I have grown to really love the few books from the On Target series that I've reviewed just because I really like profile books. To me, the colors and markings on an aircraft are really what draws me to the subject. Sure, like most of us, I have my favorite airplanes, but if they were all painted the same, the interest would really be gone.

Fortunately for all of us, warplanes have not all been painted the same and even while some are quite similar in scheme, there are always differences between them as well as some interesting specials. Otherwise F-15s and F-16s would be deadly dull!

An aircraft which has NEVER been dull to me is the Canberra. It is just one of the world's classic aircraft. Some planes just look right and the Canberra, with its most unusual circular canopy is one of them. First flying in 1949, it is still in service (at least I think so) with the RAF, unless they very recently disbanded 1 PRU.

This edition covers all the bomber versions in RAF service, leaving foreign types and the interdictors  for a second volume.  When thinking of Canberras, most will probably think of the green/grey camo, but the type started off in a nice blue and ended in hemp with grey over black, silver, raspberry ripple and others in between.

Superbly drawn, there are a staggering 84 profiles and 21 four views, covering just about every unit that flew the type. I didn't see any that were missed. Profiles are carefully researched and taken from photos in other publications or private collections. Each profile has a reference so that the reader may be able to glean additional information.

This is the perfect book for the modeler, the color enthusiast or those who just like very nice profiles with some aircraft history tossed in. Of course there will be decals coming and I do hope that some of these find their way into my mailbox so that I can give them a try on an Airfix Canberra I've been hoarding!

Needless to say, it is a book that I most highly recommend, along with others in this series.

July 2005

Review sample courtesy of Jon Freeman. This book can be found at www.theaviationworkshop.co.uk and at quality book sellers worldwide.

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