MMP Books seems to be on a campaign to provide camo and markings enthusiasts with a nice line of quality books on those air arms that have not been all that well covered. This one concentrates on Finnish bombers used during the WWII period. Finland was never really big into bombers as were some of the major combatants and basically all of them, as well as most of their other aircraft were either imported or build under license.  Finland also make considerable use of enemy aircraft. These were available mostly from German as part of war booty as well as others recovered from crash sites that were in good enough condition to be refurbished.

Not surprisingly, the source of Finland's bombers can be divided into two distinct sections. Those aircraft acquired prior to mid-1941 came from what would be the Allies, mostly the UK and Holland. This takes in the Fokker C.X, Bristol Blenheim, and the Westland  Lysander as well as the DC-2.

The other batch of planes came from Germany after Finland joined Germany in the fight against the Soviet Union. It is from war booty that the DB-4, Pe-2/3, and SB-2 entered Finnish service. Neither of these was obtained in very large numbers, but enough for a squadron. Germany provided some obsolescent Do-17Z aircraft when it was being removed from Luftaffe service and their most modern bomber, the Ju-88A-4.

Now simply providing camo information would make for a short and fairly dry book, so this series goes well beyond simple camouflage. Sure, we learn of the schemes in which they were delivered and flown until it was time to repaint. We area also provided information on how Finland's main camouflage schemes changed as well as those that were applied for specific purposes and short time. All of this is very nicely documented.

However, a goodly portion of the book covers the missions flown by these planes. This provides a look at how these aircraft were used and how successful they were. Not surprisingly, Finnish crews were highly motivated and were able to obtain very good results despite having small numbers.

A real plus is the Finland had excellent photographers who took large, clear and crisp photos throughout the war. They even used a goodly amount of color film so we are treated with no only these superb images, but  it makes it so much easier for the illustrator to provide quality color profiles. In line with other books in the series, the profiles are based on photos of the aircraft in question.

This is all put together in what is an outstanding reference and inspiration for the modeler. Like other books in this series, I can easily provide my highest recommendation.

July 2018