S u m m a r y |
Title and Author, Price and Publisher: |
Kagero Monographs No.40
Curtiss P-40 Operational Record Volume II
by Krzysztof Janowicz
£19.99 available online from Casemate UK |
Media: |
Soft Cover; 295 x 210mm 116 pages pages 117 b/w Photos, 18 profiles, 24 sheets ;ISBN: 978-83-61220-18-3 |
Review Type: |
First Read |
Advantages: |
First-rate profiles; abundant photos; good variety of users. |
Disadvantages: |
Some fuzzy photo reproduction |
Conclusion: |
The book provides you with an easily read narrative as well as a potted history of the P-40 in the Pacific theatre. It will appeal more to the history buff than the modeller. |
Reviewed by Rodger Kelly
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Number 40 in Kagero's Monographs series, this book is Part II of their coverage of the operational record of the Curtiss P-40.
This volume on the operational history relates the use of the P-40 in the Pacific Theatre from 1941 through to 1945 with a brief mention of its use by the Dutch Netherlands East Indies 320 Squadron to 1948.
Coverage includes:
- The Early Pacific War encounters in the Philippines.
- The air war over Darwin and the 49th Fighter Group.
- The early New Guinea campaigns and the use by the United States Army Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force.
- The Solomon Islands and Rabaul campaigns. The Royal New Zealand Air Force.
- The China Burma-India campaigns
- The 1943 breakthrough in the New Guinea campaign and the entry of the P-40N.
- The final New Guinea drives. The Dutch Netherlands East Indies Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force.
Unusually for a Kagero Monograph book the entire text is the English language.
The book is illustrated throughout with period black and white photographs. Having said that, the quality is somewhat questionable with the vast majority being somewhat fuzzy but then again it would be hard to better what is provided.
There are also nine pages of colour profiles (by Janusz ?wialo?), both side profiles and upper and lower surface plan views. The artwork on these is really first rate and I was especially impressed to see two Royal Australian Air Force machines as well as a Netherlands East Indies Air Force machine amongst them.
Previous issues in the Kagero Monographs range have included a decal sheet that provides you with markings for at least three aircraft. Unfortunately, there is no decal sheet with this edition but you do get a mask set that provides canopy masks and “star on a blue circle background” in both 1/48 and 1/32 scale instead.
There are also a whopping 24 sheets of line drawings, in both 1/72 and 1/48 scale. Oddly, though, seeing that the text is dealing with the Tomahawk, -E, -K and –N series of the
P-40 the drawings cover the –F through –L series only.
The book is A4 in size and consists of 116 pages of text printed on semi-gloss paper between cardboard covers.
All up, the book provides you with an easily read narrative as well as a potted history of the P-40 in the Pacific theatre. It will appeal more to the historian rather than the modeller.
Thanks to Casemate UK for the samples.
Review Copyright © 2010 by Rodger Kelly
This Page Created on 6 April, 2010
Last updated
13 April, 2010
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