The Duel series from Osprey Publishing has been expanded to include a volume devoted to the aerial night fighting campaign between the Bf-110 and the Lancaster during WWII.

Most of the previous titles have been devoted to similar classes of airplanes, armor, or ships. However, this title is different in the sense that it’s a fighter versus a bomber (disparate classes of aircraft), and the weapons that changed the tide in their fight were usually technical developments in the field of electronic measures and countermeasures, not a higher rate of fire, better tactics, or improved performance.

Like all the other books in the series, this one has a section devoted to the evolution of airframes, the strategic situation, training, combat, etc. It is illustrated with plenty of period pictures, plus multiple color illustrations which would be welcomed by modelers looking for detailing their builds.

Thank you to the crew at Moebius Models – Frank Winspur, Dave Metzner and Bob Plant – for providing this review kit! The opportunity also wouldn’t be possible without the IPMS Review Corps staff, who graciously allowed me to give this one a try.

This book is number 5 in the Aircraft Pictorial series. The author is well known for his attention to detail and research methodology that brings rare photographs and little known details to light. This book does not disappoint.

This particular volume deals with the early P-40s used by the US, often referred to a “long nosed” due to the look of the nose with the elongated gear box on the Allison engine. The British Tomahawks are not covered but do make a cameo appearance, in a way. How, is due to the fact that the original P-40-CUs had a frequent ground loop problem; 50 sets of Tomahawk wings were diverted from British orders to repair damaged USAAC P-40-CUs, thus creating the P-40G, a hybrid with a P-40-CU fuselage and four-gun British Tomahawk wings.