Airborne!
When one thinks of WW II Airborne forces and operations, a number of mental pictures tend to form. German Fallschirmjäger at Crete, the American 82nd and 101st at Normandy, the British Red Devils at Arnhem.
What does not come immediately to mind is the subject of the far East and airborne operations in that theatre of operations.
Osprey definitely filled a niche, albeit a thin one with this volume.
‘Have to pass the kudos to authors Gordon Rottman and Akira Takizawa; not only did they effectively address a largely untapped subject, they gave the English-reading world a useful book thereon. ‘Good thing, as the subject’s narrow scope makes it likely, this book is probably going to be the only common resource on an obscure unit. Note: most of the book’s period photos are grainy and of nasty quality. To that, this reviewer says, ‘tough!’ They are in all likelihood THE best of the few available and have most have never been seen before. Look deeply into them feel the ominous spirit of other times and places.
Illustrators Mike Chappell and Adam Hook provide the art, good-oh. Familiar-format Osprey center colour illustrations are well done in two visibly different artistic styles; translucent watercolour types for the uniform plates and high-contrast, bright colour-values ones of the equipment and insignia. Interestingly, the covers are in more intense-hue-colour, though their subjects are done as subdued in the book. Due its narrow subject matter, the 14 uniform plates cover the scope better than other books with wider subject bases. These guys have excellent command of their medium, it’s good stuff.
While German, British and American Airborne operations are remembered for grande’, even multiple-division scale, the Japanese conducted only four paratroop operations and one air landing (crash-landing bombers full of raiders on Okinawa) from very late 1941 through mid-1945. All of these were in substantially less than what Europeans or Americans would call battalion strength.
Teasers! A couple of interesting bits expounded upon in the volume:
· The Imperial Army and Navy each had their own paratroops, with little cooperation between services except some sharing of equipment.
· One of the officers photographed is captioned as having been executed (in 1948) for atrocities committed.
· The Army jump smock is modeled on that of the Fallschirmjäger
· Drop aircraft…Kawasaki KI-56 ‘Thalia’ modeled on the Lockheed 18 Lodestar, Tachikawa Type LO “Thelma” modeled on Lockheed 14 Super Electra, Nakajima “Thora” was derived from the Douglas DC-2.
· Trainees clandestinely dressed as students got their first ‘drops’ at a 165 foot Tokyo amusement park parachute ‘ride.’
Modelers, you are largely poo-out-of-luck on this one if you are thinking out-of-the-box. Figures of Japanese subjects in WW II are rare enough. ‘Cannot ever remember seeing one of an IJA or IJN paratrooper or glider-borne soldier. Tamiya makes a 1/35 set of four figures and there is a reissue of the excellent Airfix Multipose 6-figure set in 1/32 (54mm), either of which can serve as starting points. As the Empire devoted relatively little specific effort to their airborne, a figure of one of these guys will probably get noticed at a model show. Airplanely-speaking, though, a G4M ‘Betty’ converted to a G6M1-L2 or G3M converted to a “Tina” transport may spice up the category in large twin-engined prop, eh?
Surprisingly highly recommended, for kinda goofy reasons. One: Due to the narrow scope of the subject and minimal operations conducted, this is in all likelihood the only comprehensive volume one is likely to find on a rather obscure subject. Two: This book, by its narrow subject matter, may not be in print long, and then we will be whining when we can’t find it. Three: The tome is competently written and illustrated, period. There was symbiosis between the two authors and two illustrators.
September 2005
Available in bookstores and hobbystores, everywhere, through Osprey Direct (866 620 6941; info@ospreydirectUSA.com) or at http://www.ospreypublishing.com/.
Reviewed by James Hood
(author site updated) see Scott Van Aken's m2 and other reviews of James Hood's novel Adventure--Into The Neverland, of exploring a parallel, Alternate world (concept based on the Superstring theory of physics) using WW II surplus ships, aircraft and vehicles at:) <http://users3.ev1.net/~bjmonkeyandcj/James_Hood.htm>
Book can be ordered at <http://www.authorhouse.com/BookStore/SearchCatalog.aspx> or from your local bookstore (ISBN 0-7596-9062-6 Hardbound or ISBN-0-7596-2646-4 Softcover)
M2 Book review # (34) 20050913