Franks, Norman L. R. Royal Air Force Fighter Command Losses of the Second World War, volume one. Leicester: Midland Publishing Limited, 1997

ISBN 1-85780-055-9
167 pages

Acknowledgements; Sources & Bibliography; Introduction; Glossary of Terms; photos.

Appendices: Fighter Command Order of Battle for 8th August 1940; January 1941; 1st June 1941; Night Fighter Squadrons Operational or Being Formed, July 1941; Wing Leaders, 1941

This slender little softcover volume contains the day-by-day record of Fighter Command aircraft and crew operational losses from September 1939 through the end of 1941. Forthcoming volumes will carry the record to the end of the war. Aside from a few photographs and brief remarks at the beginning of each chapter, the author limits himself to the tabular presentation of the details of each loss. The format is very similar to that used by W. R. Chorley in his Royal Air Force Bomber Command Losses of the Second World War series (from Midland Publishing's sister company, Midland Counties Publications).

The book is divided into eight chronological chapters:

The Phoney War
The Battle of France
Dunkirk
Final Days in France - Post-Dunkirk
The Battle of Britain
Taking the Offensive, 1941
The Shooting Season, Summer 1941
Autumn and Winter 1941

Within each section the losses are presented in chronological sequence with columns for squadron number, aircraft model, aircraft serial number, names and ranks of crew, fate of crew (with the symbol "+" indicating killed), and notes on the loss with cross references to further incidents involving the same aircraft or crew when applicable.

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9th August 1940

600 Sqdn	Blenheim If F/O S P le Rougetel Sgt E C Smith	L8679'BQ-O' Safe Safe	Night Patrol. Engine failure and crew baled out, pilot being rescued, observer swimming ashore at Westgate; 1100 hours.
605 Sqdn	Hurricane I Sgt R D Ritchie	L2103 +	Patrol. Crashed into sea 1 mile off Dunbar, 1645, due glycol fumes leak; picked up by boat but pilot's neck broken. Buried in Lesley Cemetery, Fife. Aged 24.

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Although conceived and produced for different purposes, Fighter Command Losses bears comparison with John Foreman's recent Fighter Command War Diaries from Air Research. In a sense, Franks' book is almost a subset of Foreman's, as the latter includes losses along with enemy aircraft destroyed and damaged, RAF daily reports, biographical sketches, personal recollections, aircraft specifications, etc. Fighter Command Losses is no less valuable for its tighter focus and greater elaboration on each loss and, overall, a more tabular approach. Where Foreman notes the quantity of RAF aircraft written off and pilots lost each day, Franks records the aircraft serial number, name of pilot, and so on. It should be noted, however, that there seem to be unresolved discrepancies between the two books in regard to losses on specific dates.

Franks' book can also be usefully compared to Donald Caldwell's The JG 26 War Diary from Grub Street. It's interesting to note entries for the same dates from contending points of view:

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Fighter Command Losses
19th July 1941

72 Sqn	Spitfire V Sgt R F Lewis	W3181 +	Circus. FTR [Failed to return], pm
92 Sqn	Spitfire V Sgt C G Waldern	W3326 +	Sweep. FTR [Failed to return], pm

The JG 26 War Diary
19th July 1941

Lt Heyarts	I St	1	Spitfire	N of Dunkirk	2:15 PM	72 Sqd	confirmed
Oblt Priller	I CO	41	Spitfire	5km off Dover	2:35 PM	72 Sqd	confirmed

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My only quibble with an otherwise excellent compilation is the lack of an index, a feature which would be very handy in a reference work like this. It also appears as though the Defiant I losses for May 12/13 1940 are mistakenly listed in the section on Norway.

Bravo Norman Franks and Midland Publishing for producing a fine book on such a specialized topic and for providing further evidence of the extremely high calibre of our contemporary air historians.

Available from mail order booksellers and local bookshops; in the UK directly from Midland; and in the US and Canada from the North American distributor, Specialty Press.

Thanks to Specialty for providing this review copy.