Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)There's more than a few books about the Aussie Defence Forces that cover individual units, specific operations or a specific subject such as a ship, a weapons platform, etc. These are mostly published by small publishers or self-published in limited numbers and the standard of the content varies widely, from poor to excellent to truely authoritative. "Australian Airborne: The History and Insignia of Australian Military Parachuting" falls readily into this latter category and is a truely excellent and authoritative piece of work. The author, John O'Connor, although having no military experience himself, has collected and researched military awards and medals awarded to Australians for over 25 years. His previous book in a similar genre was "Shooting Awards and Prize Medals to Australian Military Forces 1860-2000," published in 2002, and cited by the Australian War Memorial on its website as an authorative reference. "Australian Airborne" was self-published by the author, and given the high standard of the book, both in layout, prsentation and content, he's done an excellent job - it's rich in content, detailed, very well illustrated, well-written (as in it reads well and holds your attention, it's not at all boring) and if you're interested in the subject it's quite fascinating.
To summarize this book: Australian Airborne includes a brief history of all Australian defence force units that have ever been involved with parachuting for military purposes, starting with 1920s experiments in the RAAF. It then moves on to World War II and a gives a good account of the training of the Australian Parachute Battalion, which despite all the preparations and planning never got the opportunity to deploy by parachute operationally, although it did help garrison Singapore at war's end. Also included is the story of the battery of the 2/4th Field Regiment whose gunners, with minimal (and in at least one case no) ground training and no previous jumps, volunteered and jumped with US Army paratroops to capture Nadzab in New Guinea in 1943. The World War II accounts conclude with a good summary of the Special Reconnaissance Department (Z-Special Force) patrols infiltrated by parachute into Japanese-controlled Borneo in preparation for the Oboe series of landings by the Australian Army's 7th Division. The book then moves on to the development of the parachute training school through various stages - RAAF, RAAF-Army and Army. It also covers the supporting units of riggers, and the air dispatch and parachute-capable units of the last couple of decades: SASR (including RAN elements), 1 Commando Regiment, 4RAR (Commando), D Company 6RAR, 3RAR, and the minor combat support, logistic and medical units that make up the parachute battalion group capability. Even the various sporting parachute associations and clubs in the defence force are covered.
The book also includes a fairly large assortment of photographs showing personnel, incidents, equipment, badges and assorted parachuting equipment as well as detailed lists of military personnel involved in various units and operations. The book also features quite a number of interesting anecdotes and individual accounts of the development of military parachuting in Australia. Material has been researched and sourced from a broad spectrum within the military parachuting community, resulting in what seems to be a generally credible record. Photographs are presented in a high-colour excellent quality format and are well laid out and captioned. The graphic design of the book, while quite professional, makes it look somewhat like a text book, an aspect also heightened by its size, thickness and weight. Putting the `text book' appearance aside, it would make a great "coffee table book" gift for anyone with a real interest in Australia's military past.
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