It looks to me like Squadron/Signal Publications is starting a new series with this first book that concentrates on an aircraft type in combat. It is nice that they started with the P-61 Black Widow for a couple of reasons. One is the release of the new Great Wall Hobby P-61A in 1/48 scale. The other is that it is an aircraft that did not have a war-long operational history. I can only begin to think of how large this book would be if it was on the B-17, for instance.

Authored by Warren E Thompson, a writer whose works are among the best there are. I have several of his works and every one is superbly done. This one is no exception. The book provides a background history of the P-61 and its development, the intensity of the training the aircraft and then into combat.

Divided into several sections depending on the theater of operations, the first is the Pacific where the aircraft was sorely needed. Prior to the P-61, night fighting was done with a mixture of A-20s with radar (P-70s), P-38s with searchlights, and even some B-25s. None were fast enough or could fly high enough to be much of threat against fast, high flying Japanese aircraft. The P-61 changed that and was based from Guadalcanal in South to Iwo Jima farther north as the war progressed. The greatest number of successful missions seemed to have been flown from Saipan.

The Black Widow was also active in Europe, where it chased V-1s and took on German night intruders, the Mediterranean where it operated from bases in Italy and the CBI where it flew from both Burmese and Chinese bases. While the aircraft would have been more successful had it entered service earlier, such is the way things went.

Now this is, as the title suggests, the stories of the aircraft in combat and that is the main focus. No detailed look at the airframe, no list of modifications as this book is on the experiences and stories of the crews who flew the aircraft. Each squadron that saw combat in WWII with the Black Widow is covered. Of course, there are the usual mass of well chosen photos of crews and planes, with some very late war images in full color. There are no profiles, which may disappoint some, but you can get those from other sources. The final section is a list of units that flew the plane as well as the number of aircraft confirmed as kills in the various theaters.

Overall, it makes for an excellent book on the Black Widow and her crews that you will find quite engrossing. Highly recommended. 

September 2011

Thanks to Squadron Products for the review copy. Get yours today at your favorite shop or on-line retailer.

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