By 1943, the US Navy had committed itself to an ambitious carrier building program, including not only the full-size Essex class carriers, but also a lot more smaller escort/jeep carriers. The escort carriers were envisioned to be equipped with a composite squadron comprised of Wildcat fighters and Avenger torpedo aircraft. As Grumman had ceased building both types of aircraft in order to concentrate on building F6F Hellcats, license production of Wildcats was transferred to General Motors, resulting in the FM-1 and FM-2 aircraft. The FM-1 was essentially a four gun F4F-4 Wildcat, while the FM-2 featured a more powerful engine, resulting in more engine torque necessitating the installation of a taller vertical tail on the FM-2 (which is accurately depicted on the FM-2 kit).

The country of Suriname is located on the northeast coast of South America, bordered by Guyana in the west, Brazil to the south, Guyana in the east and Atlantic Ocean to the north, located slightly north of the equator. Suriname is a country of rich natural resources, and the south is sparsely populated with dense rainforests and savannah. The highest peak is 1,280 meters above sea level. Its history dates to the first Arawaks in 7,000-8,000 BC. The Caribs, another Amerindian tribe, invaded in 1,100 AD and drove the Arawaks from their settlements. The war was still ongoing when the first European settlers arrived with the Dutch in 1613. The British and Dutch fought two wars, the result of which was the Treat of Breda in 1667 was the Dutch got to keep Suriname, and the British kept the former Dutch Colony of New Holland. The British renamed it New York.

This is the 20th book in the Airframe and Miniature Series. This book covers the Lancaster and its predecessor the Manchester. This is part one of a series on the Lancaster and covers the Wartime Service. These books cover the development of the Aircraft, detailed walk around pictures, profiles and covers model kits and accessories to build them.

I found this book a fountain of information and rare pictures of the development of the Lancaster and the Manchester. The Profile pictures are a particular favorite and awesome source for modelling. Also, the in-detail section covering the interior etc. is perfect for the Border Models 1/32 scale kit.

The chapter on the different model builds and kits are of great interest and will provide a good resource when modelling these two tanks.