Before the days of night vision goggles and infrared sensors, US bombers needed a system to illuminate the target area before or during bomb release. Introduced in 1942, the M26 parachute flare was designed to do that. Designed to mount onto the same shackles used to secure bombs, this flare system was activated at release by a wire attached to the fuse on the nose. At the pre-set time, the flare would deploy a parachute and a shield that prevented the burning flare from blinding the bombardier. This model of the M26 could burn for up to three and half minutes at a brightness of 800,000 candlepower. There are a number of these empty canisters on eBay for those who collect such things.

Kagero has always had some first-class books with plenty of great reference profiles. This is the seventh in the series of their new series, Camouflage & Decals. This softbound book contains 40 pages of A4 format on high quality paper with profiles and some plan views of numerous airframes. The book is wrapped in a resealable baggie that protects the book and the decals from damage.

MMP was founded in 1996 by Roger Wallsgrove, to publish "Mushroom Model Magazine". This quarterly modelling magazine was developed from "Mushroom Monthly”, a club newsletter which ran from 1985 to 1995, achieving a world-wide reputation for quality articles, fearless and honest reviews, and a great sense of humor. From 1997 the magazine was produced in collaboration with Robert Peczkowski and Artur Juszczak (Stratus), which meant a big leap in print quality and design. MMP expanded into book publication in 1999, and since then they have built up a list of books on aircraft and aviation, naval, military vehicles, and military history. MMP Books are distributed in North America by Casemate Publications.