When I first started reading this series several years ago, I was hooked. The books not only concentrate on my favorite theater of WWII, but also covers the aircraft that operated there in the way that I really appreciate. By focusing on colors and markings as much as the units that flew the planes, I could see that this would be a real boon to modelers. I am actually fairly surprised that no aspiring decal maker has not used these books as a basis for their sheets as I'm sure they would sell well. Perhaps contacting the author would be something useful.

In any case, this edition concentrates on the aircraft that fought in the fairly short Netherlands East Indies campaign. This not only means the Dutch Air Force and Navy, but also British, Australian, and American Army and Navy. The Dutch in particular were hampered by not having the most modern aircraft available and while there were pilots who made the best of their equipment, most was either obsolete by late 1941 standards or pretty close to it. As with the French in 1940, attempts were made to modernize their forces with aircraft from the UK or the US, but they were simply not available fast enough or in numbers sufficient to really help.

While most of the aircraft were lost in combat, enough survived to escape to Australia where the remnants were formed into units that continued to fight against the Japanese until the end of the Pacific war. Those units were then used to fight against insurgents post war and when Indonesia came into being, that equipment was turned over to the new nation. But the latter is for another story.

The book follows a standard format with each of the various units covered in greater or lesser detail, depending on how long they operated the aircraft. Each section shows the aircraft's common markings and colors along with a number of great photos and profiles based on photos. Each full color profile provides information on that particular aircraft. This is where much of the information is derived. No lengthy pilot stories or background history on this as it concentrates on the aircraft and units involved in the conflict. In addition to photos and profiles, you are provided an introductory section on the theater of operations as well as some nice art work, the latter spread throughout the book.

It all makes for a superb reference book for the modeler and enthusiast and well worth the price of admission. I very much like this series and look forward to each new volume. Most highly recommended.

October 2025

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