It could be said that WWII caught the French Air Force somewhat by surprise. In the late 1930s, the air force was in the process of upgrading nearly all of its aircraft to more modern, state of the art versions. However, the French industrial complex was notoriously inefficient and while the airframes had been ordered, getting them to operational units was often painfully slow.

There were nearly complete aircraft in storage due to lack of some important component like instruments or propellers. As a result, the majority of the force had to face the Germans with fairly old technology when it came to aircraft. France did order more modern equipment from the US, but it takes time from when the order is put in to when the finished product reaches the buyer. At least France did get most of the Curtiss Hawk 75s that it ordered in time and it was this aircraft that was the most successful fighter that the French had.

This is a profiles book in case you hadn't figured that out. It provides excellent profiles and some three views of all the French fighters that were in service in June 1940 when the country was invaded. The images are large and fill the page horizontally. The publishers developed the book in lanscape format so no images cross the 'trench' in the middle of the book. The book covers not only the French side of things, but also its British Allies and the opposing German forces. A section at the back of the book includes various instrument panels. An addendum sheet is included in the book with the proper artwork for page 33. In all it makes an excellent reference for the modeler and enthusiast alike. It is a book I can easily recommend to you.

 October 2025

Review book courtesy of www.casematepublishers.com . You can get your now at this link. 

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