AIRfile’s Operation Overlord provides a detailed description of the “Distinctive Markings” carried by Allied aircraft in Northwestern Europe. Volume One is dedicated to RAF and Commonwealth aircraft, with USAAF machines to be covered in a later volume.

The production and research quality of this book is first-rate. Stiff card covers enclose over 70 glossy pages printed on thick stock. Full-color profiles are present on almost every page.

The first section of this book covers those “Distinctive Markings” carried by RAF aircraft during the portion of the War prior to the invasion of Europe. The specific markings carried by British aircraft are described and illustrated. General RAF markings practice (such as the ½-black undersides used for recognition from the ground) is covered. Also, of particular interest, markings relating to specific aircraft such as the Typhoon and Mustang are shown.

Zenith Press has just put out a book on the F-117 stealth fighter. It is written by Lt. Col. William B. O’Connor and is about a year in the life of an F-117 pilot. It starts out with the author’s flying career and then gets into the development of the F-117 and eventually the air war over Kosovo.

I really enjoyed reading this book because I like the first person, I-was-there type of book. The author does a great job of explaining how stealth technology came about and how it works, in a language that is easy for a non-pilot to understand. You almost feel like you are flying on a mission with him. I also liked how he talked about the flying community and their rituals when they finally get qualified in a particular aircraft. You also get a little taste of the politics on how promotions work in the Air Force. All in all, a very enjoyable read.

Thanks to Zenith Press and IPMS USA for allowing me to review this book.

This is the second book I have reviewed for IPMS that is entirely in Japanese. This time it is on the Ferrari F1 cars made by Tamiya and Fujimi.

I have several Ferrari models at home and thought this would be a nice companion guide to some of my older Ferrari books. This guide covers several Tamiya models and, from what I can tell, a Fujimi and possibly a Hasegawa F1 Ferrari. Like I said, the fact it is missing subtitles is a bit of a hindrance. It does show a bunch of neat tricks, though, that I would not have normally thought of. There are painting tips, wiring tips, and wheel tips. The pictures go into great detail, which helps. You don’t need to read Japanese if you follow the pictures.

The September issue of Model Art Modeling Magazine is just another fine example of this publication. The text may be in Japanese, but the pictures clearly tell the story. All this time, people have told me that all I had to do was get a book that had plenty of pictures and I would be set. Well, I may have found my book!

This issue starts out with an article about the IJN Aircraft Carrier Akagi, and if it had survived to 1944, what she may have looked like. We all know that she met her demise in the Battle of Midway in 1942. The modeler (Yamauchi Takashi) used the Hasegawa 1/350th scale model and converted it. All I can say is -- wow! This model is amazing.

The next article is dealing with 1/700th scale model kits of IJN large aircraft carriers. The carriers shown are the Akagi, Kaga, Syokaku, Zuikaku, Tahio and Shinano. There are thirteen pages that review the different kits of each of these carriers.

Osprey Publishing is without a doubt one of the most prolific publishers of military history on the face of the planet. Whether you build models, teach history, or are an armchair historian, Osprey has something for you. This new release is part of their Elite series which tend to focus on particular units or armies. This title has a tight focus – the US Cavalry Groups that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War Two. The author makes it clear at the beginning of the book that this title provides a focus on the thirteen cavalry groups that fought in the ETO. The coverage does not include the two that served in Italy or Southern France or remained in the states.