Spitfire aces of Burma and the Pacific by Andrew Thomas is the latest addition to this well known 'aces' series of books from Osprey Publishing. As usual with books in this series, they provide a general overview of the aircraft's operational use in the theatre rather than concentrating only on individual aces as the title of the series implies.The book contains 96 pages separated into 6 chapters, 4 of which cover the RAAF's use of the Spitfire in the Pacific and the remaining 2 chapters the RAF's use of the Spitfire in India and Burma. The text in each chapter describes the operational use of the Spitfire and includes excerpts from combat reports to give a pilots perspective of aerial combat. There's a good number of bw photos throughout the book that help illustrate the text.
The centre section has 9 pages of full colour 'profiles' that show the array of markings displayed on Spitfires in RAF and RAAF service. The profiles were prepared using an airbrush and paint on illustration board. This is very unusual as most aircraft profile artists long ago swapped the airbrush for sophisticated computer programs that give a photo-realistic look to the image.
On the cover is a dramatic painting showing Flt LT Foster from N0. 54 Squadron shooting down a Mitsubishi 'Dinah' on 6 February, 1943. Although I don't think it detracts from the impact of this beautiful painting, its worth noting that the markings on the Spitfire are somewhat inaccurate. Pacific Spitfires many years ago provided for the very first time details of the camouflage and markings for this historically important aircraft. This was followed by the inclusion of the aircraft in an Aero Imageworks decal which provided even more detail on its appearance. Its a shame the artist didn't buy the decal or join Pacific Spitfires before he put brush to canvas!
The book is fine for someone who knows little if anything about the Spitfires operational use in the Pacific War.
