Osprey Publishing continues to expand the Aircraft of the Aces series with the installment of Polish Spitfire Aces.

This book is well researched and has plenty of black and white pictures, including several images of aircrafts and their pilots.

The book is divided in the following sections

• Introduction
• Defending Britain
• Hot Summer of 1941
• Against the Fw190s
• Dieppe Landings
• Spitfire IXs
• Mediterranean Adventures
• Tactical Air Force

In each chapter the author combined both historical and tactical situations in the relevant theater of operations in each period. The narrative of specific aerial battles, most of it coming from personal combat reports, sets the framework and makes you feel like you were listening to the pilots. It is actually quite interesting to see that it took several months –and loses- for the RAF and PAF to realize that the Fw-190 was actually superior to the Spitfire MkV.

The way the book is written follows the chronological adventures of different Polish Squadrons and pilots, being very informative while avoiding becoming a dry narrative of Squadrons Numbers and strengths. It is a vivid narrative of the brave Polish pilots fighting in exile. The narrations of ‘Rhubarbs’, ‘Rodeos’, ‘Circuses’ and ‘Ramrods’ are thrilling and exiting. I found very interesting the “Mediterranean Adventure” chapter, following the “Skalski Circus” actions in North Africa.

In addition to the narrative and the B&W pictures, there are 36 beautiful color profiles, most of them in European Colors, but also a few in Mediterranean colors, which I believe are the most beautiful colors for a Spitfire.

This book is not a modelling-reference book, but a nice and interesting reading of the Spitfire in hands of the Polish Pilots during WWII.

Most modelers are also history aficionados, so I would recommend this book to aviation history aficionados and modelers alike.

I would like to thank IPMS/USA and Osprey Publishing for the review sample.