For those who are interested in aircraft camouflage, this is a book which will definitely pique your interest. Superbly drawn by Jon Freeman, this On Target Special looks at what is probably one of the most interesting periods in British aviation when camouflage is the main point of interest.

Like the late war Luftwaffe, the early war years for the Allied air forces was one of a great deal of change when it comes to camouflage. The changing situation in the war and the need to establish color requirements for the different theaters of operation often resulted in some rather interesting and often unique camouflage schemes.

We all tend to think of Battle of Britain aircraft as being painted the same, but that is definitely not the case. This is especially true when it comes to the underside. The mis-interpretation of the requirements and the lack of available paints resulted in a wide variety of colors being used. This is equally true of aircraft headed to North Africa and for those being used over the oceans.

The author goes into great detail to explain why there were differences in these schemes and the illustrations of Jon Freeman give a good look to the modeler and enthusiast as to what these schemes were. Thanks to the difficulty of interpreting color from monochrome images, there is quite a bit of supposition and uncertainty when it comes to the actual shades in use. As a result, several of the schemes portrayed are as much an educated guess as a hard fact, but all are quite plausible. It is much of what makes camouflage history so much fun and so interesting.

This is a book that no dedicated camouflage and markings enthusiast should be without. It is highly informative and equally highly recommended.

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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