Osprey Publishing Big Reveal 2027: Duel
Friday, July 24, 2026
Spitfire V vs Fw 190: Northwest Europe 1941–42
(21 January 2027)
By Andy Saunders. Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier
"An illustrated account of the challenge posed to RAF Fighter Command’s Spitfire V-equipped squadrons by the Luftwaffe’s Fw 190A, and the ways in which British and German pilots fought to control the skies on the Channel Front.
The introduction of Focke-Wulf’s Fw 190A to Luftwaffe service presented RAF Spitfire V pilots with a formidable new foe that could quite literally run rings around them. First encountered over France in September 1941, the Fw 190 – or ‘Butcher Bird’ – soon demonstrated its startling capabilities, taking RAF Fighter Command completely by surprise and forcing the swift development of new tactics and methods in an attempt to counter it. The actions that ensued were some of the most fiercely contested of the air war in northwest Europe, and would lead to the production and eventual fielding of the Spitfire IX.
In this new study, European air war expert Andy Saunders details how the RAF – having perhaps become complacent about the superiority of the Spitfire – found itself left behind with an inferior fighter. Covering the introduction to service of both the Spitfire V and the Fw 190, the fighters’ first encounters and the battles that shaped subsequent tactics and design, the volume combines combat reports and first-hand accounts with archive photographs and newly commissioned artwork and formation diagrams to convey what it was like to be a fighter pilot in both aircraft from 1941 to 1943."
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Typhoon vs German Flak Defences: Western Europe 1943–45
(29 April 2027)
By Matthew Bone. Illustrated by Gareth Hector and Jim Laurier
"An illustrated study of the evolving tactics that powered the deadly clashes between the RAF’s Typhoon Mk IB fighter-bomber and the Flakwaffe's defending anti-aircraft arsenal.
The Flakwaffe’s role was to protect the Wehrmacht’s men, machines and material from aerial attack. Arrayed against them was the RAF’s 2nd Tactical Air Force (TAF), whose fighter-bomber spear was tipped with the Typhoon Mk IB, a fighter modified beyond its original intent. The tactics and weaponry of both adversaries evolved as each sought to outdraw the other, with ‘Bombphoon’ and rocket Typhoon squadrons combining their efforts whilst the Flakwaffe laid deadly traps in fields and on trucks and railway wagons.
In this engrossing study, Typhoon expert Matthew Bone chronicles the exploits of the 2nd TAF’s fighter-bombers and the Flakwaffe arsenal into whose crosshairs they ventured. Drawing on contemporary records of Typhoon operations and historical details of Flak crews, this detailed account utilises newly commissioned artwork, maps and diagrams to shed fresh light on the tactical development of both sides, and the price the RAF ultimately paid for victory.
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G3M “Nell” and G4M “Betty” vs US Navy Warships: 1941–44
(30 September 2027)
By Mark Lardas. Illustrated by Jim Laurier
"An illustrated study of the land-based Imperial Japanese Naval Air Force (IJNAF) long-range twin-engined bomber and its fight against the US Navy for domination of the Pacific theater.
Developed as a means of compensating for the modest number of warships Japan was permitted to build under the strictures of interwar naval limitations treaties, the land-based attack bomber was the IJNAF’s response. Mitsubishi’s G3M "Nell" and G4M "Betty" demonstrated their effectiveness in this role during the first week of the Pacific War by sinking the Royal Navy battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse. Yet their main opponent proved to be the US Navy, in large part due to its greater numeric presence in the waters over which Japan fought.
In this eventful volume, Pacific War specialist Mark Lardas examines how the IJNAF employed its twin-engined bombers against US Navy warships in a series of engagements from 1942–44, and details how the Americans responded to these low-level, frequently nocturnal, attacks. Newly commissioned artwork, maps and tactical diagrams combine with specially selected photographs to bring to life clashes from during the Battle of Makassar Strait, the Battle of Rennell Island, and other key events, vividly demonstrating the strengths and weaknesses of both sets of combatants, aircraft, and warships."
https://www.ospreypublishing.com/ca/...eal-2027-duel/