Often overlooked in historical accounts of U.S fighter operations during World War II, the 57^th Fighter Group (FG) served with distinction during nearly three years of continuous combat in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Activated in January 1941, the then 57th Pursuit Group deployed to North Africa in July 1942, launching their Curtiss P-40 Warhawks from the deck of the U.S.S Ranger, and in the process, becoming the first U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) unit to deploy in group strength from the deck of an aircraft carrier. The 57^th FG joined the British in “The Blue,” Royal Air Force Desert Air Force slang for the North African desert stretching west of Cairo, earning the distinction of being the first USAAF to fight in North Africa.

New from Squadron/Signal Books USA is the B-25 Mitchell in Action by David Doyle. Very possibly the most significant twin engine bomber of WWII is beautifully showcased in this new “in action” series book.

72 pages with artwork by Don Greer, this publication contains more than 200 photos (80 of them in full color), most of them original period photographs. This aircraft is covered in detail by taking it from the North American Aviation Prototype (NA 40) to the final production run of the B-25J, in use for some time after the close of the war. USN and USMC versions (PBJ series) are also well covered within, as are B-25’s in Foreign Service used by Allied Air Forces at that time. Also contained are several color profiles of the B-25.

I recently built the Hasegawa 1/72 T-2 for a detail set review. I ran into a large problem. The decals in my T-2 were many years old, had yellowed, and I didn’t want to do the Blue Impulse plane anyway. I went to my bookshelf, and I had only two references to the T-2, and one of them was for the Blue Impulse. I found a photograph of an aggressor which I used, but this book would have been a super reference, and saved me a lot of trouble.

The text is Japanese, but by golly the profiles, photographs and 1/48 scale drawing all translate nicely into whatever language you use, and there are 4 pages of English translation in the back of the book. It’s the history of the T-2/F-1 and assigned units, which covers pages 10-18.

Introduction

Just when you thought that everything had already been published on the subject of the Focke Wulf FW-190, along comes another book that destroys that theory. This is Volume 2 of a set of books on the FW-190’s that were captured by various Allied countries during and after World War II, and concentrates on the colors and markings rather than their ultimate histories, although some individual aircraft histories are provided. Volume 1 included aircraft captured by the British and Americans, as they obtained most of the FW-190’s in the West. Volume 2 covers those FW-190’s collected and/or used by the Soviet Union, South Africa, Yugoslavia, Japan, Romania, Hungary, Spain, Turkey, France, Sweden, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Photos illustrate the aircraft not only in their Luftwaffe markings, but often in the markings of the air forces testing or operating them.

Contents:

• Protecting the Motherland’s Airspace – modeling a 1/48 Chinese MiG-19s
• Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.1 – building and detailing a 1/48 Classic Airframes kit
• Vickers Wellington Mk.X Coastal Command – building and detailing the Trumpeter 1/48 kit
• Scale Modelworld 2010 – photo feature
• Fw 189A-2 – building the new Great Wall Hobby 1/48 kit
• Air Born – New Product/Publication Releases
• B-17G – building Revell of Germany’s 1/72 kit

This publication has become a premier showplace for some wonderful model aircraft. The publication’s cover banner “SHOWCASING THE VERY BEST IN SCALE AIRCRAFT MODELLING” is an accurate promise. Everything David Goudie said in his review of Issue Number 32 can be said of Issue Number 34. It is Quality…I’d go so far to declare it as High Quality.