Pacific Profiles Volume 14 (Paperback)
Allied Bombers: B-25 Mitchell series Australia;New Guinea and the Solomons 1942-1945
Pages: 136
Illustrations: fully illustrated;colour
ISBN: 9780645700473
Published: 15th March 2024
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The Pacific Profiles series presents the most accurate WWII profiles of Allied and Japanese aircraft which served throughout Australia;New Guinea the South Pacific. This Volume 14 covers those B-25;PBJ & F-10 Mitchell models which served in these theatres from March 1942 until the end of the war. Mitchells served a total of 21 USAAF bomber and reconnaissance squadrons;plus others were operated by the USMC;RAAF and NEIAF.
Most profiles are presented for the first time;alongside markings derivations;including squadron heraldry and codes. Until now there has been a paucity of markings material about many of these units. Each profile is supported by photos and/or documentation;along with a brief history of each aircraft. Wide-ranging primary reference material is cited including assignment data;wreck reports;squadron records;colour photography;maintenance logs;diaries and factory markings specifications. A brief summary history of each unit and associated markings rationale accompanies the text.
The author is world-renowned for his expertise on the Pacific air war. Never before have Pacific Mitchells and their colourful markings been illustrated with such breadth;accuracy and detail.
Back to the Allies with this latest book in the series, with bomber, strafer, night fighter and reconnaissance variants spread across 28 chapters. They include US bombardment groups and individual squadrons, along with USMC, RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) and NEIAF (Netherlands East Indies Air Force) plus a few miscellaneous aircraft. At the heart of it are a series of 111 colour artwork profiles, illustrating aircraft from all of the units featured in the book. You get basic background of each unit, and detailed individual captions for each of the aircraft profiles. The aircraft include the glazed nose bomber and reconnaissance versions, along with the solid nosed strafer types. The bulk of the aircraft are in simple Olive Drab upper surfaces, and Light Grey undersides. There are a few exceptions, such as black night fighters, bare-metal finish and US Navy Blue schemes of the USMC aircraft. What will attract many readers will, I think, be the variety of very colourful nose art worn by a number of the units. For example the Purple Bats on the noses of the 499th Bombardment Squadron, Tiger heads for the 823rd Bombardment Squadron, Black Panthers of the 822nd BS and the Green Dragons of the 405th BS and plenty more. The other element to throw into the mix are the many archive photos spread throughout the book, which help illustrate the detail in the text.
Military Model Scene
As ever in this series, there is clearly such a lot of research gone into piecing together all the detail you will find in this one, coupled with the archive photos and the great collection of colour artwork profiles. Good for the aviation historians interested in the Pacific War, while for modellers there is a lot of inspiration to work on a series of model B-25 Mitchells, devoted to this Pacific theatre of operations. Another good addition to this book series, and easy to recommend for modellers especially.