Once again, extreme appreciation and thanks to Ross at SAC for sending us another of your expansive line of metal landing gear, and thanks also to IPMS USA leadership for sending it to me.

And a special note on SAC customer service: Ross’ manufacturing team noted they had some “short shots” on their nose gear, whereby the axle itself was missing on one side. Ross offers a replacement to anyone who purchased the set with this minor defect, free of charge. GREAT service! This review set was one of those, and I noted it only when I opened the package.

The Mk. 82 is a 500 lb. general purpose bomb used extensively by the United States and its allies since the 1960s. The Mk. 82 is the smallest bomb in the Mk. 80 family of weapons, but it also the size most commonly used. The bomb can be fitted with either low-drag or high-drag tail assemblies and can be configured as a laser guided bomb with the appropriate guidance and tail fins.

This book covers the British/Canadian offensive to close the Falaise Pocket. After D-Day, the Allies were in a pocket surrounded by German troops and the ocean, and pretty much stuck in Normandy. The Wehrmacht, thinking the British forces in the north part of the pocket to be more likely to go on the offensive, moved their spare forces north to block a breakout.

The Allies were planning dual offenses in late July, having brought reinforcements in across the beaches and through the ports they held. Bad weather postponed these until Operation Cobra, the attack by the Americans in the south began. Cobra effectively destroyed the German defenses in the south, but left the center and northern forces intact.

The armored force continued to advance, and began to encircle the German forces opposite the center.