Without a doubt, the most colorful and most modeled American bombers of the Pacific War are those of  345th Bomb Group. The unit was formed in late 1942 and finally entered the theater in mid 1943. There, thanks to the work of an ex-Philippines Airlines pilot, 'Pappy' Gunn and Jack Fox, a North American aviation technician, standard B-25s were turned into gun-toting strafers by adding additional machine guns to the nose and in special gun packs added to the sides of the forward fuselage. This array of weapons chewed up everything in their path and still allowed them to be used as regular bombers should the need arise.

Add to that, some of the most colorful unit markings ever put on a combat aircraft and you can see why the 345th is such a hit with model makers and airplane enthusiasts alike.

This volume covers what for many of us is the most interesting period of the 345ths history; from inception up to the end of 1943. In terms of combat, less than a year, but this was a time when the Japanese were still strong and targets were plentiful.

In line with other Kagero books, this one is a dual Polish/English publication. This one seems to have had proof-reading done by someone who speaks English as their main language as I found none of the rather odd sentence structure that one runs across in earlier editions. There are plenty of photographs to accompany the book and while most were familiar to me, there were some new ones. The authors have also included some 'this is what the planes look like today' images of hulks left out in the field.

In line with other Kagero books, there are some excellent profiles of the unit's B-25C/D aircraft. There is also a chart in the back of all known aircraft of the 345 BG along with their serials, names, and squadron allocation. I had hoped for some nose art decals to be included in this book, but instead, Kagero has decided that I'd rather have a catalogue of their books.

Though not to the same in-depth standard as 'Warpath Across the Pacific', which many of us consider the definitive history of the unit, this one gives a good account and is one that really should be on your shelves.

February, 2005

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