A companion to the wings of World War II

By Russell J. Huff

Subjects: Aerial operations, Wings (Insignia), World War, 1939-1945, Insignia, Pictorial works, Air forces

Description: After taking five years to write and publish the main book, Wings of World War II, the more "down and dirty" Companion edition appeared two years after the big book. Reactions to the ground breaking first edition came in from all directions, and collectors were most kind in sharing their knowledge, their beliefs and their insights. In the Companion edition I begun by describing the shooks that a new author and first time publisher encountered in the production, marketing and distribution of the main book. There are both humorous and expensive lessons to be learned here. The following sections take on the main book, chapter by chapter and make corrections, speculation, and opinion into account in an area still open for much research and discussion. Many years later I am still getting those suggestions, and often some sharp criticism as well. After twenty five years, the opening of communications from the Eastern Block no longer under Soviet control, and more importantly the bursting of the dam of information provided by the Internet has made the book still valuable but also somewhat obsolete. However, in all the subsequent years, no one has tried to replicate the task of searching and presenting a formal book or website has encompasses the full range these books cover. What has happened is that each country is now more fully studied, and publishing that information would require any number of volumes of research. Even the author found the work daunting, and returned to it for six years in a quarterly journal, Wings and Things of the World, which continued to gather information and publish it for the collecting community. Unfortunately, much of this material is now out of print and unavailable. For futher information, please check the website, www.thewingding.com or the wingding.com for any updates.