Book Reviews JUNKERS Ju 52/3m Swedish float-equipped Junkers Ju 52/3m, SE-ADR, Södermanland. Below: The rear cabin of a Junkers Ju52/3m supplied to Prince Bibesco in 1932. RAeS (NAL). Success beyond the in their research work and are scathing of so many under-researched books which perpetuate Luftwaffe erroneous information. They realise, however, that By L Andersson et al much archival material that is now available in Germany was not so in the past but say that this EAM Books EEIG, 3 Gatesmead, Haywards Heath does not excuse poor research. RH16 1SN, UK (E [email protected]). 2018. As usual, the authors have done their work well and have produced over 400 pages of text, 416pp. Illustrated. £35 (inclusive of UK postage/ liberally illustrated with many excellent photographs, packing). ISBN 978-0-95737443-0. many unfamiliar or rare. I especially liked the photographs showing aircraft structures, cockpit In their latest tome on Junkers aircraft – the and engine installations. There are also 33 pages Ju 52/3m – the authors firstly explore the life of in colour, illustrating many airline logos, military this legendary aircraft in the Spanish Civil War, insignia, celebratory postage stamps and plenty of during the Nazi regime and WW2. When the code photographs and drawings in colour (a modeller’s word ‘Dädalus’ went out, Lufthansa returned its dream). Ju 52/3ms to Germany and handed them over The index is largely aimed at finding specific to the Luftwaffe. Boxes of parts, each marked I commend it to countries, airlines and organisations that used the for specific aircraft, were already strategically all aerophiles Ju 52/3m. Sensibly, these users of the Ju 52/3m positioned around the country for the rapid not least are in groups in the text, making the story easier to militarisation of each aircraft. assimilate and enjoyable to read. The authors’ aim thereafter is to fill the ‘glaring because of This book will satisfy both those seeking fine gaps’ in the Ju 52/3m history after the war the wonderful details and those who enjoy leafing through a and this fills the main part of the book. As they illustrations, book and keeping it for reference. I commend it to say, German aviation history research requires meticulous text all aerophiles, not least because of the wonderful painstaking and time-consuming research, piecing illustrations, meticulous text and detailed records. together fragments of information from many and detailed different sources. These authors are meticulous records Antony Kay 44 AEROSPACE ONE NATION, UNDER DRONES Legality, Morality, and Utility of Unmanned Combat Systems Edited by J E Jackson Naval Institute Press, 291 Wood Road, Annapolis, MD 21402, USA. 2018. x; 245pp. Illustrated. $29.95. ISBN 978-168247-238-5. One Nation, Under Drones is an excellent primer on unmanned systems and the legal and ethical debates surrounding them. The book is a collection General Atomics MQ-9 the export of drones to countries ranging from South of 13 short essays by a diverse range of military Reaper unmanned aircraft Africa to Sri Lanka and N Korea. They also feature and civilian experts on drones. Roughly half of the system. USAF. in-depth discussions of the unmanned systems being essays discuss in great detail the history and current developed for the US Navy and Marines. development of unmanned military systems on land, Although these chapters are primarily focused on in the air, and in and under the sea. In these chapters technology development, they also give illuminating the book is at its best. They will prove tremendously insights into the strategy and policy behind the illuminating to all but the closest observers of developments. For example, the Afghan war is developments in unmanned military systems. They shown to have been an impetus for military drone provide a rare window, not only into state-of-the-art development and acquisition by nearly a dozen military technology, but also the strategic and policy countries fighting alongside the US against Al Qaeda imperatives driving it. Very helpfully, the book also and the Taliban. In the discussions of naval and marine features black and white photographs illustrating 25 unmanned systems, the authors emphasise the extent of the unmanned systems discussed. to which the development of ship-based equivalents The remaining chapters discuss the legal, ethical, to the land-based Predator drones has been driven by and policy questions surrounding the use of drones Overall, the a desire to give the US Navy global reach without the for targeted killing, the development of autonomous collection need for land bases. A subsequent chapter echoes weapons and the challenges posed by the exponential this idea, arguing that the US Marines perceive the growth of non-military drones for commercial and contains a wealth need to be able to operate from sea-based launch private use. While much of information and arguments of technological sites because land-based airfields cannot always be in this latter group of chapters will be familiar to both material that relied on, as they are sometimes denied for political experts and the reasonably informed observer, their will be useful to reasons. That is, the US military is seeking enhanced quality and the range of topics they cover make capabilities to operate without the need for land-based them a very useful compendium to the historical and those working in allied co-operation. technological discussions. these relatively The remaining discussions of the lethal, ethical, The book begins with an illuminating and specialist fields and political questions surrounding unmanned exhaustive account of unmanned aerial vehicle and autonomous systems are both thoughtful and (UAV) developments that place the more well-known generally accurate. Although the authors tend to Predator and Reaper drones in historical context. The defend the use of lethal combat drones and the opening chapter gives design details and applications development of autonomous weapons, they do so for drones ranging from the 14 gram Black Hornet cautiously. They point out that drones, like any weapon, and the 2.5kg AeroVironment Switchblade to the can be used unlawfully, unethically, and/or unwisely. Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk with a They thus point to the need to focus on the context wingspan of 130ft and the rotary wing Lockheed and rules governing the use of such weapons, rather Martin K-Max, capable of delivering 6,000lb of cargo than the weapons themselves. Similarly. with respect at sea level. For all but the closest observers of to autonomous weapons, although the tenor of the developments in military UAVs, the opening chapter discussion is generally optimistic, the authors caution will serve as an illuminating survey of the current state that any machine learning algorithm is only as good of play. as its ‘training’. Thus, great care must be taken both Several subsequent chapters enrich the opening to ‘train’ such machines without unintentional biases picture. They show how the consumer, rather than Joshua Andresen and to deploy them only in context for which they have the military, market is driving innovation, especially in Senior Lecturer been properly trained. For readers interested in delving the incorporation of greater autonomy in unmanned (Associate Professor) in deeper into these debates, the footnotes for each of systems. They add an important international National Security and the essays direct readers to further reading, including perspective by discussing development of drones in Foreign Relations Law sources that disagree with the positions taken by the China, Israel, the Soviet Union and Russia, as well as University of Surrey book’s authors. APRIL 2020 45 - Book Reviews THE MERLIN The Engine that Won the devotes most of the rest of the book to chapters Hawker Hurricane IIC, on the aircraft that the Merlin powered, covering MW336, under construction. RAeS (NAL). Second World War the Hurricane and Spitfire, the Mosquito, Lancaster By G A A Wilson and P-51 Mustang. The author returns to the Merlin story in the penultimate chapter on Merlin variants, including the Packard-built Merlin, and concludes Amberley Publishing, The Hill, Merrywalks, Stroud, with a chapter on preserved Merlin engines still Gloucestershire GL5 4EP, UK. 2018. 272pp. flying today. Illustrated. £18.99. ISBN 978-1-4456-5681-6. Throughout he celebrates the Merlin as ‘the greatest Second World War piston engine ever’, but This book is a disappointment. The objective of the doesn’t explain why the Merlin was so much better book is to present a history of the development of than other candidates for that accolade, nor why the the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and its use during Merlin faired poorly in the postwar years compared WW2. The focus of the book, however, is less on the to the big Bristol, Pratt & Whitney and Wright Merlin and more on the famous aircraft it powered. Unfortunately, in telling this story the author merely air-cooled radial engines that dominated military and refashions material that has already appeared commercial transport aircraft until the jets came into elsewhere. He does not appear to have had access service. The difficulty with the author’s approach is to the records of the Air Ministry or the Ministry that, by focusing on the aircraft, the author loses of Aircraft Production which might have provided the thread of the Merlin’s development. Numerous greater depth to his story. The book adds nothing to errors mar the book. our knowledge of this famous engine. The author’s conclusion that the Merlin was The author begins with an overview of the origin ‘the engine that won the Second World War’ is of the Merlin, providing a detailed history of the problematic at best. There is no question that the Rolls-Royce Company and its liquid-cooled aircraft Merlin was one of the finest piston engines ever engines of the 1920s and early 1930s.