IAR.80 AND IAR.81, THE: Airframe, Systems and Equipment - Softcover

Brinzan, Radu

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906959196 ISBN 13: 9781906959197

Publisher: SAM Publications, 2010

Synopsis

Possibly one of the most significant aircraft of WW2, but one that has been virtually forgotten. During the war it fought the Russians (as well as the Americans and then later the Germans) - when the war ended and Romania was under the Russian sphere of influence, the pilots, engineers, mechanics that worked on this aircraft were hunted down and many of them ended up in the Russian Gulags. As a result, Romanians were afraid to talk about it, and because Romania was stuck behind the Iron Curtain, western researchers had no access to info. This combination of factors led to the type being overlooked.

Performance-wise, it was in the same class as a Bf-109E or Hurricane, with enough powder to face the P-38s, and even Mustangs, and was extremely lethal against the B-24 Liberators that came to Ploesti. It also scored numerous 'kills' against the Russians and there is a long list of aces who gained this title while flying the IAR.80.

About this title

Review

This is an excellent book on the subject, its format, styled on the superb Polish and Czech detail books on aircraft, is printed in the UK. Contains many scale drawings of the aircraft throughout its development along with a good selection of photographs and colour scheme drawings. Good descriptive text and useful specifications. A boon to anyone with an interest in the Rumanian IAR 80/81, be they aeromodeller or just interested in the history of that country's best indigenous fighter/attack aircraft, highly recommended, an excellent purchase and a credit to the author! --By G. Green

Through no fault of the author this book has been a lomg time coming. Was it worth the wait? Oh yes it was. Compared to reference books on more well known and documented aircraft, this book contains far more precise and factual information. And when you consider that the IAR80 and 81 were just about unheard of outside of Romania until a few years ago, then this work by Radu Brinzan is even more remarkable. Much use is made of factory drawings,scale drawings, rare photographs and colour profiles to describe the development of this most capable yet arcane fighter. Any historian or modeller would be proud to own this book which has finally put,what must have been the pride of the Romanian aircraft industry back in the limelight where it deserves to be. A must have book for 2012! --By Mrs. A. Osborne

This is a detailed technical book covering all variants of this important and attractive, but little known type. There are scale plans and written information covering all versions. Sadly, nothing is included about their operations or pilots. This is probably due to soviet suppression as the Romanians had fought on the Axis side and then fell under the Iron curtain after the war - any heroic stories of combat and successes against Russia and the Allies becoming shameful and forgotten under communist leadership. An ideal book for technophiles and modelers alike. A talented modeler could scratch build an accurate replica with just this book for reference. All that is needed now is for a mainstream manufacturer to produce an affordable model kit of the plane, the only ones available to date being from the more expensive 'short run' manufacturers. Someone send a copy of the book to Airfix please! --Olga Federkevich

Edition details

• Publisher: SAM Publications
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1906959196
• ISBN 13: 9781906959197
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128