Hi Troops:
If you are into modeling W.W.II aircraft in the European Theater this will be of interest. Classic Publications have released the first 2 of a 3 book set titled: "2nd Tactical Air Force" by Christopher Shore and Chris Thomas. So far we have: Vol.1, Spartan to Normandy, ISBN 1-903223-40-7 Vol.2, Breakout to Bodenplatte, ISBN 1-903223-41-5
2nd Tactical Air Force was the British equivalent to the U.S.' 9th Air Force, it was the expeditionary force that would move to the continent after the Normandy Invasion to give direct support to the British Armies. U.S. cover price is $55, but boy what a wealth of goodies. There are about 190 pages in each volume with loads of photographs and many color profiles. It gives a very good day by day account of operations, victories and losses, and short biographies of many of the personalities involved and their personal aircraft. I didn't realize just how big a part the Mustang in all it's variations played in this part of the war but it was very involved and casualties were high. Casualties were also high in the Typhoon squadrons, considering the altitudes where they worked, I guess that was to be expected. If you are into late war Spitfires, Mustangs, Typhoon, Mitchells, Mosquitos, Bostons and even a few Hurricanes, this book is for you. I always thought of the Hurricane IID/IV as being used in the Desert but they served in Europe too using those 40 mm cannon and rockets against German shipping and the V-1 sites until high losses made replacement with Typhoons un-avoidable.Bill Shuey