information accurately and precisely noted. (The author rues the fact that among all these airmen he has been unable to provide service numbers for three of them.) For anyone who comprehends the magnitude of the achievement, and for anyone who simply appreciates thick books packed with endlessly detailed information about fighter pilots, Those Other Eagles should qualify as one of the most impressive books of the year. Highly recommended.
   Available from online booksellers, local bookshops, or directly from Grub Street and its distributors, including Casemate Books in the US.
   Thanks to Casemate for providing this review copy.