A big “thanks” to the distributors Casemate Publishing for providing IPMS USA this compact encyclopedia of the first fully-supersonic fighter in Europe with the United States Air Force. We fully appreciate your support!

This book is not to be overlooked by anyone who has even a fleeting interest in “Hun” operations in Europe. It is a definitive work in that the time period addressed was one of Cold war operations before USAFE congealed into the large force on the continent and UK most of those associate with the 1970-90 time period. Libya was a major training location for F-100 operations, and as the aircraft were phased out to be replaced with more modern tools of aerial warfare, so too were the continually changing political fields of potential conflict.

Composed of 12 chapters dealing with operation and mission of the F-100 in all its guises, a balance is obtained between first-person operators of the aircraft, and generous color and black and white images of the subject aircraft in the USAFE environment.

Included are chapters on the three RF-100 purpose-built reconnaissance aircraft and their missions, including those involving perilous overflight of Soviet-Blok targets before the age of the vaunted U-2, SR-71, and later satellites. Several photos of the modified aircraft and their sensor arrays are clearly provided in the book.

Operations on Nuclear alert is copious and detailed; additional reference photos of the weapons themselves is provided to clarify the use and delivery of the weapons on these ostensibly “one-way” missions…thankfully never realized.

The time with the Skyblazers, operations with NATO partners, and images of their aircraft are addressed.

Overall I was duly impressed with the book. It’s a great modeling resource for the subject, and highly recommended for the content and images. The read itself takes you into the mind of the crewmembers, with anecdotes and period remembrance of all the events of the late 1950’s. Walter Brand’s music about Fighter pilots and Sidi Slamaine was going through my head as I read about Libya’s gunnery range… (if you are unaware (and over 18) these classics of Air Force music are a must listen if you can find them).Every Man a Tiger…

Thanks again to Fonthill Media and Casemate Publishers for supplying us this book; IPMS USA appreciates your support, and I was fortunate to have received this copy!