Pacific Profiles Volume 12 (Paperback)

Another addition to this marvellous series of books detailing the history/colours/markings of aircraft in the Pacific theatre during WW2, and this one tackles the famous P-51 Mustang. As is explained in the book, of the two air forces which combined to form the Far East Air Forces (FEAF), only the 5th Air Force were issued with the Mustang, starting in 1944. Apparently it was widely 'welcomed' in the first place, with users being happy with the P-47. The first of 14 chapters sets out some basic Markings and Technical Notes, including some art work illustrating various stencils. Then it moves on through the first Mustangs to arrive in New Guinea, going to the Combat Replacement Training Centre at Nadzab, before moving on to cover all the other units which operated the Mustang during the war. These include3rd Air Commando Group, 39. 40 & 41st Fighter Squadrons, the 82nd and 110the Tactical Reconnaissance Squadrons, 340th, 341st, 342nd and 460th Fighter Squadrons. This leaves the last two chapters to cover individual Group & Squadron Commanders' aircraft and finally some Post-War examples based in Japan. Each chapter starts with some background on the individual units and throughout the book there are a total of 104 colour profiles, each of which is detailed in the text. All of them are bare metal airframes but with all the specific details that identify individual units and pilots.
In addition to all the colour profiles and notes on each unit, there are also a lot of archive images included throughout the book, which coupled with all the reference sources which are listed at the end of the book, all support the artwork that forms a key element of the book. Aircraft enthusiasts of all ages should enjoy this one, and I think it offers an interesting theme for modellers to consider in creating a collection of models in whichever is your preferred scale. Easy to recommend this one, and the rest of the series of course.

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