Featured battle : Spion Kop

Part of The 2nd Boer War (or Three Years War)

Date : 23 January 1900 - 24 January 1900

A badly managed and bloody battle over the hill of Spion Kop when Buller made another attempt to cross the Tugela. The British forces under Woodgate stormed the slopes and reached a false summit but failed the take the hill fully, failed to dig in and were cut down in the cross-fire from neighbouring hills and counter-attacking Boers. Losses on both sides caused both to believe they were losing and retire in the gathering darkness on the 24th. Only the Boers decided to re-attempt the hill, to find it un-occupied, other than by the dead. The British had lost heavily, and gained nothing.

US Military Helicopters (Images of War series)

Green, Michael
A treat for anyone who, like me, has a passion for military helicopters, this book is very much what it appears to be, 220 pages full of useful pictures and information on the US Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps's rotor-based aircraft.

The book is split into 4 main chapters, covering early piston-engined helicopters, later gas-turbine workhorses (like the iconic UH-1 'Huey'), Gunships, and finally, well, everything else! Each chapter starts with a short, utilitarian description of the models covered in that chapter along with their capabilities, dates of service and developments. Then you're into the photos, at least three per double page along with captions that also contain plenty of useful detail. Some are images that you may recognise if you're familiar with the type or theatre of operations mentioned, but there are a good number I've never seen before and the coverage is good, from the earliest R-4B's, through Huey's, Piasecki's, Chinook's, UH-60's, Cobra's and Apaches, to even the V-22 Osprey (tilt-rotor) and the UH-72A Lakota. Reading cover to cover, or just dipping in, for recognition, modelling or simply interest, a great book to have to hand.
Pen & Sword Aviation, Barnsley, 2017