The RAF Battle
of Britain
Fighter Pilot’s Kitbag
AUTHOR: Mark Hillier
YEAR: 2018
PUBLISHER: Frontline Books (an
imprint of Pen & Sword)
ISBN: 978-1-47384-999-0
FOR M AT: 114 pp PaperbackT
his slim volume is
a comprehensive
examination of
the uniform clothing
and equipment worn by
RAF aircrew in Battle of
Britain period. It covers
those who lew not only
the Spitire and Hurricane,
but also such aircraft as
the Blenheim and Deiant.
The scope also includes
personnel of other air
forces and arms, including
for example the Fleet Air
Arm and the Free Czechs.
The book starts with the
headgear, and works through
various specialist items of
lying kit before looking
at uniforms and insignia,
including the various
aircrew brevets. Included
with the text are numerous
photographs of individual
items of kit, and of aircrew
wearing them, including
such rarely-photographed
items as a Deiant turret
gunner’s “parasuit”.
The book concludes
with a list of references
and a bibliography.
The book sheds a light on a
little-considered aspect of the
Battle of Britain: it will surely
appeal to anyone with an
interest in this era. For igure
modellers, and for aircraft
modellers who add – or would
like to think about adding- a igure to their model it
is an essential reference.
Thanks to Pen & Sword
Book Ltd for the review copy.
MJC
US Piston Transports
SERIES: Military Series
C AT NO: 1078
PUBLISHER: Aero Research Co.
WEB: http://www.AeroResearchCDs.comT
his latest disc from Aero
Research has 151 high-
resolution photos of
US Piston Transport Aircraft,
with the images on this disc
representing 21 diferent types.
Transport types included
on the disc are amongst othersthe C-7, C-47,
C-117, the
twin boomed
C-119 and the
massive C-124.
I’m not sure
how many of
the types on this disc have kits
but certainly there are some
pretty good options for the C-47.
The majority of the images,
90% plus on this one, have neverbeen seen before as they
come from the private
collections of dozens
of photographers.
For ordering
details and to see
the full catalogue visit w w w.
AeroResearchCDs.com , my
thanks to Aero Research for
supplying this disc for review.
TMU-SMexicans at War
Mexican Military Aviation in the Second World War 1941-1945
AUTHOR: Santiago A Flores
YEAR: 2016
PUBLISHER: Helion and Company
ISBN: 978-1-912390-06-9
FOR M AT: 216 pp PaperbackA
part from knowing that
Mexico had, and still has,
an air arm, I must confess
to knowing very little about the
subject. This book, number 9 in the
Latin America at War series, has
made me somewhat better informed
about the part played in World War
II by the third largest (in terms of
size) country in Latin America.
Mexico’s military air arm goes
back to 1915, and the opening chapter
sets the scene by relating the history
up to 1941. Subsequent chapters
cover such subjects as Mexico’s
defence of its coast against U-boat
attacks; Mexican volunteers in the
USAAF, RAF and RCAF, including OlgaGreenlaw, a Mexican-born woman
who was in charge of the operational
diary of the famed American
Volunteer Group; the “Mexico Spitire
Fund”, started by the British Consul
in Mexico City, which raised money
for four Mk Vbs; the development of
the Air Force; the establishment of
Naval Aviation; training in the USA,
and the establishment of a Mexican
ighter squadron within the USAAF;
and participation in the liberation
of the Philippines. After the main
text, several appendices cover such
as the combat record of the 201st
Mexican Fighter Squadron, or aircraft
assigned to the GPA (training group)
in Idaho and Texas. Finally, there is
a bibliography, acknowledgements,
and a short “about the author”.
The well-written text is supported
by a good selection of contemporary
photographs; and a number of colourproiles of aircraft and details, such
as unit badges, by Luca Canossa.
This book will appeal to the
historian and the modeller; for
the latter it should also prove a
signiicant source of inspiration. I
found it very interesting, I certainly
learnt a great deal, and have no
hesitation in recommending it.
Thanks to Helion and Company
Ltd for the review copy.
MJCMDF 34
The McDonnell Douglas Hornet
F/A-18A/B/C/D and International Versions
A Comprehensive Guide
AUTHOR: Andy Evans
YEAR: 2019
PUBLISHER: SAM Publications
ISBN: 978-1-9996616-7-0
FOR M AT: 192pp SoftbackT
he Dataile series from SAM
Publications just keeps on
growing, this latest title is
dedicated to the F/A-18 Hornet. The
title follows the format we have
come to expect from this series. The
book opens with a glossary of terms,
which I must confess I found very
useful, before going on to look at
the design and development of the
Hornet. The next two chapters take
a look at the early and late versions
entering service and the late model
Hornets at war. Chapter 4 covers
the many international users of
the type. I knew about some ofthe overseas users, but I certainly
didn’t know that Finland operated
the Hornet. There are 12 pages of
colour proiles which illustrate all
of the users, including those I was
unaware of. Hopefully this book
will inspire some models which are
not in US or Canadian markings.
No less than eight kit builds are
featured covering models in 1/72,
1/48 and 1/32 scales, from Hobby
Boss, Kinetic and Academy, the
most eye catching being the red
and grey ‘Maple Leaf’ Hornet in
1/48 scale from the Kinetic kit.
The book is rounded of with
the walk round photo section,
extracts from technical manuals,
the Kitography, speciications,
gallery and scale plans!
I get the feeling that the Hornet,due to the imminent release of the
Topgun II ilm, may just get a new
resurgence of interest, I know it’s the
Super Hornet in the trailer, but let’s
face it Hornets are just a bit cool in
whichever version they lew! If you
have a Hornet in your stash you will
deinitely ind this a useful reference.
My thanks to SAM Publications
for supplying this copy for review.
TMU-Sdigital
MEDIA78 SEPTEMBER 2019 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL
BOOKS & MEDIA