B-17s didn’t just serve in the European Theater but began the war under the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines on 7 and 8 December, respectively due to the international date line. The Flying Fortress served on the front line as bombers from December 1941 through late 1943 before transitioning to B-24D Liberators. Flying Fortresses continued to serve throughout the war as transports and commander/VIP transports. This book does a tremendous job of telling the important role B-17s served in the Pacific Theater.

The author does a fantastic job of highlighting the various models (B-17D, E and F), their evolution in fighting, markings, paint schemes, missions and histories of the bombers, squadrons, groups and conditions in New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Australia. A lot of early Pacific War history focuses on the US Navy, and this book illustrates not only the Army’s participation, but on the important contribution the US Army Air Forces made, particularly in the dark months of late 1941/early 1942.

If you want a non-olive drab over neutral gray, or natural metal B-17, then this book is for you. Not only do you get the standard Boeing Olive Drab/Neutral Gray, there are several unique paint schemes, including: “Hawaii Air Depot” (HAD) Scheme with a five-tone ad hoc paint job using Navy colors, including USN blue grey, light sand, rust brown and foliage green; and two RAF paint schemes (RAF Temperate Sea and Sky and RAF Temperate Land and Deep Sky) from aircraft reclaimed from RAF orders.

The book is a fascinating and remarkable insight into B-17E and F Flying Fortresses and their operations in the South Pacific, Southwest Pacific, and Australian theaters, complete with extensive photographs and color profiles composing the following chapters and appendices:

• Contents
• About the Author
• Map
• Glossary and Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 - Markings and Technical Notes
• Chapter 2 - Bombardment Groups
• Chapter 3 - 14th Reconnaissance Squadron
• Chapter 4 - 23rd Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 5 - 26th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 6 - 28th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 7 - 30th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 8 - 31st Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 9 - 40th Reconnaissance Squadron and 435th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 10 - 42nd Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 11 - 63rd Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 12 - 64th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 13 - 65th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 14 - 72nd Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 15 - 93rd Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 16 - 98th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 17 - 394th Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 18 - 403rd Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 19 - 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron
• Chapter 20 - 431st Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 21 - 2nd Provisional Bombardment Squadron
• Chapter 22 - Commanders’ Transports
• Chapter 23 - Armed Transports
• Sources & Acknowledgements
• Index of Names

Historians and modelers will gain a lot from this book. The photos and color profiles are worth the price of the book alone. The color profile section has great illustrations of all nineteen of the Pacific Theater’s B-17 Flying Fortress squadrons serving under four Bomb Groups (5^th, 11^th, 19^th, 43^rd) and two Air Forces (5^th and 13^th). There is a lot of modeling inspiration within the 124 pages of this book. The Markings and Technical Notes chapter is very impressive with how markings evolved. The big bonus is for modelers wanting unique paint schemes mentioned above and beautifully illustrated in the book. Anyone wanting to model a unique Pacific Theater Flying Fortress will find plenty of examples, including two B-17s flown by Lieutenant Eugene “Gene” Roddenberry, who later created the Star Trek franchise.

Author and illustrator Michael John Claringbould was born and raised in Port Moresby, New Guinea and is a resident of Australia, who served his country as a Foreign Service Officer in the Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia. Fluent in translating Japanese military documents and records, he brings fresh and new perspective to English readers. He has authored numerous books on the air war in the Southwest Pacific and the US Fifth Air Force. Mr Claringbould has authored over 30 books to date; his series includes Pacific Profiles (this is the sixteenth and latest volume), South Pacific Air War (six volumes) and Pacific Adversaries (four volumes) and one of books of air combat in the Pacific. Mr Claringbould’s extensive research and experience continue to fill large gaps in the South Pacific air war knowledge and history.

Profuse thanks to Casemate and IPMS/USA for providing the review sample.