Winter & Spring Highlights

2018 was a special year for Osprey as we celebrated our 50th anniversary. But this particular milestone wasn’t the only thing of note for us this year, with so many new and exciting titles being released and incredible authors and illustrators joining the Osprey family! To mark such a fantastic year, we’re going to take a look back at some of our highlights, from book votes and artwork to published reviews. For the first of this three-part series, let’s cast our minds back to the beginning of the year and look at some of our favourite moments from January to April.

What people said about our books

The Hindenburg Line 1918

‘A thoroughly absorbing account and recommended for an overview to the later stages of the war and the breaking of the deadlock of trench warfare’ – Battlefield Magazine  

The Royal Air Force

‘These breathtaking photos capture in all its glory the storied history of the mighty Royal Air Force which has defended our shores for 100 years. Former fighter pilot Michael Napier celebrates the accomplishments of the world’s first independent air force in his new book’ – Mail Online

Shadow Over the Atlantic

‘This volume is clearly an unashamed labour of love and the result of research in depth by several people […] Complete with its 40-page photo section, this one comes highly recommended’ – Aeroplane Monthly

Battle of Britain 1940

‘If all the new Air Campaign series volumes are this absorbing and insightful, then Osprey has a winning series’ – Battlefield Magazine

Awe-inspiring Artwork

It's so hard every month to pick out just three pieces of artwork from all of those publishing, so picking out the best of them was a real challenge - but we've had a go nonetheless. Which is your favourite?

AIR CAMPAIGN 2: Rabaul 1943–44 by Mark Lardas Illustrated by Mark Postlethwaite This intimidating illustration from our new Air Campaign series depicts an epic aerial battle between American B-25s and a gang of Japanese fighters during the Fifth Air Force’s follow-up strike on the Japanese airfield at Rabaul, in which 50 B-25s attacked Tobera and Rapopo airfields.

CAMPAIGN 319: Imphal 1944 By Hemant Singh Katoch Illustrated by Peter Dennis This atmospheric image from Peter Dennis shows the Japanese attack in Ningthoukhong on 12 June 1944. Here we see the Japanese 33rd Division assault over the stream, in a final effort to break through on its approach to Imphal.

Best of the Blog

Our round-up of the greatest military aviation movies of all time caused a bit of a stir on the blog, with some titles polarising opinions (I’m looking at you, Top Gun). Feel strongly one way or the other? You can still make your opinions known via the link below.

Cast your votes here 

Our authors not only produce fascinating books for us; they also pull out the stops to create fantastic blog posts. Here are a few you may have missed at the start of this year.

The Writing of No Ordinary Pilot by Suzanne Campbell-Jones

The Regia Aeronautica: Another Victim of Mussolini’s Regime by Ryan K. Noppen

Lyndon Johnson’s “How Not To” Air Campaign in the “How Not To” War by Richard P. Hallion

March saw another great collaboration with Epic History TV, this time on the topic of Napoleon’s first victory, the Siege of Toulon 1973.  

Book Vote Winners

January: X-Planes

We started this year’s voting with an X-Planes vote, which had a stand-out winner. Research Jets of World War II claimed victory with 27% of the vote, beating Parasite Fighters 1910s–1950s, which had 20%.

February: Weapon

February again saw a clear winner, this time in a Weapon vote. The PIAT raced to victory with 27% of the final vote, beating Soviet Machine Guns of World War II, which garnered 24.94%.

March: Duel

March saw a battle of the Duels, with Mi-24 ‘Hind’ vs FIM-92 Stinger (Afghanistan 1980–89) winning out with 33.8% of the vote, a clear victory over the still-popular Ju 87 Stuka vs Royal Navy Carriers (1940–42), which achieved an impressive second-place score of 27.8%.

April: Men-at-Arms

April’s Men-at-Arms vote saw potential additions to our longest-running series go head-to-head. Yugoslav Armies 1941-45 narrowly won out against Iberian Warriors 500–50 BC, gaining 26.47% of the vote against 23.82%.