Just arrived is another fine book from Mushroom Model Publications, this one in their 'blue' series and covering the history of 304 Sq (Polish) RAF. This particular unit was formed in 1940 from the remnants of two Polish squadrons whose members fled the advancing Germans in 1939. Initially flying Battle trainers in order to get up to doing things the RAF way, they formed into 304 Squadron, flying Vickers Wellington bombers with Bomber Command. Though suffering rather high losses in their initial ops, they continued in this way until 1942 when they were switched over to Coastal Command.

Still with the Wellington, only this time in different colors, they were successful in this role and stayed with Coastal Command until the end of the war. At that time, 304 Sq transitioned into Warwick and Halifax transports, switching over to Transport Command until disbanding in December 1946.

The book is superbly written and has a goodly number of period photos of the crews and aircraft. There are the usual 'I was there' stories and incidents taken from the squadron's history. It all makes for an excellent read.

Like others in this series, there are a number of appendices including crew rosters, aircraft lost, and squadron organization. There are also a number of excellent profiles of the various aircraft flown by 304 Sq during their operational history.

In all, another superb book from the folks at Mushroom Models and one you will enjoy reading.

December 2005

Please visit Mushroom Models Publications at their website listed below if you cannot find them locally. In the US, you can find these at www.squadron.com

Many thanks to Mushroom Model Publications for providing the review copy.

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