The Battle of Britain (BOB) brings to mind Spitfires and Hurricanes in swirling dogfights with the Luftwaffe's Messerschmitt's, Dornier's and Heinkel's in the summer skies over England in 1940. One of the lesser-known participants in the battle was the Regia Aeronautica (RA) or the Italian Air Force. In fact, the RA had participated in the invasion of France providing escort to bombing forces until France surrendered. From September to November 1940 the RA stationed two squadrons, the 85^th and 95^th of the 18^th fighter group at Ursel Belgium. Here the CR 42 would prove unsuited to the task. Lacking the performance of modern fighters, the Falco's took a beating at the hands of the RAF. More critical was lack of firepower and the open cockpit that froze pilots operating in the cold air over the English Channel. One of the 95^th squadron aircraft, serial 95-13 was shot down and landed virtually unharmed on English soil.

Mark Walker has released a companion edition to an earlier Veloce Publication: Patina Volkswagens.

[For a through description of that publication, see Bill O'Malley's IPMS/USA review.]

Mr. Walker's latest foray into patina Volkswagens is entitled How To Build A Patina Volkswagen. This companion volume allows for a more through discussion and understanding of this trend (patina finishes) in automotive restoration circles. By exploring all the ends and outs of this trend, Mr. Walker provides the reader with a complete understanding of what is really involved with this trend in automotive restoration, particularly VW's.

History

Frankfurt, Germany-based Das Werk has been busy in the ‘cool and unusual’ department as of late, providing model kits not usually covered by other manufacturers. I was initially attracted to their work by their high-quality boxing and the beautiful artwork that adorned their kits. Not satisfied with the run-of-the-mill subjects, DW continues to stick to its roots of providing interesting and imminently buildable kits for a good price. Their stunning Faun-based truck and trailer offering is the first I’ve seen in injection-molded plastic, and this review specifically covers the lowboy Sonderanhänger (‘special trailer’) 10-ton Sd.Ah.115. The Sd.Ah.115 was a light tank transporter tasked with transporting light tanks and other vehicles such as armored cars. The total weight of the trailer itself was just over 11,000lbs, and it sits about 30 feet long.

This edition in the “Images of War” series offers an overview of the 1st Marine Division operations during the Korean War. The book provides a good description of how the Marines were integrated into missions under the overall command of the US Eighth Army and X Corps under theatre commander Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur (and later, Gen. Matthew Ridgway).

The limited text is arranged chronologically in five chapters:

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey had a checkered development history and near cancellation of the project. However, persistence paid off and this unique and versatile hybrid aircraft has seen great success in the US Marine Corp (MV-22B) and US Airforce (CV-22). It is also being integrated into the US Navy (CMV-22B) to replace the aging Grumman C-2 Greyhound’s, as well as a Presidential (Marine MV-22B – VIP) transport. The only export customer so far is the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (MV-22B). There are several other countries who have or are considering the Osprey.