This book is number 13 in the Classic Warbirds softcover series. As the title From D-Day to Berlin indicates, it covers the European Theater from mid 1944 to the post-war occupation. It is basically a reprint of book No. 5 – From D-Day to Victory! Fighters in Europe 1944-'45 with some added material.

The book is formatted into nine chapters covering various aspects of the air war as described by the individuals involved at the time. While most of the material involves New Zealand and Australian personnel, their stories are just as exciting as any others. Many of these stories are told in the first person, which makes for exciting reading.

Beginning the book is the Chapter called D-Day Gun Spotters. Some other chapters address Spitfire squadrons, night fighters, Tempest squadrons, attacking the V-2 bases, reconnaissance, and anti-shipping missions. The material is very will written and flows well. There are 112 B&W period photographs and three line art illustrations to supplement the stories. In addition, there are eight pages of color profiles and/or plan views of the planes flown during this time. Without listing all the aircraft found in this book, suffice it to say that most of the commonly flown English fighter types and a few of the American fighter types are present. What you will not find are any of the bomber types.

The personal stories and aircraft profiles presented by Malcolm Laird will provide the modeler a wealth of material. The pilots’ stories are small gems of history the aviation enthusiasts will find extremely interesting. After going through this book cover to cover, I cannot help but give it two thumbs up.

Thanks to Mushroom Models Publications for submitting this book to IPMS/USA and to them for allowing me to review it.