Hispano Suiza in Aeronautics: Men,Companies,Engines and Aircraft (Premiere Series Books)

A well research book by the author with many rare photos.A must for any body with an interest in spanish aviation history. A good book to be added to my aviation collection.Highly recommended.Gary

Excellent book, arrived quickly !

Manuel Lage does a generally good job covering this international aircraft corporation that lasted from the early 20th century to the 1960s in his book, “Hispano Suiza in Aeronautics: Men, Companies, Engines and Aircraft.” The book is chronological in format, and is packed full of useful information on the engines, aircraft, and weapons created by this company, which was based in both Spain and France. This begins with the Hispano-Suiza V-8 engines of the WW1 period, before moving on to the 1920s period which saw a variety of V-12 aircraft engines produced, before covering the 1930s which saw the development of the supercharged 12-X and 12-Y aircraft engines, the latter which saw extensive use early on in WW2. Besides engines, the book covers the HS 404 aircraft cannon, which was license produced in Britain and the U.S., and a variety of aircraft that either made it to prototype form or, in the form of the Fiat CR 32 and Messerschmitt Bf 109, were produced in Spain (as the HA 132-L and HA 1109, respectively). It is loaded with photographs as well as illustrations of the aircraft and engines, and concludes with a bibliography as well as appendices. Weaknesses of the book are that the text is awkward in several spots (the book being either a translation or perhaps English is not Mr. Lage’s first language) and the quality of the printed text is somewhat poor. Also the technical data is inconsistent from engine to engine. Nevertheless, despite these drawbacks this book is an important one to own on this important international aircraft company.