This is the second volume of the Belgian Military Forces in Belgium. The first book, “Belgian Military Forces in the Congo, Volume 1: The Force Publique, 1885-1960”, covered the events of Belgium’s 75 years in their Congo colony, leading to the official withdrawal of Belgian forces. Volume 2 picks up in 1964 after the newly independent Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa’s (later renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo-DRC) brief, bright future was overcome with internal factions, and the independence movement spreading through Africa (with several backed by Marxist forces). While Belgium wanted to remain hands-off, it quickly became apparent that they needed to step in to protect Belgian and Congolese interests.

History

The Ki-84 Hayate (Code name Frank) was born in early 1942 as a replacement for the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa (Oscar). The first flight was in March 1943 with the first deliveries were made in April. The Ki-84 was a fast (427 mph), highly maneuverable, heavily armed (Two 20 mm & two 12.7 mm or four 20 mm OR two 20 mm & two 30 mm guns) and armored (armor protecting the pilot and self sealing fuel tanks) fighter. In the hands of a capable pilot it could hold it’s own against any allied fighter. It’s first combat was in the skies over China with it’s first major operational involvement being the Battle of Leyte in 1944. Around 3500 were eventually built and even though it was designed as a fighter it also performed the duties of a fighter bomber and Kamikaze.

Ian Baxter is a prolific author and has an impressive collection of photographs, many previously unpublished. The book follows the familiar Images of War format with brief introductions for each chapter followed by a lot of photographs to tell the story. The German war machine attracted followers from conquered countries. This book focuses on Belgian, Danish, and Dutch volunteers drawn to the Waffen-SS and their respective major formations and battles, including the 1944 Battle of Narva (2 February -10 August 1944) that also earned the nickname “The Battle of the European SS”. These combined units fought to the end in the Kurland Pocket, with only some evacuated by sea, while others fought in the Battle for Berlin in April 1945.

Historical Background

The Henschel HS-126 was a parasol wing single engine army cooperation aircraft developed for the Luftwaffe early in 1937. At the beginning, problems were experienced with the engines, and some changes had to be made, but the first production model, HS-126A-1 came into service in 1938. Soon, an upgraded model, the HS-126B-1 came into use, and that became the standard production model. A tropicalized version, HS-126B-1 Trop. , appeared in 1940, and an export model, Hs 126K-6 was sold to Greece early in the war.

The type suffered badly during the Battle of France in 1940 resulted in the end of mass production, and the type was replaced by the twin engine Focke Wulf FW-189. The type continued in use for several years thereafter.

Listed as the first in their “Brave Ukraine” series, this is a small diorama set with four figures servicing an indigenous Stugna-P antitank missile system. The Stugna-P is essentially the equivalent of the U.S. TOW missile system and was developed around 2010 and is effective against most forms of armor (including reactive) up to about 160 feet. It can fire two different calibers of missile – 130mm and 152mm, both of which can also be supplied in high explosive or fragmentation format for use against infantry. It’s also effective during night operations, which must make it a major headache for Russian forces, who normally are not well equipped for night combat. The version supplied in the kit appears to be the 130mm version, although I could be mistaken.